Crisis will open door for 'truth' to emerge : CM at Mera Houchongba festival
Indigenes come alive to the spirit of brotherhood
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 28 2023: Mera Houchongba, the age-old festival which keeps alive and strengthens the bond of brotherhood between the indigenous hill people and valley people, was celebrated today at the royal palace and Kangla Uttra with exchange of gifts and pleasantries.

A large number of people led by chiefs and chairmen of many hill villages were accorded a warm reception by titular king and Rajya Sabha Member Leisemba Sanajaoba at the royal palace at 10 this morning.

A large crowd of valley people joined the hill people at the royal palace before they took out a procession up to Kangla Uttra.

The hill people and plain people, all clad in traditional attires, marched hand in hand to the music of Pena and traditional drums, and they were led by the titular king and Maibas and Maibis (priests and priestesses) .

Crisis will open door for 'truth' to emerge : CM at Mera Houchongba festival

At Kangla, Mera Men Tongba and Yenkhong Tamba rituals were held in front of the Ibudhou Pakhangba temple.

There Leisemba Sanajaoba hoisted a lamp (Mera Thaumei) on a bamboo pole which signifies the hill-valley brotherhood.

Later in the afternoon, Chief Minister N Biren, titular king Leisemba Sanajaoba, Ministers, MLAs, village chiefs and chairmen exchanged gifts and pleasantries at Kangla Uttra.

This was followed by an exquisite cultural programme.

Speaking at the function, Chief Minister N Biren stated that Mera Houchongba is one historic festival which is inseparable from Manipuri society.

Biren went on to ask "Who will protect our motherland and who will promote our culture if we do not protect our motherland and promote our culture?" .

Biren said that he put in all efforts to celebrate Mera Houchongba with the grandeur it deserves since he was elected as the Chief Minister of Manipur in 2017 .

After consultation with the royal palace, Lainingthou Sanamahi Temple Board and Govindajee Temple Board, Mera Houchongba was declared a State-level festival and it is now being celebrated as a common festival of both the hill people and the valley people with gaiety and in the spirit of brotherhood, he said.

Mera Houchongba serves as an unmistakable reminder of the common history of hill people and valley people and it also serves as a strong binding force of a united Manipur, he said.

He went on to claim that the distrust which once existed among different communities of the State has now disappeared.

Bandhs and blockades too have been reduced significantly, he added.

After repeated consultation over a period of two years with Sanamahi Temple Board, royal palace, historians and experts, the wedge which was there in the mouth of Kanglasha was removed and the Kangla eastern gate was built over Imphal River, Biren said.

The Kangla eastern gate is the exact replica of its historical version.

It was built by copying from the photographs of its earlier version now available in a London museum, he continued.

There was a general saying/prophecy that the 'truth' would emerge after the Kangla eastern gate is opened.

Now a crisis is besieging the State and this crisis would pave for emergence of the 'truth' and it will also further strengthen the hill-valley bond, Biren stated.

Although there are certain differences between the indigenes and the old hill tribes, it is the responsibility of the Government to protect both the indigenes and the old hill tribes, the Chief Minister said.

He said that the BJP Government launched the Go to Hills and Go to Village missions with the primary objectives of fostering a sense of oneness between hill people and valley people and bringing about uniform development across the State.

Informing that the budgetary allocation for the hill areas was hiked to 45 per cent, the Chief Minister said that the Government had produced a white paper on the budgetary allocation for hill areas in 2021-22 .

He then appealed to both the hill people and the valley people to treat each other with love and respect.

Taking serious note of the adverse impacts of global climate change, the State Government has been working hard to check rampant deforestation and extensive cultivation of poppy in order to protect the environment, Biren said.

He then proposed celebration of Mera Houchongba on a much grander scale with a variety of cultural programmes from next year.

He also suggested expansion of the Mera Houchongba Celebration Committee by inducting distinguished personalities from both the hills and the valley.

Biren then prayed that the Mera Houchongba festival may bring a solution to the protracted crisis and restore peaceful co-existence among all the communities.

Titular king Leisemba Sanajaoba said that the Meitei community always believe in peaceful co-existence, mutual respect and collective development.

Those who are opposed to this inclusive principle cannot be forgiven, he said.

Since the days of Nongda Lairen Pakhangba, Mera Houchongba is celebrated on the full-moon day of the Manipuri calendar month Mera, and this age-old festival never fails to remind the bond of brotherhood shared between hill people and valley people, Leisemba Sanajaoba said.

Works Minister Govindas Konthoujam, RD&PR Minister Yumnam Khemchand, Health & Family Welfare Minister Dr Sapam Ranjan, Social Welfare Minister Heikham Dingo, Education Minister Th Basantakumar, Transport Minister Khashim Vashum, PDA Chairman Lourembam Rameshwor, MLA Sapam Kunjakeswor, MLA Th Shanti, MLA I Nalini, MLA Leishiyo Keishing and Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi were also present at the function.

Later, Chief Minister N Biren presented the Khongleihanba AS Wungnaioyo Zimik Mera Houchongba Award 2023 to DK Mothilphun Maring (81), chief of Konaltong village, Tengnoupal district.