| Jubilation as Manmohan hands over historic Kangla Fort |
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Hundreds of people in India’s troubled northeastern state of Manipur shed tears of joy as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday formally handed over to the local government the historic Kangla Fort, a symbol of Manipuri culture and pride.
Hundreds of people in India’s troubled northeastern state of Manipur shed tears of joy as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday formally handed over to the local government the historic Kangla Fort, a symbol of Manipuri culture and pride.
The fort, headquarters of the paramilitary Assam Rifles, was the palace of Manipuri royalty when in 1891 the British forces defeated the local king and converted it into a garrison.
This is indeed a historic day for all of us as from today Kangla Fort will come under the direct control of the people and the government of Manipur, the prime minister said while addressing a public rally in Imphal to mark the handing over of the fort.
The fort is a symbol of Manipur’s spiritual and religious traditions and is a revered pilgrimage site, Manmohan Singh added.
Assam Rifles Director General Lt. Gen. Bhupinder Singh handed over the keys of the fort to Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh in the presence of the prime minister.
As the keys were handed over, people waved Indian flags and embraced one another, most choked with emotion.
The meeting was well attended despite a rebel shutdown called to boycott the prime minister’s visit.
I don’t have any words...it is a historic moment, something like attaining independence from the yoke of some colonial rule, Tombi Singh, a retired government official, told IANS.
Considering its importance, the government of India has decided to pass on the fort’s ownership rights to the people and government of Manipur, the prime minister said.
According to recorded history, it was in 33 AD that the coronation of the first Manipuri king, Nongda Lairen Pakhangba, took place at Kangla Fort, which is considered a sacred place by the majority Meitei community in a state of 2.4 million people.
Since then the fort had been the citadel of power for Manipur’s royalty until the advent of the British.
For more than 50 years until India attained independence from Britain in 1947, the fort had been the nerve centre of British dominance in the region.
After the British left, the sanctity of the fort was not restored. It was simply a change of guards with Indian soldiers taking over the fort from the British, said Nanda Singh, a local historian.
According to legend, there are some 108 scared worship places inside the fort, where local Meiteis performed rituals annually or auspicious days.
In Kangla, the history of Manipur is embedded and through this, you can trace the socio-religious roots and the identity of the Meiteis, P.S. Singh, Manipur’s art and culture minister, said.
During the past century, locals wishing to perform annual rituals inside the fort had to seek the permission of the authorities to enter.
People were greatly hurt when one needed to obtain written permission and beg with the army authorities to allow us to pray inside the fort, lamented Champa Devi, an elderly woman.
The fort, in the recent past, was the focal point for growing discontent in Manipur. In July a group of angry women disrobed in front of the fort to protest the killing of a 32-year-old woman while in military custody.
Although the prime minister handed over the fort to the Manipur government, the Assam Rifles authorities have sought a few days’ time to shift all their assets.
We are planning to convert the fort into a national archaeological site and preserve it for posterity, the chief minister said.
--Indo-Asian News Service
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