The Meitei Pangals, also known as the Pangals or the Meitei Muslims or the Manipuri Muslims, are a group of Muslims who speak Meitei language as their native tongue. They live mainly in Manipur. The term "Pangal" simply means "Muslim" in Meitei language. Various historical sources have different dates for when Islam first entered Manipur. However, the date all sources seem to confirm as definitive is 1606 AD. The origin of the Pangal community is equally varied.
There were three Burmese invasions of Assam between 1817 and 1826, during which time the Kingdom of Assam came under the control of Burma from 1821 to 1825. Locally, this period, called the manor din by the Indigenous Assamese people is remembered with horror. The sharp drop in population due both to depredations as well emigrations left the erstwhile kingdom in shambles. It was the climactic period of the Ahom kingdom. The British, who were earlier reluctant to colonise Assam, came into direct contact with a belligerent Burmese occupying force. Following the First Anglo-Burmese War they annexed Assam and took Manipur as a subsidiary state.
Bagyidaw was the seventh king of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma from 1819 until his abdication in 1837. Prince of Sagaing, as he was commonly known in his day, was selected as crown prince by his grandfather King Bodawpaya in 1808, and became king in 1819 after Bodawpaya's death. Bagyidaw moved the capital from Amarapura back to Ava in 1823.
General Maha Bandula was commander-in-chief of the Royal Burmese Armed Forces from 1821 until his death in 1825 in the First Anglo-Burmese War. Bandula was a key figure in the Konbaung dynasty's policy of expansionism in Manipur and Assam that ultimately resulted in the war and the beginning of the downfall of the dynasty. Nonetheless, the general, who died in action, is celebrated as a national hero by the Burmese for his resistance to the British. Today, some of the most prominent places in the country are named after him.
Gharib Nawaz was a Meitei ruler of Manipur Kingdom, ruling from c. 1709 until his death. He introduced Hinduism as the state religion of his kingdom (1717) and changed the name of the kingdom to the Sanskrit Manipur (1724). He changed his royal name from his birth name Pamheipa to the Persianate Gharib Nawaz.
Ningthou Ching-Thang Khomba (1748–1799) was a Meitei monarch of the 18th century CE. The inventor of the Manipuri Raas Leela dance, with his daughter Shija Lailoibi playing as Radha at the first performance, he is a popular figure in Manipur, and much of his actions as King had been mythologized. He is also credited with spreading Vaishnavism in Manipur State after his grandfather Pamheiba made Hinduism the official religion and for creating a unified Manipur.
Chinglen Nongdrenkhomba (1788–1834), also known as Raja Gambhir Singh, was a ruler of the Manipur Kingdom.
Debindro Singh or Devendra Singh or Devendrajit Singh or Debendra Singh was a Manipuri King who ruled in 1850 for a period of only three months at the age of forty-seven. He ended the custom of paying bribes to chiefs to gain land in Manipur. He was the successor to, and brother of Nara Singh, the regent of Gambhir Singh. He was given the title of Raja by the British, but he was unpopular. After only three months Chandrakirti Singh invaded Manipur while Devendra Singh fled to Cachar.
Chourjit Singh, also known as Charajit Singh, was a Meitei King and a Maharaja of Kangleipak, who ruled between 1806 and 1812.
The history of Manipur is reflected by archaeological research, mythology and written history.
Maharaja Surachandra Singh was a Meitei King and a Maharaja of Kangleipak, who ruled between 1886 and 1890. He became the Raja of Manipur in May, 1886 after his father Raja Chandrakirti Singh died.
Maharaja Chandrakirti Singh was a Meitei monarch and the Maharaja of Manipur Kingdom. He was the son of Maharaja Gambhir Singh.
The Kabaw Valley also known as Kubo valley is a highland valley in Myanmar's western Sagaing division, close to the border with India's Manipur. The valley is located between Heerok or Yoma ranges of mountains, which constitute the present day border of Manipur, and the Chindwin River. The valley is home to a number of ethnic groups including the Meitei, the Maring tribe, the Thadou people, Kuki people, the Mizo, the Kadu and the Kanan.
Nara Singh also known as Chingthanglen Pamheiba and Meetingu Lairen Nonglen Sendreng Manik Khomba, was a ruler of the Kingdom of Manipur. He ruled first as regent from 1834 to 1844 and then as king for a period of six years from 1844 to 1850. His subjects called him ‘Eningthou Nungsiba’ or ‘our beloved king’.
The Ningthouja dynasty, also known as Mangang dynasty, comprises the descendants of the kings of Manipur. Ningthouja literally means progeny of King. It has 125 extended families. It was apparently founded by King Nongda Lairen Pakhangba in 33 CE.
The Manipur Kingdom was an ancient independent kingdom at the India–Burma frontier that was in subsidiary alliance with British India from 1824, and became a princely state 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.
Meitei nationalism refers to nationalism among the Meitei people. In the Meitei context this includes various movements throughout history to sustain Meitei cultural identity, political boundary, ethnicity and history to regain sovereign state status of Kangleipak.
The Kohima Stone Inscription or the Gambhir Singh's Stone is a Meitei language stone inscription, erected by Meitei King Raja Gambhir Singh of Manipur kingdom in Kohima, the capital of Nagaland. It was erected in 1833 AD as a mark of Manipuri conquest and supremacy over the Naga Hills in 1832 AD. It was inscribed in sanskritised Manipuri language in Bengali script. Manipuri King Raja Gambhir Singh conquered the whole Naga Hills with his military power of Manipur Levy. It was after he had finally defeated the Angami Nagas of Kohima that the historic testimonial stone inscription was erected.
In Meitei mythology and religion, Kangla Sa, also spelled as Kangla Sha, is a guardian dragon lion. It has a lion's body and a dragon's head, with two horns. It is considered sacred to the Meitei heritage. It is a royal symbol of the Meitei royalties . The most remarkable statues dedicated to "Kangla Sa" stand inside the Kangla.
