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2023 Vol. VI Issue-I

V Issue-2 ISSN 2581-9917

Identity Crisis of the Bishnupriya Manipuri

Ethnic Hindu Community

Manoshi Sinha*

There are around 7000 languages in the world out of which 50-90% is predicted to
be extinct by the end of the 21st century.[1] TRT World magazine cites a survey by
Australian National University (ANU) to report that around half of the 7000 languages
are currently endangered with 1500 languages deemed to be probably extinct in another
80 years. While Articles 344(1) and 351 of Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of
India recognises 22 languages, the lingua franca enlisted in the 2001 Census of India
includes 122 major and an additional 1599. According to the People's Linguistic Survey
of India (PLSI) conducted by Bhasha Research and Publication Centre over a period of
two years starting from 2010, there are 780 languages in India, which also includes
dying dialects. A Times of India report dated Aug 9, 2013 cites the survey by Bhasha
Research and Publication Centre of the extinction of 220 languages in India in the last
50 years.

Suzanne Romaine, an American linguist who was professor at Oxford University,

rightly writes, “…diversity is at risk when languages become extinct because languages
are a critical vector for cultural diversity… Protecting cultural and linguistic diversity
means ensuring their continued existence.”[2] Romaine’s analysis holds true for many
languages which are in the verge of extinction or facing an identity crisis due to lack
of recognition in the Indian context in particular and the world framework in general.

The present analysis centres on the identity crisis of the Bishnupriya Manipuri
ethnic Hindu minority community and language. The 8th Schedule to the Constitution
of India recognizes Manipuri as one of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic;
this language is Meitei, which is also the official language of Manipur. There are two

* Author of bestselling History book series Saffron Swords,

Founder editor of www.muindiamyglory.com,
History & Ancient Temples Researcher

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sections of Manipuris – Meitei, which is the majority and Bishnupriya Manipuri, a

minority. As recorded in census.gov.in for 2011, there are 1,522,132 Meitei speaking
people in Manipur with an all-India count of 1,760,913. Though there are around 2,00,000
Bishnupriya Manipuris in Manipur, only a few thousands speak their native mother
tongue; lingua franca of the majority is Meitei. However, the 2011 Census records the
number of Bishnupriya Manipuris in India at 74069 and Manipur at only 284, which
corroborate the fact that this language is dying. If not protected and recognized, this
language will face extinction in a few decades.

George Abraham Grierson, a linguist in British India, was appointed as superintendent

of the Linguistic Survey of India in 1898. He conducted a survey, documenting spoken
languages across the country, the reports of which were published in The Linguistic
Survey of India in 19 volumes. Grierson wrote thus about the Bishnupriya Manipuris,
identified as Mayangs or Kalachais or Kalisa, in The Linguistic Survey of India, Vol
5, Part I, “In Manipur, and in isolated villages in Sylhet and Cachar where there are
settlements of Manipuris, the Mayangs speak a mongrel form of Assamese, called
by the name of the tribe. There are said to be about a thousand of these people in
Manipur, while the number in Sylhet and Cachar is estimated at 22,500.”[3] Grierson
writes further, “Except for their language the Mayangs are indistinguishable from the
general Manipuri population. All of them can speak Meithei. They are also known as
Bishnupuriya Manipuris or as Kalisa Manipuris and are said to be considerable numerous
among the Manipuri population of Cachar and Sylhet…”[4] To quote Grierson further,
“In the Manipur State, the headquarters of Mayang are two or three plains villages near
Bishunpur (locally known as Lamandong), 18 miles to the south-west of Imphal.”[5]

This survey by Grierson was published in 1903, which suggest that by 1903, in
Cachar district of Assam and Sylhet, now in Bangladesh, the Bishnupriya Manipuris
constituted 22,500. In Manipur, Bishnupriya Manipuri speaking people constituted
1000 in numbers though this number is not exhaustive, as over time, after the Burmese
aggressions in 18th-19th centuries in addition to internal conflicts, the Bishnupriya
Manipuris ceased speaking in their original language and adopted Meitei in their
homeland. Ironically, a correct census data of the Bishnupriya Manipuris is lacking in
Manipur in particular and India in general.

Madhav Singh, Block Level Officer (BLO) for the upcoming census records, Jiribum,
Manipur, wrote to me, “Total Bishnupriya Manipuri speaking people in Jiribam District
of Manipur are 2826. In other districts like Bishnupur, Thoubal, and other areas of

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Manipur, there are many Bishnupriya Manipuris, who speak Meitei language. In number,
they exceed two lakhs.”

The Manipuris have a cultural continuity from pre-Mahabharata times. Both the Meiteis
and Bishnupriyas trace their ancestry to Babruvahana, the son of Kuru prince Arjuna
and Manipuri princess Chitrangada. The Adi Parva of the Mahabharata describes about
Prabhanjana as one of the oldest ancestors of Raja Chitravahana, the king of Manipur.
By the boon of Shiva, each generation starting from
Prabhanjana, bore one son. Raja Chitravahana begot
a daughter Chitrangada; he initiated her as Putrika.
Kuru king Arjuna married Chitrangada. Their son
was Babruvahana, who became the king of Manipur
after Chitravahana’s death. As per Meitei traditions,
Baburvahana had a son named Pakhangba. The
Khumal Purana describes the first five generations
of the complete lineage from Arjuna and Chitrangada
and then chronicles the rulers from Khumal (son
of Pakhangba) starting from the 6th generation.
Khumal started the Khumal dynasty after dividing
his kingdom into five principalities ruled by five
descendants of Babruvahana viz. Moirang, Angom,
Luwang, Mangong (all brothers of father of Khumal,
Picture credit Manomi Sinha Rupai
Siding, Tinsukis, Assam Pakhangba) and Khumal himself. There are, thus,
five main clans among the Bishnupriya Manipuris
called the Pancha Bishnupriyas. The Meitheis by Hodson, who cites the royal chronicles
and other traditional historical accounts of Manipur, presents an incomplete and short
genealogical account of the ancestors of Manipuri princess Chitrangada, starting from
God Brahma till Babruvahana to Pakhangba.[6] The Meiteis worship Pakhangba as an
ancestral deity. The Bishnupriya Manipuris worship Khumal, also known as Apokpa,
as their ancestral deity or Kuladevata. The Khumal Purana describes Khumal as a
manifestation of God Shiva.

There has been a controversy that the Manipur of Mahabharata is located in present
Odisha. But this is a distorted narrative that has been created to destroy the ethnic
identity of the descendants of Babruvahana, the king of Manipur. At present Manipur,
there are traces of the continuation of a 5000 plus-year-old cultural and civilizational
legacy being carried forward since the time of Babruvahana, which is substantiated by

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several historical documents. The Mahabharata, Jaimini Ashwamedha, royal chronicles

of Burma, Tungkhungia Buranji and several more ancient and medieval historical
chronicles depict Manipur as located in the northeast.

On the Meiteis and Bishnupriyas, KP Sinha writes in The Bishnupriya Manipuri

Language, “…these two sections of people have a common stock of culture; their kirtana,
dance, music, dress, etc.—all are of the same type.”[7] It is the language that is the key
distinguishing factor between the Meitei and Bishnupriya Manipuris. To further quote
KP Sinha, “The Meiteis call their language 'Meitei’ or 'Manipuri’. This language, being the
state-language of Manipur, is now called simply ‘Manipuri’. Formerly, the Bishnupriyas
used to call their, language simply ‘Manipuri’ but now with a view to distinguishing it
from Meitei, they call it 'Bishnupriya Manipuri’.”[8] The Bishnupriya Manipuri language
has lexes majorly from Sanskrit, Meitei, Assamese, Oriya, and Bengali. There are certain
similarities between Meitei and Bishnupriya Manipuri lexicons.

The Khumal Purana describes how in the 18th century, during the rule of Pamheiba
(Gharib Nawaz), Vaishnavite saint Shantidas Adhikari, also called Shantadas Goswami,
named the Khumal clan of Manipuris as Bishnupriyas, because they believed in Vishnu
as the Supreme Deity.[9] Shantadas initiated the existing Hindus of Manipur to follow
a proper ritualistic tradition of worshipping Vishnu. For the initiation, they were to
undergo certain rituals like performing penance and taking a holy dip at the Nongkhrang
Tank. Many Manipuris, especially the Khumals, refused to take a bath at the sacred
tank. They were thus initiated without observing the said rituals. A division arose
within the community between two groups – those who took a dip in the tank and
those who did not, before the initiation. The division only widened with time. Pundit
Nabakhendra wrote thus in the Khumal Purana, “Thus even the descendants of the
same parents were divided into two groups. One group was known as Bishnupriyas and
the other group as Meiteis.”[10]

There are several sub-clans including the main clans (Pancha Bishnupriyas) called
lokeis in the Bishnupriya Manipuri community divided according to the gotras. People
from the same lokeis are called sakeis. Marriage within the same gotra and sub-clan is
prohibited. Gotras amongst both the Meiteis and the Bishnupriyas in particular and all
Hindus in general are in the names of Rishis namely, Shandilya, Atreya, Bharadwaja,
Angarasya, Baiyagra Padya, Kashyapa, Maudgalya, Kaushik, and more.

Dils Lakshmindra Sinha, Author, Researcher, Socio-cultural Activist, Govt Literary

Pensioner and President, Nikhil Bishnupriya Manipuri Sahitya Parishad, Assam wrote

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thus about the identity crisis of the Bishnupriya Manipuris, “The total population of the
Bishnupriya Manipuris are estimated to be of more than 4 lacs throughout the globe.
Two lacs of Bishnupriya Manipuri population in Manipur area cannot speak their own
language but ethnically they identify themselves as Bishnupriyas….. the Bishnupriya
Manipuri language is enlisted as endangered language by the UNESCO. Here, I would
like to draw the attention of the international community to come forward to protect
this language and unique culture from extinction.”

Note: This piece along with a detailed history of Manipur from pre-Mahabharata
times to the present turmoil is elaborated in three sections in the upcoming book under
Garuda Prakashan banner - The Manipur Conundrum: History. Exodus. Conversion. by
Manoshi Sinha, Dr Ankita Dutta, and Vladimir Adityanath.

Key Ref:
[1] The Global Extinction of Languages and Its Consequences for Cultural Diversity,
Suzanne Romaine, in Cultural and Linguistic Minorities in the Russian Federation
and the European Union, eds. HF Marten et al, Multilingual Education 13, DOI
10.1007/978-3-319-10455-3_2, Springer International Publishing Switzerland
2015, p-31.

[2] Ibid, p-43.

[3] Linguistic Survey of India, Vol 5, Part I, GA Grierson, Office of the Superintendant,
Govt Printing, 1903, p-394.

[4],[5] Ibid, p-419.

[6] The Meitheis, TC Hodson, Govt of Eastern Bengal and Assam, London David
Nutt, 1908, p-5.

[7],[8] The Bishnupriya Manipuri Language, KP Sinha, Dept of Sanskrit, Guwahati

University, Phirma KLM Pvt Ltd., 1960, p-1.

[9],[10]Khumal Purana, A Short Ancient History of the Khumals in the Manipur Valley,
Pandit Nabakhendra (18th century royal court scholar), translation, Nabadwip
Singha, De Quality Printers, 1983, p-65.

****

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