History of Manipur

Manipur came under British rule as a princely state in 1891. British rule ended the independent status of the Kingdom which was the last kingdom to be incorporated into British India.

During the Second World War, Manipur was the scene of many fierce battles between the Japanese and Allied forces. The Japanese were beaten back before they could enter Imphal and this proved to be one of the turning points of the War.

After the Second World War, the Manipur Constitution Act, 1947, established a democratic form of government with the Maharaja as the Executive Head and an elected legislature. In 1949, King Prabodhchandra was summoned to Shillong, capital of the Indian province of Assam. He signed a Treaty of Accession merging the kingdom into India . The legislative assembly was dissolved on the integration of the state with the republic of India in October, 1949. Manipur was a union territory from 1956 and later became a full-fledged state in 1972.

Maharaja Bhagyachandra (1762 - 1798 A.D.), was the ruler of Manipur and had to fight off the Burmese many times. The inventor of the Ras Lila dance, he is a legendary figure in Manipur.He is also credited with spreading Vaishnavism in Manipur after his grandfather Pamheiba Rajah made Hinduism the official religion and for creating a unified Manipur.