Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called Kavya. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which were originally composed in Sanskrit and later translated into many other Indian languages, and the Five Great Epics of Tamil literature and Sangam literature are some of the oldest surviving epic poems ever written.
Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India has 22 officially recognised languages. Sahitya Akademi, India's highest literary body, also has 24 recognised literary languages.
Meitei also known as Manipuri, is a Tibeto-Burman language of northeast India. It is the official language and the lingua franca of Manipur and an additional official language in four districts of Assam. It is one of the constitutionally scheduled official languages of the Indian Republic. Meitei is the most widely-spoken Tibeto-Burman language of India and the third most widely spoken language of northeast India after Assamese and Bengali. There are 1.76 million Meitei native speakers in India according to the 2011 census, 1.52 million of whom are found in the state of Manipur, where they represent the majority of its population. There are smaller communities in neighbouring Indian states, such as Assam (168,000), Tripura (24,000), Nagaland (9,500), and elsewhere in the country (37,500). The language is also spoken by smaller groups in neighbouring Myanmar and Bangladesh.
The Meitei people, also known as Meetei, Manipuri people, is an ethnic group native to Manipur. They form the largest and dominant ethnic group of Manipur in Northeast India. They speak the Meitei language, one of the 22 official languages of the Republic of India and the sole official language of Government of Manipur. The Meiteis primarily settled in the Imphal Valley region in modern-day Manipur, though a sizeable population has settled in the other Indian states of Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram. There is also a notable presence of Meitei people in the neighbouring countries of Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Meitei ethnic group represents about 53% of Manipur's population.
Nongthombam Biren Singh is an Indian politician, former footballer and journalist who is currently serving as the 12th Chief Minister of Manipur since 2017, in addition to representing the Heingang Assembly constituency in the Manipur Legislative Assembly since 2002. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Besides being the chairman of Shri Shri Govindaji Temple Board, he is the first incumbent Chief Minister who serves as the president of the Lainingthou Sanamahi Temple Board (LSTB), the temple development board of Lainingthou Sanamahi of the Sanamahi religion since 2021.
Meitei literature, also known as Manipuri literature, is literature written in the Meitei language of Manipur. An ancient institution of learning, the Luwang Nonghumsang, later known as the Pandit Loishang, collected sources of indigenous Meitei knowledge and philosophy until the 18th century. Writing by Meiteis is assumed to go back to the Kingdom of Kangleipak in the early 12th century. The Meitei script is a Brahmic abugida. It is known only from the Puya manuscripts discovered in the first half of the 20th century. Manuscripts of the 18th and 19th centuries were written using the Bengali alphabet. The existence of the Meitei script in the 15th-century hinges on the authenticity of an inscription dated to the reign of Senbi Kiyamba. The first printed Manipuri book, Manipurer Itihas, appeared in 1890 from the Baptist Mission Press, Calcutta. Though the kings of Manipur had established contact with the British from the middle of the eighteenth century onward the real impact of the contact came much later. Johnstone Middle English School, based on the western system of education, was started in 1885 at Imphal, and in 1891 Manipur lost its independence to the British. British domination facilitated the introduction of new systems in the civil, political and educational spheres, which hastened the process of modernization in Manipur, exposed as it was to new ideas and influences.
Padma Shri Ashangbam Minaketan Singh is regarded as one of the founders of modern Manipuri literature. He was born as the only child to Ashangbam Jivan Singh and Medhabati Devi on 2 May 1906. His grandfather Ashang Kut, also known as Ashangbam Phura Hongba, served as an Officer in The Maharaja of Manipur's army. In March 1891 he played a part in the assassination of British officials and was thereby sentenced for transportation on charge of murder. He was sentenced twenty five years of life imprisonment at Kalapani Jail, which is located in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India.
Khwairakpam Chaoba Singh l was a poet, essayist, prose-writer and novelist. He was born in 1895 in Uripok Sorbon Thingen leikai, Imphal.He was influenced by Sanskrit tradition and is regarded as one of the best-known writers of modern Meitei literature. He founded the Manipuri Sahitya Sammelini of Meitei literature along with Dr. Lamabam Kamal Singh, Hijam Irabot and Hijam Anganghal.
Khumanthem Ningol Nameirakpam Ongbi Ibemni Devi was an Indian singer of traditional music, known for her expertise in the Khongjom Praba genre of Manipuri music. The Government of India honoured Ibemni Devi in 2012, with the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri.
Elangbam Nilakanta Singh (1927-2000) was an Indian poet and critic, considered by many as one of the pioneers of modern Meitei literature. A recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1987, Nilakanta Singh was honored by the Government of India, in 2000, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
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.
The Khamba Thoibi Sheireng, also spelled as the Khamba Thoibi Seireng, is a Classical Meitei language epic poem based on the ancient love story of Khuman prince Khamba and Moirang princess Thoibi of Ancient Moirang kingdom of Ancient Kangleipak. It is the magnum opus of Hijam Anganghal, the "Bard of Samurou". It is regarded as the national epic of the Manipuris. It is regarded as the greatest of all the epic poems in Meitei literature, with 39,000 verses, thereby being the third longest Indian epic poem, next to the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
Numit Kappa is an ancient Meitei language mythological epic literary work. The work is believed to be written around or before 33 AD. It is written in the form of partial poetry and partial prose.
Manipuri Language Day, is an annual celebration of the Manipuri (Meitei) language in India and Bangladesh on 20 August. It is the day in 1992 on which Manipuri was added to the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India, making it one of the official languages of India.
Meitei Chanu is a Meitei language poem by Lamabam Kamal. It was first published in a magazine, with the same name, called Meitei Chanu (magazine) in the year 1924. It was republished in the author's book of his collection of poems called "Lei Pareng" in the year 1929. Its central theme is the reconfiguration of the identity of the Meitei people. The poem bountifully reflects the poet's love of his motherland and its heritage.
The ancient legend of Khuyol Haoba and Yaithing Konu is one of the epic cycles of incarnations of Meitei mythology and folklore, that is originated from Moirang kingdom of Ancient Kangleipak. It concerns the fateful love of Khuyol Haoba, an orphan man, for the beautiful Yaithing Konu. Khuyol Haoba was the son of late Khundouremba, a court official of Moirang. Yaithing Konu was the daughter of Luwang Huiningsumba, an influential nobleman of Moirang.
The ancient legend of Kadeng Thangjahanba and Tonu Laijinglembi is an epic cycle of incarnations of Meitei mythology and folklore from Moirang kingdom of Ancient Kangleipak. It concerns the fateful love of Kadeng Thangjahanba, a skilled blacksmith, for the beautiful Tonu Laijinglembi.
The ancient legend of Khamba and Thoibi is a classic, as well as one of the epic cycles of incarnations of Meitei mythology and folklore, that is originated from Ancient Moirang kingdom of Ancient Kangleipak . It is referred to as the "national romantic legend of Manipur" by Indian scholar Suniti Kumar Chatterjee.
Khamba Thoibi Jagoi, also known as Khamba Thoibi classical dance or Khamba Thoibi ballet, is a traditional Meitei ritualistic and theatrical classical dance form, which is usually enacted as a part and parcel of the Lai Haraoba performances, dedicated to God Thangching, the national deity of Ancient Moirang realm. Notably, it is one of the cultural elements, giving inspirations to the development of the Manipuri Raas Leela classical dance drama form.
The cultural heritages of Meitei civilization has classicism in diverse traditions of cinemas, dances, language, literature, music, theatre, etc.
