Manipur State

Manipur Police

MANIPUR STATE is situated at the extreme border of  North East India. It is bordered by Assam in the west, Nagaland in the north, Mizoram in the south and Myanmar in the east. Manipur is divided into 9 districts.

Documented history of Manipur begins with the reign of King Pakhangba (1665-’96) when the seven clans of the Manipuri society were unified.

Manipur was annexed by Bodawpaya of Burma in 1813. After the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824 – 1826) Burma had to cede it. It came under British rule as a princely state in 1891. British rule ended the independent status of the kingdom which was the last kingdom to be incorporated into British India.

After the Second World War, the Manipur Constitution Act, 1947, established a democratic form of government with the Maharaja as the Executive Head and an elected legislature. In 1949, King Prabodhchandra was summoned to Shillong, capital of the Indian province of Assam. After long deliberations, the King signed a Treaty of Accession merging the kingdom into India. The legislative assembly was dissolved on the integration of the state with the republic of India on 15 October, 1949. Manipur was a union territory from 1956 and became a full-fledged state on 21 January 1972.

The flag of Manipur flown in the 19th century was claimed to originate in 33 AD (!). It showed a coiled snake of a peculiar shape, named Pakhangba, on a red background. The scales of the snake were of five colours: white, indigo, light blue, violet and grey, symbolizing the five senses. The red symbolized valiance and sacrifice. The royal standard showed the same coiled snake on a white cloth. Both flags were abandoned in 1907 and replaced with flags bearing the royal achievement as shown below.

Churachandra Singh

*1885-†1941

1892/1918 - 7 Nov. 1941

Royal Achievement 1907-1949

Emblem: A crescent Argent.

Garland: Two ears of padi

Crest: A coiled snake Azure

Crown: The crown of Manipur

Supporters: Two spears with red pennons in saltire and two pegasus’s Argent.

Compartment: Two leaves Vert

Motto:

Pakhangba

The coiled snake is the symbol of Pakhangba, the supposed founder of the Manipur nation and in particular connected with the Ningthouja clan. Coins unearthed by archeologists bear his name and the date of 107 AD.[1] Some historical records like the Cheitharol Kumbaba chronicle claim that he reigned for 120 years and trace his descent to the supreme God Atiya Guru Sidaba, probably identical with the Hindu-god Shiva.

A myth tells the way Pakhangba received his name. Shentreng and Kuptreng, were both sons of the supreme God Atiya Guru Sidaba. Atiya Guru Sidaba wanted to find out which of his sons would recognize him not only as his father but also as his Guru. To test them he took the form of a dead cow floating down a big river. Kuptreng disliked the dead cow, but Shentreng realized it might be the god in disguise. Kuptreng wondered how they could find out whether this was actually so. Shentreng argued that it is not fitting for a dead cow to move its tail. On hearing this Atiya Guru Sidaba, wishing to reveal himself completely, moved his tail. Then he took his proper form and gave Shentreng the new name ‘Pakhangba’ (pa=father, khang-ba=to know: the one who knows his father). Kuptreng came to be known as Sanamahi.

The crescent and the snake are the attributes of Shiva and the achievement symbolizes the divine origin of the rulers of Manipur.

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The snake is a very common and very ancient symbol. In ancient Egypt it was the symbol of the ruler as early as the fourth millennium BC. On the western Hemisphere the snake is usually a cobra (Naja elapidae Serpentes) but in the Chinese civilisation the snake is of an indefinite genus. In the America’s the snake is usually a rattlesnake. In Manipur the snake is of Hindu-origin but has the form common in South-east Asia symbolism

The actual state symbol or emblem of Manipur is a Kanglasha (Nongsaba), i.e. half lion and half dragon. It strongly resembles the burmese Sar Mayee (long haired ox) and the chinese Qilin (dragon-horse or unicorn). Some beautiful pictures of a Kanglasha can be found on flickr.

ð See the illustration in the head of this essay.

Manipur Police

The arms of the Manipur Police are parted per fess Tenne and Azure, the national emblem Argent