State pays rich tributes to patriots
Disunity only leads to downfall, says Governor
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, August 13 2022:
The Patriots' Day was observed today all over the State and beyond and rich tributes were paid to all the patriots and martyrs who fought valiantly against British imperialism.
The main function was graced by Governor La Ganesan and Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren as chief guest and president respectively.
In the morning, a large number of people led by the Governor and the Chief Minister offered floral tributes at Hicham Yaicham Pat and the Thangal Memorial located at Palace Compound.
In the afternoon.
La Ganesan and N Biren led the people from the western gate of Kangla Fort to Kangla Uttra where they paid tributes to the martyrs and patriots.
From there, they went to the Sahid Minar, BT Park where they again paid floral tributes.
There, a contingent of Manipur Rifles gave guard of honour to Yubaraj Tikendrajit, Thangal General and other patriots.
Floral tributes were also paid at the memorial of those heroes/patriots who were exiled to Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Kalapani) in 1891.Both the Governor and the Chief Minister then attended a public gathering held at BT Park in commemoration of the Patriots' Day.
Speaking at the gathering.
Governor La Ganesan said, "We are gathered here to remember and pay our respects to those patriots who sacrificed their lives for the motherland against British imperialism in 1891".Even though Manipur was defeated in the Anglo-Manipur War 1891, Manipuri people showed their valour and will in all the battles they fought against the mighty British empire, he said.
The Manipuri people demonstrated before the whole world that freedom is more valuable than life, the Governor remarked.
After the war, five people were hung to death and 22 others including Maharaj Kullachandra were exiled.
Yuvaraj Tikendrajit and Thangal General were hung to death on August 13, 1891 at the spot where the Sahid Minar stands today.
Pukhrambam Kajao, Niranjan Subedar and Chirai Naga were hung to death on May 25, June 8 and October 13 of 1891 inside prison.
"Today we remember all those heroes and patriots, both known and unknown, who fought and sacrificed everything to protect the independence of their motherland", La Ganesan said.
If one looks back to the history, it is very clear that disunity among princes paved way for British occupation of Manipur, he said.
"We cannot manipulate history but we can definitely learn from history that disunity and disagreement only lead to downfall", the Governor said.
Manipur won back its independence in 1947 and it was merged into the Indian Union on October 15, 1949."We should always protect our freedom which was won after years of hard struggle", La Ganesan said.
Chief Minister N Biren stated that August 13 is the most significant and memorable day in the history of Manipur.
The valour showed by those heroes/patriots 131 years back and the sacrifices they made should never be forgotten but most people except for a few aged people are not aware of the stories and sagas of those heroes, Biren remarked.
Giving a brief account of some major historical events, the Chief Minister said that those events occurred in sequential order due to disunity among the Manipuri people.
"Our forefathers had a strong belief that death is preferable than a live of bondage and we ought to follow in their footsteps", Biren said.
As the saying goes 'Rome was not built in a day', building a country cannot be accomplished within a short period, he said.
Manipur was built after unifying a number of communities and villages and India was built after unifying a number of small States, he asserted.
"We should not listen to those people who have been scheming to disintegrate the State/country in pursuit of their own selfish and sectarian interests", the Chief Minister stated.
He then called upon all the people to work collectively to build a united Manipur and a united India.
He also appealed to all the communities to respect each other and promote the idea of peaceful co-existence and collective development.
Manipur Legislative Assembly Speaker Th Satyabrata, Ministers, MLAs, the Chief Secretary, the DGP, top ranking civil and police officials too attended the Patriots' Day observation.
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