'Rajbari demolition akin to wiping out history'
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, October 15 2025:
Strongly condemning the demolition of Manipur Rajbari located at Boyce Road, Laitumkhra, Shillong on October 8 and 9, retired Superintendent of Archeology, Government of Manipur Dr Sapam Bheigya has asserted that the demolition of the Manipur Rajbari was an attempt to keep the future generations away from a key historical episode of Manipur.
He pointed out that it was in the Manipur Rajbari, Shillong that Maharaj Bodhchandra signed the Manipur Merger Agreement on October 15, 1949.Dr Sapam Bheigya said that demolition of the Manipur Rajbari cannot be justified.
Talking with The Sangai Express, Dr Sapam Bheigya said that demolition of the Manipur Rajbari was an attempt to erase the fact that there was a monument/archeological site closely associated with the history of Manipur at Shillong.
"I don't know exactly what kind of statutes/Acts the Government of Meghalaya has and I'm not sure whether the Manipur Rajbari was qualified to be declared as an archeological site as per their Acts/statutes.
However, as per the Manipur Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act 1976, the Manipur Rajbari, Shillong was qualified to be classified as a monument and archeological site", the retired Superintendent of Archeology said.
Earlier, a site or a building must be 100 years old before it is declared as a protected site under the Manipur Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act 1976.At the time of the development of the royal palace, the State Archeology office sent a proposal at the advice of then Chief Minister late RK Dorendra.
Subsequently, it was declared that historical sites or monuments which were 75 years old could be protected and preserved, he said.
As the Manipur Rajbari at Shillong was over 80 years old, it could have been declared as a historical monument or archeological site, Dr Sapam Bheigya said.
He decried the State Government's failure to protect the historic building as well as the PDA's failure to seek public opinion before dismantling the building.
Dismantling the building where the king of Manipur signed the Manipur Merger Agreement on the pretext that the building was dilapidated and about to collapse is unacceptable, he said.
He pointed out that both the months of September and October are quite significant in the history of Manipur because it was on September 21, 1949 that the Manipur Merger Agreement was signed before the same agreement came into effect from October 15 the same year.
All the dismantled components and materials must be kept safely for each post, beam etc are elements of history, he said.
Earlier when the Shree Shree Govindajee Temple, a heritage site located inside Kangla collapsed, the temple was restored and many of the old components/materials were used in the restoration work.
Even the mortar was made of pulverised bricks and lime (surki) in restoring the temple made of bricks.
The wooden portions were also restored after detailed study using the same types of wood, Dr Sapam Bheigya said.
In another instance, some portions of the brick wall inside Kangla collapsed, the original construction materials were identified and the collapsed portions of the wall were restored using the same materials, he said.
All these monuments and archeological sites were restored/ rebuilt in accordance with the advice of experts from the School of Planning and Architecture based at New Delhi, he said.
Generally restoration of historical monuments and archeological sites are done by the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) which is recognised by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) .
If a historical monument or archeological site is highly dilapidated and needs restoration, the State Government may repair/restore in consultation with the Archeological Survey of India but the Government should invite public opinion before embarking on the restoration work, Sapam Bheigya said.
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