Some short story of Manipur
Manipur is one of
the state of India, located in the north-eastern part of the country covering
an area of 22,327 sq km, bordered by the states of Nagaland to the north, Assam
to the west, and Mizoram to the southwest, and by Myanmar (formerly Burma) to
the south and east. The capital is Imphal. The name Manipur means "Land of
Gems". Like other north-eastern states, it is largely isolated from the
rest of India. Its economy centres on agriculture and forestry; trade and cottage
industries are also important.
Physical and
human geography
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The land
The state has two major physiographic regions, the Manipur
river valley and a large surrounding tract of mountainous country. The valley,
some 1,787 sq km, runs north-south and lies at an elevation of 792 m. Its main
physical feature is the Logtak Lake, covering about 104 sq km, which is the
source of the Manipur river. It is also the largest freshwater lake in north-eastern
India. The river flows southwards through the Valley into Myanmar, where it
joins the Myittha river, a tributary of the Chindwin.
The hill ranges, connected by spurs and ridges, run generally
north-south. These ranges include the Naga hills to the north, the East Manipur
hills along the eastern Myanmar border, the Mizo and Chin hills to the south,
and the West Manipur hills to the west. Average elevations vary between 1,524
and 1829 m, although the hills in the north rise to more than 2,896 m. The
ridges are separated by deep valleys forming curves and coils. The slope varies
from 15 to 30 per cent. Further, nearly 1,800 sq km hill areas have slopes more
than 30 per cent.
In the west the Surma river, known as the Barak river in
Manipur, has cut a narrow, steep-sided valley through the West Manipur hills as
it flows to join the Meghna river in Bangladesh. This river rises from the
northeastern peaks (2,700 m) of Manipur, about 5 km east of village Ujeme.
Further down, this river forms the interstate boundary with Nagaland. Its
drainage basin forms a narrow strip stretching northeast to southwest covering
an area of 3,865 sq km of Manipur.
The climate is temperate in the valley and cold in the
hills. Rainfall is abundant, with about 1,650 mm of precipitation occurring
annually. The hills are densely covered with mixed forests containing stands of
bamboo and teak. Other trees include oak, magnolia, and chinquapin. The Luzon
pine grows in the Naga hills. Among the state's notable plants are
rhododendrons, primroses, and blue poppies. Animal life includes the Asiatic
elephant, tiger, leopard, and wild buffalo. The rhinoceros is hunted for its
horn, which, when ground, is valued as an aphrodisiac. The brow-antlered deer
is in danger of extinction. Gaurs are the largest wild bison in the world; the
mithan (or gayal), the domesticated form, is widely distributed in the state.
About two-thirds of the people are the Meithei, who occupy
the Manipur valley and are largely Hindus. Meithei women conduct most of the
trade in the valley and enjoy high social status. Hindus constitute about 60
per cent of the population followed by Christians and Muslims. The majority of
Hindus are Vaishnavites belonging to the Meithei tribe.
Nearly 34 per cent of the population belongs to scheduled
tribes. Indigenous hill tribes, such as the Naga in the north and the Kuki in
the south, make up the rest of the population. Divided into numerous clans and
sections, the people of these tribes speak languages of the Tibeto-Burman
family and practise traditional animist religions. Some of the Naga have been
converted to Christianity. More than 60 per cent of the population speaks
Manipuri, which, along with English, is the official language of the state.
The economy
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Agriculture and forestry are the mainstay of economy - rice
is the major crop; other crops include maize, sugar cane, mustard, tobacco,
fruit orchards, vegetables, and pulses (such as peas and beans). Irrigation is
provided by canals. Teak and bamboo are major forest products.
Cottage industries dominate the manufacturing sector. The
designed clothes produced on handlooms is in demand throughout India and
abroad. Other industries include sericulture, manufacture of bamboo and cane
articles, soap making, carpentry, and tanning. An industrial complex, including
an electronics plant, has been established in Imphal. Manipur remains somewhat
isolated from the rest of India, and communications within the state are poor.
A national highway passes through the state from Tamu on the Myanmar border in
the south via Imphal to Dimapur (in Nagaland) in the north; this highway also
connects Imphal with the Northeast Frontier Railway near Dimapur. There are air
links from Imphal to Guwahati and Silchar in Assam and to Kolkata in West
Bengal.
Administration and
social conditions
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In common with other Indian states the governor, appointed
by the president of India, is the constitutional head of the state. The
governor functions on the advice of the council of ministers led by a chief
minister. Manipur has a unicameral legislature, consisting of a Vidhan Sabha
(Legislative Assembly) of 60 members. The state shares a common high court with
Assam. Manipur is divided into nine administrative districts: (a) five are the
hilly ones - Chandel, Churachandpur, Senapati, Tamenglong, and Ukhrul; and (b)
four in the valley - Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur, and Thoubal.
The population density of the state is 103 persons per sq
km. The decadal growth rate of population (1991-2001) is 24.86 per cent. About
70 per cent of the population is literate; the state has a university at Imphal
and more than 30 colleges. Health facilities are dismal in the state.
Cultural life
Polo and hockey are popular sports. Manipur has given birth
to an indigenous form of classical dance known as Manipuri. Unlike in other
Indian dance forms, hand movements are used decoratively rather than as
pantomime, bells are not accentuated, and both men and women perform
communally. The dance dramas, interpreted by a narrator, are a part of
religious life. Themes are generally taken from the life of Krishna, the
pastoral god of Hinduism. Long an isolated art form, Manipuri was introduced to
the rest of India by the poet Rabindranath Tagore in 1917. Rasa, Sankirtana
dance, and Thang-ta (drum beating) are other important parts of their cultural
life. Further, Manipuris are great warriors and practise their skills of
wrestling, sword fighting, and martial arts. The state is home to major tourist
destinations such as Khonghampat Orchidarium, Mao, Moreh,and Bishnupur. Kaina
is a Hindu pilgrimage centre. The Keibul Lamjao National Park is the only
floating sanctuary of its kind in the country.
Manipuri language locally known as Meiteilon (the Meitei + lon :
language), language spoken mainly in Manipur. It is also spoken in Assam,
Mizoram, and Tripura as well as in Bangladesh, and Myanmar. There are 1,180,000
native speakers although the number of actual speakers is higher since Manipuri
is the only medium of communication among the 29 different ethnic groups of the
state speaking different mother tongues. Manipuri is spoken by more than 60 per
cent of the state's population. It is the first Tibeto-Burman language included
in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution and constitutes the medium of
instruction in the state.
The language has four known dialects - Andro, Phayeng,
Sekmai, and Kwatha. Manipuri shares its grammatical features with the
Tibeto-Burman language families.
Some of the features shared genetically are as follows: It
lacks gender marking; the verb occurs at the end of the sentence; there is no
grammatical relation such as subject or object. Manipuri has an extensive verb
morphology and suffixation. Prefixation is limited. Different word classes are
formed by the affixing of of respective markers. Manipuri has its own script,
locally known as Meitei Mayek.
The present Manipur evolved out of various groups, Angom,
Chenglei, Khaba, Khuman, Luwang, Moirang, and Ningthouja. These various groups
were merged into Meitei during the process of state formation by Nongda Lairen
Pakhangba, the founder of the Ningthouja clan dynasty, in the fourteenth
century. The language shows abundant semantic reduplication.
Chungkham Yashawanta
Singh
History
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Due to its geography, Manipur has been relatively
independent of its neighbouring areas. 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 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 intruders from 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.
This territory was
associated with India through the Treaty of Yandaloo at the end of Indo-Burmese
War in 1826. The British sovereignty was recognized in 1891. 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. Population
(2001) State Total 2,166,788; Rural 1,590,820; Urban 575,968.
Incredible of
india ,
Goood
to look,
Way to love.
Manipuri classical
dance
One of six
classical dance styles of India indigenous to the state of Manipur, rooted in
folk tradition and ritual. Themes are generally taken from episodes in the life
of Lord Krishna. During the dance interpretations a narrator may chant dialogue
and descriptive action, interspersed with choral singing. Manipuri is smooth
and graceful and technically easier, although more limited, than the other
classical styles.
As with other Indian dances, the dancers wear bells on their
ankles; but the movement of the dance does not accentuate them, the steps being
light and close to the floor. Women wear a large, stiff skirt decorated with
round mirror pieces, and a shimmering gauze veil. The hair is adorned with
flowers, and their cheeks and forehead are dotted with sandalwood paste. Known
for its femininity, Manipuri is marked by a slow, swaying and swirling rhythm.
The dancer, with her hips thrust back and head tilted on one side, turns and
sways and glides. The mask-like immobility of her face is in sharp contrast
with other schools of dance, in which the face and eyes are a major source of
expression.
The Manipuri drummer, his torso naked except for a white
dhoti with a red border tucked above his knees, dances while he plays on the
drum. His energetic and electric movements are a masculine counterpart to the
slow, undulating patterns woven by the female dancer.
Chief twentieth-century exponents of Manipuri include Atomba
Singh, who preserved the tradition of ras dancing, and Amubi Singh. Manipuri
was popularized throughout India when, in 1917, the poet Rabin-dranath Tagore
saw demonstrations of the art and brought back dance teachers to serve in his
Vishvab-harati University at Shantiniketan in West Bengal.
Incredible of
india ,
Goood
to look,
Way to love.
THE MOST FAMOUS PLACE IN MANIPUR
"THE LEIMARAM WATER FALL" or "SADU CHIRU" was located in Bishnuper district mostly surunded by hilly region. There are three part of water fall at the same place mostly people went to see for part1 and part2 water fall.
It is just a half an hour drive from imphal.However, the origin of the waterfall is Loiching Chingdon in Leibol Khunou and that the current of the waterfall is usually strong during the month of June and July, the timekwhen visitors throng it. But, visitors are now really disappointed owing to the road block.
The villages of Sadu Chiru and Leibol Khunou charge Rs 50 from every bus and Rs 30 from every light vehicles coming to the waterfall. The charge is taken as per the agreement reached between the government and the authorities of the two villages, they said
Posted by
Kumar M.
The climate is temperate in the valley and cold in the
hills. Rainfall is abundant, with about 1,650 mm of precipitation occurring
annually. The hills are densely covered with mixed forests containing stands of
bamboo and teak. Other trees include oak, magnolia, and chinquapin. The Luzon
pine grows in the Naga hills. Among the state's notable plants are
rhododendrons, primroses, and blue poppies. Animal life includes the Asiatic
elephant, tiger, leopard, and wild buffalo. The rhinoceros is hunted for its
horn, which, when ground, is valued as an aphrodisiac. The brow-antlered deer
is in danger of extinction. Gaurs are the largest wild bison in the world; the
mithan (or gayal), the domesticated form, is widely distributed in the state.
Cottage industries dominate the manufacturing sector. The
designed clothes produced on handlooms is in demand throughout India and
abroad. Other industries include sericulture, manufacture of bamboo and cane
articles, soap making, carpentry, and tanning. An industrial complex, including
an electronics plant, has been established in Imphal. Manipur remains somewhat
isolated from the rest of India, and communications within the state are poor.
A national highway passes through the state from Tamu on the Myanmar border in
the south via Imphal to Dimapur (in Nagaland) in the north; this highway also
connects Imphal with the Northeast Frontier Railway near Dimapur. There are air
links from Imphal to Guwahati and Silchar in Assam and to Kolkata in West
Bengal.
