MANIPUR

constituent state of India located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Assam to the west, and Mizoram to the southwest and by Myanmar (Burma) to the south and east. The capital is Imphal. Little is known about Manipur's history prior to 1762, when a local raja (prince) requested British aid in repelling a Burmese invasion. The request was made again in 1824. Years of political turmoil followed, caused by disputed successions among local rulers. The British administered the area in the 1890s, abolishing slavery and forced labour and constructing roads. In 1907 a raja and durbar (council) took over, but a tribal uprising in 1917 led to a new system of government administered from Assam. In 1947 Manipur acceded to the Indian Union, and in 1949 its administration was taken over by the Indian government; the region was ruled as a union territory until it became a state in 1972. The state's two main physical features are the Manipur River valley and a large surrounding tract of mountainous country. Running north and south, the valley covers about 695 square miles (1,800 square km). Its major feature is the reedy Logtak Lake, which covers an area of about 40 square miles (100 square km) and is the source of the Manipur River, which flows southward through the valley into Myanmar. Mountain elevations range from 5,000 to 6,000 feet (1,500 to 1,800 m) above sea level. The highest peak, Tenipu, lies in the north at 9,826 feet (2,995 m). In the west the mountains are broken by the valley of the Surma River, known as the Barak River in Manipur. The climate is temperate in the valley and cold in the hills. Rainfall is abundant, with about 100 inches (2,590 mm) of precipitation occurring annually in the Barak River valley to about 40 inches (970 mm) annually in the central part of the state. About one-half of Manipur's people are Meithei, mainly Hindus who occupy the Manipur River valley. The rest of the population is composed of indigenous hill tribes that are divided into numerous clans and sectionsNagas in the north and Kukis in the south. Manipuri is the language of about two-thirds of the people and, together with English, is the state's official language. The hill people speak languages of the Tibeto-Burman family. Agriculture and forestry are the main sources of income in Manipur. Rice is the major crop, and the rich soil also supports corn (maize), sugarcane, cotton, mustard, tobacco, tea, fruit orchards, and leguminous plants. Terracing is common in the hills, where farmers plow the ground with hand hoes. Among some of the hill people, domestic animals are kept only for meat and are not milked or used for hauling. Teak and bamboo are the major forest products; other trees include oak, pine, chestnut, magnolia, and chinquapin. Manufacturing in Manipur is limited to several well-established cottage industries. The designed cloth produced on Manipuri handlooms is in demand throughout India. Other such industries include basket making, gold and silver jewelry, and wood carving. Manipur remains somewhat isolated from the rest of India and lacks a rail link with the rest of the country. There are air links from Imphal to Silchar and Guwahati in Assam and to Calcutta in West Bengal. A highway connects Imphal with Tamu in Myanmar. Manipur has given birth to an indigenous form of classical dance known as manipuri. It is dissimilar to other Indian dance forms; hand movements are used decoratively rather than as pantomime, bells are not accentuated, and both men and women perform communally. More than two-fifths of the Manipur population is literate, and the state has a university at Imphal and numerous colleges. Area 8,621 square miles (22,327 square km). Pop. (1991 prelim.) 1,826,714. state of India. It is located in the northeastern part of the country. It has an area of 8,621 square miles (22,327 square kilometres), making it one of the smaller states of India. It is bordered by the states of Nagaland to the north, Assam to the west, and Mizoram to the southwest and by Myanmar (Burma) to the south and east. The capital is Imphal. The name Manipur means Land of Gems. Like other northeastern states, it is largely isolated from the rest of India. Its economy centres on agriculture and forestry, and there is lively activity in trade and cottage industries. Additional reading Overviews are found in R.K. Jhalajit Singh, Manipur (1975); and Rabindra Pratap Singh, Geography of Manipur (1982). S.A. Ansari, Some Aspects of the Geography of Manipur (1985), is a collection of essays on the physical environment, regions, and the economy. Social and political history are discussed in Bimal J. Dev and Dilip K. Lahiri, Manipur: Culture and Politics (1986); and Chander Sheikhar Panchani, Manipur: Religion, Culture, and Society (1987). S.A. Ansari, Socio-economic Development in Tribal Area of Manipur: A Case Study of the Chirus of Nungsai Chiru (1986), explores change among a tribal group; while Gulab Khan Gori, Changing Phase of Tribal Area of Manipur (1984), examines general aspects of development there. History Although ancient hoes of ground stone reportedly have been found in the region, the earliest recorded history goes back only to AD 900. The beginning of Manipur's more recent history dates from 1762, when the raja Jai Singh concluded a treaty with the British to repel an invasion from Myanmar. Further communication was minimal until 1824, when the British were again requested to expel the Myanmar. Disputed successions were a continual source of political turmoil until Chura Chand, a five-year-old member of the ruling family, was nominated raja in 1891. For the next eight years the administration was conducted under British supervision; slavery and forced labour were abolished, and roads were constructed. In 1907 the government was assumed by the raja and the durbar, or council, whose vice president was a member of the Indian civil service. Subsequently, the administration was transferred to the raja, and the vice president of the durbar became its president. After an uprising of the Kuki hill tribes in 1917, a new system of government was adopted; the region was divided into three subdivisions, each headed by an officer from the neighbouring government of Assam. With the accession of Manipur to India in 1947, the political agency exercised by Assam was abolished. Two years later, Manipur became a union territory governed by a chief commissioner and an elected territorial council. In 1969 the office of chief commissioner was replaced by that of lieutenant governor, whose status was changed to governor when Manipur became a constituent state of the Indian Union on July 21, 1972. Barbara A. Standley Deryck O. Lodrick