Ourselves No Longer Alone
- Part 2 -

L. Memo Singh *

The land-hungry Empire of Burma and its ruler Alompra being the aggressor had motivated Jai Singh to work out long-term strategies for survival of these kingdoms and principalities. Since the socio, cultural, religious and linguistic character and uniqueness of Manipur, Cachar, Tripura, Ahom and the principalities of Nagas and Kukis never belonged to the Burmese civilization, it had appeared to him that Manipur as a kingdom lying adjacent to Burma's border should unavoidably play the pivotal role to keep the strategy that they would get together against the expansionist Burma which was ceaselessly carrying on wars to wipe out neighbouring kingdoms and principalities as a policy of its expansionism process.

He realized that if Alompra and his successors broke through the traditional boundaries of Manipur, the ring of safety around his kingdom would have gone and could never come back. Thus the alternative which had been sure to him was to ring the threat, i.e. Burma and to find security by joining a power-block which was comparable to Burmese power and would not absolve these kingdoms and principalities into its realm. He decided to build up the ring of safety by way of encircling the kingdoms and principalities from Manipur to Tripura through Brahmaputra.

King Jai Singh took the advantage of the clash of the Hindu civilization and the Burmese civilization. He knew it well that the Hindu civilization and culture, in spitedf its manifold shortcomings in social terms was basically secular and non expansionist as it was a non-proselytizing one.

Thus, Jai Singh was prepared to play a more energetic role in maintaining the security of these kingdoms and principalities with the aim to preserve and self guard their self-content civilizations. However, he was firmly determined that Manipur would stand on her own feet although he was seeking alliances with the neighbouring kingdoms and principalities in respect of military requirements and resources to resists the military power and expansionist tendency of Burma. He had strengthened the integration process which was taken up by his predecessors by getting their daughters married to the princes and kings of the neighbouring kingdoms.

Maharaj Garib Niwaz's daughter Haripriya was married to the prince of Cachar. Jai Singh sent valuable presents to the Ahom Raja Rajeshwar Singh and gave him his brother Gourashyam's daughter Kui-anganayani in marriage. Besides, his daughter Hariseswari was married to the Tripura Raja, Rajdhar Manikya in 1798. Maharaj Jai Singh died in 1799 in' Murshidabad in Bengal as the sole 18th century propagator of Krisha Bhakti. He wrote his last letter to the British Government to provide sizable areas of land in Murshidabad.

The long vision of the king Jai Singh was well known to the two great successors, Gambhir Singh and Nara Singh. Both of them belonged to the lineage of the great conqueror, Garib Niwaz. Gambhir Singh came from the lineage of Shyamshai, the eldest son of Garib -Niwaz and Nara Singh belonged to the lineage of Ngoubramshai, one of the sons of the great conqueror. Ngoubramshai and Haripriya were of the same mother.

On the other hand, contrary to the integration process initiated by Jai Singh with the western and north-western kingdoms, Alompra's successor, Burmese ruler Bagidou was carrying on the warring of expansionism of the Burmese Empire. Manipur, Cachar and Assam had sustained defeats at the hands of the Burmese and their peoples retreated across the borders. The deplorable conditions suffered by the people of these kingdoms during the Burmese domination over their territories from 1819 to 1826 were almost the same. The oppressions of the Burmese became more and more unbearable, and no one could be sure of his wealth or reputation, or even of his life.

Not only did they rob everyone who had anything worth taking, but they wantonly burnt down villages, and even temples, violated the chastity of women, old and young alike and slaughtered a vast number of men, women and children. Those who survived had been so harassed by the long continued wars and repeated acts of oppression that they had almost given up cultivation; and lived chiefly on jungle roots and plants; and famine and pestilence carried of thousands that had escaped the sword and captivity.

The Ahom nobles and the great Gosains, with few exceptions had retired to Goalpara, after losing the whole or the bulk of their property, and they were followed by large numbers of the common people. The Manipuri princes fled precipitately towards Cachar and were followed by so large a proportion of the population of the country. Sir Edward Gait reports in his book, 'A History of Assam': No less than thirty thousand Assamese had been taken away as slaves to Burma. And Francis Hamilton in his 'An Account of Assam' reports that 300,000 Manipuris were taken as prisoners to Ava.

In 1822 Mingyi Maha Bandoola had arrived in Assam from Ava with the bulk of his army. He commanded the Burmese forces in Arakan. A great battle took place and in the end the Assamese were defeated with a loss of fifteen hundred men. In 1824 the Burmese invaded Bengal and it led to the dispatch of a British military expedition. In 1826 the British had captured Rangoon and on February 24 of the same year the Yandabo Treaty was executed between the British and the Burmese. This historic treaty had forced the cession of territory in southern Burma and a renunciation of Burmese claims on Assam.

In 1852 there broke out a second Burmese War and the British had annexed the Irrawadi Delta. Finally in 1885 king Thibow of Ava was defeated by a force of 10,000 British and Indian troops, who deported the king and occupied the remainder of Burma. In 1886 Burma became a province of the Indian Empire.

After the execution of the Yandaboo Treaty the Burmese had been finally ejected not only from Assam but from other countries of the North East Frontier, but it still remained to be decided how the countries which they had evacuated should be dealt with. David Scott had already been appointed Agent to the Governor General for the whole eastern frontier from Cachar and Sylhet in the south to the Sikkim country in the North. In accordance with his reports on the positions of different countries, Brahmaputra valley was placed under direct administration of the British as a British Province. Manipur was restored to Gambhir Singh, who had himself been the chief means of driving out the Burmese, and for this and other reasons was considered to have a better claim than either of his brothers. Both the Jaintia Raja and the Cachar Raja were confirmed as native rulers.

Notwithstanding the last breath of David Scott in August 1831, the British was carrying on the policy of gradual annexation of Cachar, Jaintia, Naga hills, Garo hills, Lushai hills and Manipur until 1891. The southern portion of the hills was at first administered by the Bengal Government and the northern by the Chief Commissioner of Assam, but on the 1st April, 1898 the tracts were amalgamated and placed under the Assam Administration. Taking recognition of the advantages to be gained from a sanitarium in the hills, after searching one place after another, a peak known as Shillong was selected for the purpose. The native name for the sack of this town was 'Teddo', but there was another place of this name in Japan, and its founders preferred, therefore, to call it Shillong after the peak which dominated it.

Before the execution of the Treaty of Yandaboo Manipur had already occupied the Kabo valley and defended the Naga hills from the claims of Burma. The British gave no objection to such position of Manipur. But the treaty did not extend to the affairs of Kabo valley and Naga hills. In 1832 Raja Gambhir Singh raided Naga hills but he did not attempt to keep the same under his subjugation. Keeping in view the tendency of expansionism of both the British and the Burmese, the Raja had installed at Kohima a slab of stone whereon his footprint was engraved to display his resistance to the expansionists, which meant the British and the Burmese. The people of the hill territory paid great respect to the slab of stone with the full protection. Recently it has been kept with due care in the Nagaland State Museum at Kohima.

The British had executed a treaty with Gambhir Singh in 1833 and in the treaty it was stipulated: "In the event of anything happening on the eastern frontier of the British territories, the Raja will, when required, assist the British Government with a portion of his troops." In the meantime the dispute between Manipur and Ava regarding Kabo valley was growing to the climax and Raja Gambhir Singh had put forth the matter before the British. In spite of good relation, ultimately the British, on behalf of Manipur, had sponsored to execute an agreement between Manipur and Burma on 9 January 1834 whereby Kabo valley was transferred to Burma. On the same day Raja Gambhir Singh had breathed his last.

Since then the British had started to lead military expeditions into the Naga hills. The hill tracts inhabited by the Nagas had never been subjugated by the Ahoms. Between the years, 1835 and 1851 the British had carried out ten military expeditions in the territory. During the expeditions severe punishment was meted out to the offending hill men.

Now Burma and India have been close friends and companions in their journey through history. Indian independence came in August 1947. Burma followed a few months later. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had pointed out in his speech during his visit in Burma on 15 December, 1987, "In the wake of the uprising of 1857, it was to Burma that the British exiled the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, who was also a poet of renown. Here upon your soil he composed his own epitaph:

Kitna hai badnasib Zafar
Dafn ke liye
Do Gaz zamin bhi na mill
Kuye yaar mein

(How woeful is your fate, oh zafar
that in your own beloved land
you lack two yards of earth to cover
your bones within its sand)

It is this hospitable earth of Burma that gave shelter to the symbol and rallying point of our first war of Independence. When the voice of liberty was again raised in India, our great patriot, Lokmanya Tilak proclaimed:
'Freedom is my birthright and I shall have it.'

The British responded by exiling him to Mandalay for six long years. His spirit remained unbroken and unshaken. He returned to India from Burma more determined than ever to wrest complete Independence for his country from our common colonial masters". On the same occasion Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi presented the manuscripts of General Mahabandoola to his counterpart, the Burmese Prime Minister, Mr. Maung Maung Kha. Rajiv Gandhi had stated in his message:

"I have a pleasant task to perform. On behalf of the people of India, I have the honour to return to the people of Burma the manuscripts of one of your great national heroes, General Mahabandoola. We are also returning the dispatches on palm-leaf from General Maha Mingyi Kyawtin and the Governor of Tamu-Khampat.

General Mahabandoola's march over the Arakan Ranges at the height of the monsoon with over 60,000 troops to go to the rescue of Rangoon was a feat perhaps surpassed only by Hannibal's crossing of the Alps. His loyalty, patriotism and courage made Burma one of the most powerful kingdoms of its time.

For over a century, these manuscripts have been in India. They were taken to Calcutta by the British. They have been preserved by the Victoria Memorial Museum with all the care due to documents of high historical importance. Today, as a token of our friendship for Burma, we restore to you these treasures. We hope the return of these priceless manuscripts will prove as a catalyst for much closer cultural interaction between our two countries. It is only by affirming our common humanity that we keep at bay the forces that seek to divide and destroy."

Apart from the contrary mind in the historical and political structure of Manipur, it is consistent to say that the then frequent wars between Manipur and Burma, climaxed by the loss of Kabo valley to Burma and the bitter memory thereof happen to draw the Manipuris closer together in hurt resentment forever. Raja Gambhi Singh is a sung hero for the Manipuris, whereas General Mingyi Mahabandoola is also a sung hero for the Burmese.

In fact, if we penetrate through the dim mist of nearly four hundred years of Manipur and cultivate our ability to transform the historical memory of the dead past thereof into a living reality, there is no doubt that the entire history of the Eastern Frontier of British India has become more and more an inexhaustible source for the understanding of contemporary historical events relating to the inseparable political fates of Manipur, Tripura, Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.

This view may be argued but it is relieved as T.S. Eliot said, "History is not the pastness of the past but its presence."

Concluded...

---

* L. Memo Singh wrote this article for The Sangai Express
This article was webcasted at e-pao.net on 25 July 2010.

---