Bimol Akoijam | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
Assumed office 5 June 2024 | |
Preceded by | Rajkumar Ranjan Singh |
Constituency | Inner Manipur |
Personal details | |
Political party | Indian National Congress |
Source: |
Angomcha Bimol Akoijam is Indian academic,filmmaker and politician,from Imphal,Manipur. [1] He is an associate professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University's School of Social Sciences, [2] and a public intellectual. [3] He was elected to the 18th Lok Sabha from Inner Manipur constituency in Manipur in the 2024 Indian general election as a member of the Indian National Congress [4]
Bimol Akoijam belongs to the Meitei community,the majority community of Manipur. [5] He was born c. 1967. He has received MA and PhD in psychology. [3] His specialisation is stated to be social and political psychology and cultural studies. [2]
Akoijam taught at Delhi University and the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS). As of 2024,he was an associate professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. [3]
Akoijam is said to be a keen explorer of cinema,and served as a jury member in film festivals. He made a documentary Lang-Goi Challabee (Paradise Under Siege) in 2004,and the feature film Karigee Kirunee Nungsiradee (Why Be Afraid,If You Love) in 2014. [3]
According to Scopus database Bimol Akoijam has 1 publication and zero citation. [6]
According to NDTV News,Akoijam has long been involved in public issues and democratic movements. He is often seen in the media speaking about issues related to rights and governance. [3]
During the 2023–2024 Manipur violence,an ethnic conflict between the majority Meitei community of Manipur and the Kuki-Zo tribals,he was very vocal against the way the conflict was handled by the central and state governments. [7] But he was often heard absolving the state government and chief minister,claiming that he was being held as a "scapegoat". [8] [9] He has held the Indian Army and Assam Rifles accountable,saying that they were seen as being hand-in-glove with the "Kuki militant groups",and that they need to win back the trust of the Meitei people. [10] He has also blamed the national media of India,saying they were biased against the Meitei community,and led a research study that claimed to document such bias. [11]
Akoijam entered politics after witnessing the 2023–2024 Manipur violence. He had become well known in Manipur for being one of the few academics to raise concerns about ethnic tensions and issues of rights and governance since the conflict began. [3] [12] He was elected as the candidate of the Indian National Congress from Inner Manipur in the 2024 Indian general election. He also had the joint approval and backing of the ten parties in the INC-led alliance in Manipur. [13] Akoijam Bimol won the Lok Sabha seat from Inner Manipur seat with a majority of 1,09,801 votes,breaking electoral records set in Manipur. [14] [15]
Manipur 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 Myanmar,Sagaing Region to the east and Chin State to the south. The state covers an area of 22,327 km2 (8,621 sq mi). The official and most widely spoken language is the Meitei language. Native to the Meitei people,it is also used as a lingua franca by smaller communities,who speak a variety of other Tibeto-Burman languages. Manipur has been at the crossroads of Asian economic and cultural exchange for more than 2,500 years. This exchange connects the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia to Southeast Asia,East Asia,Siberia,regions in the Arctic,Micronesia and Polynesia enabling migration of people,cultures and religions.
Imphal is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. It is the third largest city in northeast India after Guwahati and Agartala. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace,the royal seat of the former Kingdom of Manipur,surrounded by a moat. Spread over parts of the districts of Imphal West and Imphal East,the former contains the majority of the city's area and population. Imphal is part of the Smart Cities Mission under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Being a mega commercial hub,Imphal is known for its weaving,brass-ware,bronze-ware,and other cottage industries. Meitei language is the most widely spoken language in the city.
Ashok Tanwar is an Indian politician who has served as the President of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee,Member of Parliament from Sirsa and Secretary,All India Congress Committee. He is a former President of Indian Youth Congress and NSUI. He was the youngest person to become the president of Indian Youth Congress. On 3 October 2024,he rejoined Indian National Congress in the presence of Leader of Opposition,Rahul Gandhi.
The 2009 Indian general election in Manipur,occurred for 2 seats in the state.
The Manipur Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Manipur.
Kim Gangte is an Indian politician,educator and human rights activist,who was a Member of Parliament elected from the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency in India in 1998,as a Manipur People's Party candidate. She is the general secretary of the Kuki Women Human Rights Network.
The Manipur Kingdom also known as Meckley was an ancient kingdom at the India–Burma frontier. Historically,Manipur was an independent kingdom ruled by a Meitei dynasty. But it was also invaded and ruled over by Burmese kingdom at various point of time. It became a protectorate of the British East India Company from 1824,and a princely state of British Raj in 1891. It bordered Assam Province in the west and British Burma in the east,and in the 20th century covered an area of 22,327 square kilometres and contained 467 villages. The capital of the state was Imphal.
Ningthoukhongjam Khelchandra Singh was an Indian writer,lexicographer and historian,known as the author of Manipuri to Manipuri and English,the first modern general dictionary in Meitei language,which was published in 1964. He was a fellow of the Sahitya Akademi and Sangeet Natak Akademi. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1987.
Meira Paibi is a women's social movement in the Indian state of Manipur. Referred to as the "guardians of civil society",Meira Paibi dates to 1977 in present Kakching district. It derives its name from the flaming torches which the women carry while marching through city streets,often at night. They do so both as a patrol,and in protest,seeking redress against human rights violations committed by paramilitary and armed forces units against the innocent. Contextualized,Meira Paibi was founded at a time when the people of Manipur were fighting for self-determination,political autonomy,and independence.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Manipur:
Manipur State Constitution Act 1947 is an act which enabled the princely state of Manipur to have a de jure written constitution enacted by the last Maharajah of Manipur,Bodhchandra Singh. Under the constitution,a Legislative Assembly was elected in mid-1948 and a ministry was formed,which was responsible to the Maharaja. The constitution is deemed to have lapsed on 15 October 1949,when the Maharaja signed a merger agreement with the Indian Union. The validity of the act in present time is debated.
Sandeep Saurav is an Indian politician from Bihar and a member of Bihar Legislative Assembly representing the Paliganj Assembly constituency in Patna district. He is from CPI(ML)L and was elected in the 2020 Bihar election,securing 67,917 votes against the incumbent MLA Jai Vardhan Yadav from JD(U) who secured 37,002 votes. He was nominated to contest the 2024 Indian General Election in Bihar from the Nalanda seat against the incumbent MP Kaushalendra Kumar of JD(U).
On 3 May 2023,ethnic violence erupted in India's north-eastern state of Manipur between the Meitei people,a majority that lives in the Imphal Valley,and the Kuki-Zo tribal community from the surrounding hills. According to government figures,as of 3 May 2024,221 people have been killed in the violence and 60,000 people have been displaced. Earlier figures also mentioned over 1,000 injured,and 32 missing. 4,786 houses were burnt and 386 religious structures were vandalized,including temples and churches. Unofficial figures are higher.
Arambai Tenggol is a Meitei activist organisation in the Indian state of Manipur founded by Manipur's titular ling and Rajya Sabha member Leishemba Sanajaoba,who also remains as its chairman. Arambai Tenggol has been described as a radical organisation,or as a radicalised armed militia. It is also a revivalist organisation that aims to reestablish the pre-Hindu,native Sanamahi religion among the Meiteis. It enjoys the patronage of Sanajaoba as well as the chief minister N. Biren Singh. During the 2023–2024 Manipur violence,members of the Kuki-Zo community blamed it for having carried out deadly attacks against them. In January 2024,the organisation demonstrated its influence by summoning all the elected Meitei legislators of the state for a meeting to deliberate on the defence of Meiteis in the prevailing conflict.
The 2024 Indian general election was held in Manipur on 19 April and 26 April to elect two members of the 18th Lok Sabha,from the constituencies of Inner Manipur and Outer Manipur. The election got scheduled in the midst of year-long ethnic violence between the valley-based Meitei community and the hill-based Kuki-Zo community. There were reports of violence and intimidation by armed militias during the campaigning as well as polling but,on the whole,the election got conducted peacefully. Opposition Indian National Congress candidates,Bimol Akoijam and Alfred Kanngam Arthur,won the two seats respectively.
The International Meeteis Forum is a Meitei ethnic advocacy group in the Indian state of Manipur. Its objectives are to assert Meitei indigeneity in Manipur,to unify Meiteis around the world,to campaign for the territorial integrity of the Manipur state and to block the influx of alleged foreigners. Founded in 2012 by a retired army officer R. K. Rajendro,it later teamed up with the Federation of Haomee with similar ideological motivations. Both the organisations generated free-flowing hate speech against the Kuki community of Manipur,labelling them as "immigrants" or "foreigners",which was instrumental in the generation of 2023 Manipur violence.
The results of India's general elections to constitute 18th Lok Sabha,held in April–June 2024 were announced on 4th and 5th June 2024. The main contenders were two alliance groups of the Incumbent National Democratic Alliance (N.D.A) led by Bharatiya Janata Party;and the Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A.) led by Indian National Congress. In the legislative house of 543 seats,the incumbent NDA alliance secured majority with 293 seats,which included BJP party's 240 seats,while the opposition INDIA coalition got 234 seats,including Congress party's 99 seats. On June 9,2024,Narendra Modi took oath as Prime Minister,having been elected the leader of the NDA alliance,though his BJP party lost its majority.
Torbung Bangla is a village in the geographical precincts of Churachandpur district in Manipur,India. It is populated mostly by Meitei people who regard themselves as being part of Bishnupur district. The village was originally called Boljang,with an educational sericulture farm established here. At present,the village is a site of contestation between the majority Kuki-Zomi people of the Churachandpur district and the Meitei people that dominate the state of Manipur. During the 2023–2024 Manipur violence,the village was almost entirely burnt down by Kuki mobs.
Denny Likmabam is an Indian actor from Manipur. His films include Phairenthagi Angaoba Leichil,Kaorage,Khuji,Nungshi Hekta Hairage,Hi Sweety Hello Preety and Hiyai.
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