CorCom greets on Nupi Lan anniv
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, December 11 2016:
The Coordination Committee (CorCom) has greeted all the people of Manipur on the 77th anniversary of Nupi Lan (December 12) .
Recalling the legacy of the first Nupi Lan of 1904, a statement issued by CorCom asserted that Manipuri women started donning the roles of vanguards on both political and economic fronts as male population was severely depleted in the aftermath of the war fought against Ava (Myanmar) in 1817 and the Anglo-Manipur war of 1891 .
The first Nupi Lan of 1904 led to abolition of forced labour system which was imposed upon Manipuri people by British colonial rulers.
It was a strong civil movement against British Political Agent Maxwell.
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The second Nupi Lan of 1939 was a mass struggle of Manipuri women against economic exploitation of Manipur by British colonial rulers and their comprador business class. Womenfolk launched protests against export of rice from Manipur as large scale export led to severe shortage of food grain to such an extent that the people faced famine-like situation although it was harvest season.
On December 12, 1939 a large number of Manipuri women came out and challenged the colonial regime's policy of exporting rice.
They surrounded the State Durbar and took Durbar President Sharp to the Telegraph Office where he was forced to communicate with the king who was then at Nabadwip.
Even as Assam Rifles personnel unleashed violence against the unarmed women in their efforts to drive away the protesters, the brave mothers refused to budge saying that they would not go back until the king issued an order to ban export of rice from Manipur.
On December 14, 1939, it was conveyed to the women protesters that the king had issued an order thereby banning export of rice from Manipur with immediate effect.
Lamyanba Hijam Irabot, L Kanhai and T Ibotombi supported the women's mass movement.
But Irabot was arrested on January 9, 1940 and imprisoned for speaking against the British colonial rule and the feudal system.
Nonetheless, L Kanhai continued to lend support to the women's movement and he effectively mobilised the movement into the form of a mass civil disobedience movement against feudal dues and taxes, CorCom conveyed.
It was the Manipur Praja Sangha which first commemorated the Nupi Lan on December 12, 1946 at Damudar Paul ground, Keishamthong.
Both the Nupi Lans continue to be source of inspiration for the revolutionaries fighting to restore Manipur's sovereignty, it said.
It further called upon all the womenfolk of Manipur (Kangleipak) to face all the contemporary socio-political and economic challenges collectively and make Nupi Lan anniversary observation meaningful.