A White Paper on Kangla and Sanamahi faith
- Part 1 -
H Dwijasekhar Sharma *
Apropos Ch Manoranjan Khuman's letter soliciting "white paper" on "Kangla" [(The Sangai Express: Oct 2, 2008: p.2)], some add-ons are offered to pave for a holistic perception of, and lasting decision on, Kangla, based on the requisite (Government) White Paper on the twin issues of Kangla and Sanamahism, because these two embody the intertwined touchstones, values and "glorious heritage" of ancient and medieval Manipur, transcending into future.
1. Intricate Kangla system:
First, a word on the intricate Kangla system. After the British conquest of Manipur in 1891, Kangla, which was referred to as the Manipur Fort, was bounded on the East by the Imphal river and on the West, South and North by the deep moat, and had, as of now, 236.62 acres, excluding the swimming pool area to the south-east corner.
"Inside the brick-walled enclosure were located
- Cheirap (civil court),
- Garot (criminal court),
- Durbar Hall,
- Sagol-sang (cavalry),
- Samu-sang (elephant unit),
- and all other loisangs (offices).
- Kha-thong (southern gateway),
- Nongchup-thong (western gateway),
- Awang-thong (northern gateway), and
- Nongpok-thong (eastern gateway).
Besides these gateways at the entrances, there used to be some other gates: viz.
- Chingsaguthong (Teak-door after Chingsu or teak),
- Sana-thong (Royal Gate),
- Chirai-thong,
- Hogaibit-hong (Chinese gate with parallel brick walls later destroyed during Burmese invasion),
- Lak-thong (Dragon-gate),
- Nupi-thong (female gate)
- etc
This very Sanathong lies to the east of the moat and the parallel road (now known as Indo-Burma road). In fact an area of 20 acres, inside the old Kangla site (one square-mile or 640 acres) north of the Imphal river had been given revenue-free for lifetime to one 'lion-hearted Hafiz' who helped the Britishers with essential supplies" (Manipur Administration Report 1891). Among others, there are yet other archeological evidences of Kangla's defence wall-ruins in the Hafiz Hatta area.
Inside the Kangla there used to be a rectangular late mediaeval period temple of Shri Govindaji made of bricks and Burmese teak rafters with a portico, a sanctum and covered circum-ambulatory path. Some of the floral designs still exist in stucco.
This temple was destroyed by the great earthquake in 1868 A.D but Raja Chandrakirti reconstructed the temple by using the same bricks.
Further R Brown records that in the earthquake at three minutes past five in the evening on the 10th Jan 1869 the Raja's two-storied brick house was destroyed along with the residency during the 'at least one-and-half minute' long 'convulsion':
One need not easily skip the origin of the Meiteis as traced by R Boileau Pemberton in his Report on the Eastern Frontier of British India: 1835:
"Rejecting, as totally unworthy of attention, the Hindoo origin claimed by the Muneepoorees of the present day, we may safely conclude them to be descendents of a Tatar colony, which probably emigrated from the north-west borders of China during the sanguinary conflicts of supremacy, which took place between the different members of the Chinese and Tatar dynasties, in the 12th and 13th and 14th centuries; at which time, there was an extensive kingdom called Pong, occupying the country between the frontiers of Yunan and the hills separating the Kubo valley from Muneepoor."
More or less in line, Prof Gangmumei Kabui and Padmashri N Khelchandra endorse the view that the Pongs (Shans with their capital at Mogaung) entered Manipur in 698 AD (Cheitharol Kumbaba).
* H Dwijasekhar Sharma wrote this article for The Sangai Express . This article was webcasted on October 22, 2008.
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