Emerging Pattern of the Bisnupriya Manipuri Society- A Study
in Cultural Identity
Barun Kumar Sinha
Deptt. Of English
S.S.College- Hailakandi
Bisnupriya Manipuris
are, a constituent of the conglomeration of diverse ethnic
groups in the Barak Valley. Officially, they are a
linguistic minority. There are as many as 146 villages in
the valley and population in rural areas was 66,623 in 1967.
Curiously enough, figures published in 1961 census were
totally incorrect. Social workers undertook, in protest, to
conduct census, which revealed, tidy certified by t-he
respective Village panchyats, the actual above - mentioned
figures. Coming to the closing decade of the century the
figure would be around one and half lakhs. Indeed this
community has suffered diminution at every stage of its
historical evoludon.A quick look at its remote and recent
past will hope , not be out of place here.
The Bishnupriya Manipuris, belonging as they do to the
Indo-Aryan group of Manipuris, have a great antiquity.
Manipur was known to the Burmese as Kathe as it belonged to
the Kshatriyas coming from the Western and Northern India
and to the people of Assam as Moglu. It was also known in
the Epic age as Makhalee which the people of Southern China
would call Meiun Khala meaning the country of the wide lake
(Logtak) and the inhabitants were called Maiyangs or
Khalachais,who claim their descent from Babrubahan, a son of
the valiant Arjun of the Mahabharata fame, and adoption of
the cult of Lord Bishnu. Hence they were called Bishnupriyas
and had their ancient capital town at Bishnupur which the
7th century Chinese pilgrim Hsuan Tsang had mentioned in his
account as Ishangnupul. Unfommately , though reputed to be
the first cultured ruling race of Manipur they had to bear
the brunt of a series of Kuki-Chin incursions and the
valley, ultimately went, under the occupation of the Melteis
E.T.Dalton says : "By degrees the Meiteis became dominant
and that name was appl;ed to the entire colony. It is highly
probable that these hordes oven-an a country that had been
previously occupied by people of Aryan blood known in
Western India and to the bards.Me present population of
Manipur includes a tribe called Meiun who speak a language
of Sanslait derivation Iley are now in a servfle condition
perfomiing the duties of grass-cutters to their conquerors".
The oppressions acted upon the Bishnupriyas followed by
insensate burning of books and records during the reign of
king Pamheiba in the early part of the 18th century,
resulted in the annihilation of the old tradition. Repeated
Burmese invasions that followed such tyrannical rule caused
a large number of Bishnupriyas to leave their heart and
home, migrate partly to Cachar, Sylhet and Tripura and
partly to Burma. Of the remaining population a major portion
merged with Meiteis and only a fraction was left to see its
rapidly falling moral and material standards and find its
mother tongue forced helplessly into oblivion. The burning
of books, searched out even from hidden comers , however,
continued to avert any possibility to trace the history of
Manipur and Chronicles were prepared under the strict
supervision of the Icings. W.Shaw and Raj Mohan Nath , two
eminent scholars are of the view that " Bishnupriya " with
its Devanagai script had been the court language of Manipur
and was replaced by king Khagenba . The Meiung or the
Bishnupriya Manipuri language is virtually extinct in
present Manipur though 1000 speakers of this language could
be traced there by Dr. Grierson early this century during
his linguistic survey.
Ravages of history , however , have not been able to
demoralize the people altogether. They have somehow
sustained themselves with their devout nature and innate
cultural traits . This Will be evident from the observations
of late Mr. C.S.Mullan , I.C.S. - "The Manipuris of Cachar
and Sylhet are really people apart... they are foreigners in
a strange land and have kept very much to themselves
preserving their own language . They must , in my opinion ,
be considered as a community requiring special treatment
rather than a backward race".
The foreword by late A.K.Chanda , Bar-at-Law , one of the
architects of the Barak- Valley. , to a memorial on the
occasion of the eighth general session, of Nikhil
Bishnupnriy Manipuri Mahasabha held at Bhakatpur near
Silchar on 26th -and 27th December 1938 , is still more
illuminating . As the chief guest of the session he
addressed the Chief Minister, Assam, in memorable words -
"In forwarding the memorial to you for the sympathetic
consideration of your govt. I desire to reinforce it by
adding my humble voice in its support . As one between whose
family and Manipuris have subsisted ties of fiiendship for
three generations now, I feel it would not be presumptuous
on my part but rather duty to submit that the memorialist
have made out a strong case for special recognition of the
claims of Manipuris. I endorse every word of the remarks
made by Mr. C.S.Mullan, I.C.S. as quoted in the memorial .
Manipuris have a culture of their own ; although settled
among us , they have yet preserved their entity as inviolate
. But this insularism has caused them hard in that day they
have been very reluctant to respond to the calls of time .
Once high in annals of bravery and various kinds of arts in
peace they find themselves relegated to the background for
lack of modem education and also initiative. While other.
communities are forging ahead , they are content to eke out
a precarious existence steeped in illiteracy, ignorance and
want . They are suffering from lack of initiative as they
are without a leader strong enough to rouse them from their
stupor.. It now behooves your govt. to extend them a special
measure of protection without which the future of such a
fine race seems doomed."
The historical role played at this juncture by the Surma
Valley Manipuri Association , known as-the Nikhil
Bishnupriya Manipuri Mahasabha later in 1932, cannot be over
- emphasized . This is the foremost socio cultural
organization of the society, established in June, 1 932, and
has been working steadily for the betterment of the
community. It may be noted here that in the census of 1931
Manipuris were classified as tribal people belonging to the
Tibeto -Burman stock . The census commissioner Dr.J.H.Hutton
, however, reclassified them under the caste Hindu
Indo-Aryan group in 1933 on a thorough scrutiny of
historical records received from the Bishnupriya Manpuris of
Cachar under the aegis of Surma Valley Manipuri Association
.
Foremost among the earlier poets is of course Gitiswami
Gokulananda who traversed the whole of Bishnupriya-speaking
region - singing with a missionary fervor of the ills of our
society and their remedies His performance was mostly
dramatic, the follies and foibles of our people were their
by held up to ridicule. He denounced especially the vice of
imitation It may be mentioned here that his role is
comparable-.to that of Mukundadas in Bengal who flourished
during the glorious years of national resurgence and stirred
the hearts of millions with his powerful songs Though his
sphere of activity was limited in sense , he must have come
under the turbulence of the times and he appeared to have
wider sympathies.
A quick look at our recent past will reveal the
circumstances which were response 'ble for the making of
this great reformer -poet. Laboring under a depressed
economy our women belon 'ng to the lower middle class went
to the market to sell certain daily necessities This was not
considered dishonorable till it was found that indignities
were often hurled at. these innocent women by some vulgar
people at the marketplace While a young man Gokulananda was
shocked to find a women thus victimized -but none came to
her help The incident filled him with pity and indignation
and., led him on to a tragic realization of our predicament
And he took the momentous decision of devoting himself to
the cause of his community: to improve the condition of our
people and to keep pace with the progress of other
communities .. He dramatized the pligh of our women against
the comparative indolence of our men at the time . His songs
were simple and direct , often did active in tone as he had
a serious purpose in mind. His personality was eminently
suited for the purpose -a very compassionate face with
luminous eyes; his mouth slightly curved to the left which
gave him the impression of a man of determination .His
measure of success can be guessed from the endearing title "Gitiswami"
bestowed on him He was indeed the master of lyricism in our
language; his song immortalizing Mother Bishnupriya shows
him as a man at the height of attachment to his community.
What is more, he did much for the awakening of our social
conscience through his dramatic performances and other
works.
The impact of this great wandering singer on the Bisnupriya
Manipuries has been manifold. We are, aware of the fact by
now that we need real poets not mere versifiers poets at the
altar of humanity. Gitiswami has been one of the major
sources of inspiration from whom our present-day poets, and
social workers for that matter, continue to draw their
sustenance. Instead of just being blank onlookers , we are
now more inclined to look within ourselves without illusion
and any false sense of' self satisfaction . We are thus
redeemed by the promptings of a loving heart which taught us
to love our good things - our culture, our devout acceptance
of life . He has proved himself to be our never-failing
friend, philosopher and guide.
Bishnupriya Manipuris , as already pointed out, are of a
devout nature belonging to the Gaudiya Vaishnava sect . Sri
Bhubaneshwar Sadhu Thakur bom at Baropoa (now renamed
Bhubaneshwar Nagar) in Cachar has, so to say saved the
people from spiritual degeneration owing to abject poverty.
They have learnt from him to live honestly. and peaceably
with what little they have. No wonder they look upon him as
their saviour . The temple of Sri Govinda, popularly known
as "Govindabari " at Nabadwip in West Bengal is a veritable
abode of peace for the devotees.
Next , the name of the noted dramatist Leikhomsena Sinha
from Singari near Silchar , late lamented father of Guru
Bipin Sinha the ereat exponent of Manipuri dance, also
deserves mention ..Besides , a host of other poets and
socially conscious person have contributed their mite for
the advancement of the community.
Despite their depressed economy , the position of the
Bishnupriya Manipuris in the fields of education , science
and culture in this valley is considerably good . Late
Mahitosh Purkayastha , ex-MP, and a much respected leader of
South Assam noted more than a decade ago : "as regards the
sociocultural identity , the 40000 Bishnupriya Manipuris
constituting less than 0.30% of state population donot
consider themselves lost socially and culturally although
they have socio-political 'evances of deprivation." The case
in point gets clear from the 13th Report of the Commissioner
for Linguistic Minorities of India (July, 1970 -June , 1 971
Anicle 15, page 1 8)
"As a result of non-implementation of the constitutional
provision of Artici.-I 3 50A by some states, specific
demands of some linguistic minority groups to have
instructions through their mother tongue at the primary
stage, have not been conceded Prominent among such pending
issues -are the cases of the-speakers of Bishnupriya
Manipuri in Assam,,speakers of Saurastri in Tamil Nadu
Santhali in West Bengal.."
This leads us on to the crux of the question Are Bisnupriyas
Manipuris 'at all ? Of course they are. That is why they
have consistently refused offers of both the state and
central Goverments to accept as Bisnupriya only They have
voiced their constitutional demands through peaceful,
democratic movements over the years. But unfortunately
things have gone wrong The right- minded persons of the
valley with a keen historical sense can I hope certainly
solve this tangle The cultural identity of the Bisnupriya
Manipuris would be at stake if the term "manpuri" is dropped
or deleted "Culture", as renowned Prof. E.Ninkanta Singh
from Manipur says , "reflects the soul of a people . And to
understand a people's culture , one has to flow along with
the current of heritage. The origin of the Manipuris ( or
properly speaking, the Meitels ) is still a mystery . But
modem researches have pointed unwavering finger to the East
from where migratory waves have reached this land thousands
of years ago".
Rabindranath Tagore , with his poetic vision of beauty, was
attracted to Manipuri dance on a visit to Sylhet early this
century and decided to introduce this beautiful classical
dance at Santiniketan recruiting teachers from both
Bishnupriya and Meitei communities, Thus began the onward
march of this unique culture . What is more, religion and
culture are almost inseparably interwoven in this form and
the artists of all age-groups perform it in a subdued manner
peculiar to this. form . The Ras Leela , for example, on a
moonlit night is a wonderful spiritual experience for the
admirer. Towards the close of the performance , at the early
hours of dawn , the rhythmic companions of Radha do not want
to leave the " Kunja " , the bower meant for divine
dalliance The whole atmosphere is- charged with emotion. as
it were , and the performers , though traditionally dressed,
appear to be "appareled in celestial light
In the final analysis , the present analyst , for want of an
adequate critical apparatus , would like to have recourse to
a simple botanical analogy. If the Bishnupriya ,Manipuris
are divested of 'the authentic cultural identity of "Manipun"'
a blossom of Manipuri culture will be detached or nipped
from the stalk . Let it not wither away in desert air.
References:
1. The Mahasabha Review, 1970
2. Memorendum to Dr. Pratap Chandra, Ex. Education Minister,
Govt. of India,1977.
3. Let history and facts speak Manipuris - Nikhil
Bishnupn'ya Manipuri Sahitya Parishad, 1984.
4. Anatomy of North-East, Purkayastha M. 1980.
5. Souvenir, East India Cultural Conference 1975.
6. Ethnic Processes in North-eastern India - Acharjee, S.K.
Special article in "Economic and Political weekly", May 21,
1986.
Paper
presented in the modern history session of the National
Seminar on History and Society of South Assam (22-24
January, 1995) at Assam University, Silchar & Sponsored by
Indian Council of Historical Research.
