WHEN WAS THE MANIPUR STATE FORMED 

Manipur is situated in the far easternmost corner of India bordering Myanmar, surrounded by hills with an oval shaped plain at the centre.  It extends its geographical area 23.83⁰N to 25.68⁰N Latitude and 93.03⁰E to 94.78⁰E Longitude. The State is surrounded by Assam in the west, Nagaland in the north, Myanmar in the east and south east and Mizoram in the south west.

Manipur was a Princely State ruled by different Kings since time immemorial. The state came under the British Rule after the defeat in the Anglo-Manipuri War of 1891, where a war broke out between two allies, the British and the Manipuris after a strained relationship developed between the two parties on account of the murder of five British officers. The state became one of the constituents of India after India became Independent on October 1949 and became a full-fledged State on 21^st January 1975.

The local people gratefully call Manipur as “Sana Leibak” meaning land of gold. It is surrounded by ranges of hills and forests laded with Indian rubber, nagesar, tan, oak, jurul, ash, teak and palm on all sides and streams and lakes that are filled with lotus flowers. It is home to the brow-antlered deer or Sangai, exotic orchids with over 500 varieties of them and exquisite natural beauty. Its exquisite natural beauty was once opined by Late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as the “Jewel of India”.  Lord Irwin, the then Indian Viceroy called Manipur as “The Switzerland of India.”

HISTORY

The history of Manipur has recorded dates back to 33 AD with the Meitei kingdom, survived until Burmese generals invaded the region. In 1891 Manipur came under British rule, and survived as a princely state until 1947, after which it was merged with the Indian Union on October 15, 1949. It gained complete statehood as part of the Indian Republic in 1972.

The Manipur Constitution Act, 1947, established a democratic form of government with the Maharajah as the Executive Head and a legislature constituted by election on adult franchise. The Legislative Assembly so constituted functioned till it was dissolved on the integration of the state with the Dominion of India in October, 1949. Then it was governed as Chief Commissioner's Province and then as a Part 'C' State under the Indian Constitution with effect from 26-1-1950. In 1950-51 an advisory form of popular government was introduced and in 1957 this was replaced by a Territorial Council of 30 elected and 2 nominated members. In 1963, a legislative assembly of 30 elected and 3 nominated members was established. After it achieved full statehood on 21^st January 1972 the State Legislative Assembly was constituted with 60 members where 20 were reserved for Scheduled Tribe and 1 for Scheduled Caste. The state represented 2 members in the Lok Sabha with each from the Outer Manipur and Inner Manipur Constituencies and only one member for the Rajya Sabha.

AT A GLANCE

Area	22327 sq.km
Capital	Imphal
Population	22,93,896
State Emblem	Kangla Sha
State Bird	Nongyeen
State Animal	Sangai
State Flower	Siroi Lily
State Game	Polo (Sagol Kangjei)
State Language	Manipuri
Density of population	82
Literacy Rate	68.87%

DISTRICTS

Manipur consists of nine districts:

Bishnupur

Chandel

Churachandpur

Imphal-East

Imphal West

Senapati

Tamenglong

Thoubal

Ukhrul