Ojha Sanajaoba memorial lecture : Significance of State's complete history stressed
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 30 2017: Maintaining that people in the State face, an insinuation of a forceful attempt to wipe out the long history of Manipur in the prevailing society, eminent scholar and retired Professor Arambam Lokendro underscored the need to learn and study the complete history of Manipur.

He was delivering his speech as the speaker at the Ojha Sanajaoba Memorial Lecture -VII on the theme "Manipur of a People: Praxis and Prudence" organised by the Ojha Sanajaoba Memorial Trust (OSMT) on the 72nd birth anniversary of late Ojha Professor N Sanajaoba at Lamyanba Shanglen, Konung Mamang, Imphal.

The retired professor further said that out of the round about 36 indigenous communities in the State, there is an integration of many smaller ethnic communities under the name of a major community called the Naga tribe either forcefully or voluntarily.

Ojha Sanajaoba memorial lecture : Significance of State's complete history stressed

With this integration, there emerged a history that claims that the integrated Naga community lost their independence when the British Empire colonised them and has never been under the control of any regime/power.

"As we do not discuss the broad history of Manipur in schools and colleges, the Manipuri society at present face such a big challenge", Lokendra noted.

He further pointed out that the Manipuri society was also struggling with the deteriorating effects of the influx of immigrants and the resulting attack on the State's economy and resources.

The present society is becoming more complex with further deterioration of social structures.

But the public needs to know the idea that the ethnic communities have been residing for ages in the State as brothers with Manipuri language as their common language and the communities have been living together under this concept only, he added.

Lauding the role taken by late Ojha Sanajaoba in the Manipuri society while he was alive, Lokendra highlighted that Sanajaoba as a scholar wrote many books and articles that emphasized on the socio-political and economic aspects of Manipur and its contemporariness He mentioned that in the write-ups of Sanajaoba, the late professor asked many critical and far-sighted questions and also prepared some of the answers too.

Delivering his speech, the chief guest speech of the function, Vice Chancellor of the Central Agriculture University (CAU), Imphal Professor M Premjit pointed out that Sanajaoba kept a vision on sustainable economy through improvement in the agricultural sector.

Prof Premjit said that the late Professor also wrote about ethnic contradictions in one of his books.

The function was also attended by professor N Rajmuhon, president, OSMT and Dean, School of Mathematical & Physical Sciences, MU, Professor Ksh Bimola, Department of Political Science, MU and Professor K Ibo, Guest Faculty, Department of Political Science, MU as the president and presidium members respectively.