Meitei nationalism ( Meitei: ꯂꯩꯄꯥꯛ ꯅꯤꯡꯕ) refers to

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

among the

Meitei people The Meitei people, also known as the Manipuri people,P.20: "historically, academically and conventionally Manipuri prominently refers to the Meetei people."P.24: "For the Meeteis, Manipuris comprise Meeteis, Lois, Kukis, Nagas and Pangal." is ...

. In the Meitei context this includes various movements throughout history to sustain Meitei cultural identity, political boundary, ethnicity and history to regain

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a polity, political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defin ...

status of

Kangleipak Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a States and territories of India, state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It ...

(presently known as

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

History

Historically, the kingdom of Meitei also known as Meitei Leipak remained sovereign for at least 1951 years, although there were matrimonial alliance as well as wars with the neighbouring country or kingdom of

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. Meitei kingdom (Meitei Leipak) lost its sovereignty in 1891 as a result of Anglo Manipur War and regained its sovereign status in 1947 but it was short lived due to the controversial Manipur Merger Agreement of 1949. In the 19th century

Hijam Irabot Hijam Irabot (30 September 1896 – 26 September 1951), also known as Jana Neta Hijam Irabot, was a politician and leader of Communist party of India and revolutionary social activist from Manipur. He fought against the social evils of the so ...

was the pioneer of nationalism in Manipur who firstly revolted against monarchy rule demanding a democratic government for the people. Various demands ranging from self determination to liberation of Manipur all took its root from not accepting the instrument of Merger act with the Indian Union. Scholar Paula Banerjee states that Merger agreement was seen by Manipuris as an "illegal and illegitimate annexation". Meitei and Pangal nationalists began claiming Manipur was a sovereign state in 1949 with democratic rule under '

Manipur State Constitution Act 1947 Manipur State Constitution Act 1947 is an act which enabled Manipur State to have a dejure written constitution enacted by the last Maharajah of Manipur Bodhchandra Singh. The validity of the act in present time is debated. Background After ...

' and Maharaja of Manipur

Bodhchandra Singh Maharaja Bodhchandra Singh or Bodhachandra Singh (1908–1955) was the last ruler of the Kingdom of Manipur. He ruled between 1941 and 15 October 1949. He married seven or nine women, his first wife being HH Srimati Maharani Tharendra Kishori ...

was in no position to sign the merger agreement.

References

Nationalist movements in Asia Meitei people {{Manipur-stub

History

See also

References