History of 21st September – The Manipur Story
Explore the fascinating events from the history of 21st September, including Julius Caesar’s triumph, the fall of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the story of Manipur’s merger into India, and more. From ancient conquests to modern discoveries, uncover the historical milestones that shaped this day.
Ah, the Gauls! As a child, devouring Asterix comics, I was utterly convinced that the Gauls were nothing more than a playful figment of the imagination. It wasn’t until I reached the grand age of 15, in my 10th standard, that I stumbled upon a nugget of history which revealed that Julius Caesar had, in fact, occupied Gaul. Imagine my surprise! And today, as I sit here penning the history of 21st September, I’m reminded that it was on this very day in 46 BCE when Julius Caesar held the first of four grand triumphal parades through the streets of Rome—celebrating his conquests of Gaul, Egypt, Pontus, and Africa. Poor old Vercingetorix, the leader of the Gauls, was dragged along in chains, bless him. If only that magic potion from the comics had been real, eh? I reckon the Romans might have had a tougher time of it!
But history’s a strange old beast, isn’t it? There are plenty more events from this very date that are equally fascinating. Take, for instance, 1857, when Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal Emperor, threw in the towel and surrendered to Major William Hodson. That certainly didn’t go well for him in the long run but one of the events from the history of 21st September.
Oh, and here’s a corker—on this day in 1765, Antoine de Beauterne claimed he’d killed the infamous Beast of Gévaudan, that terrorised the French countryside. Naturally, everyone breathed a sigh of relief… until, of course, more attacks followed. Bit of an own goal that, wasn’t it? A hopelessly funny yet terrorising event from the history of 21st September.
Now, let’s fast forward to something more, shall we say, contemporary. History of 21st September says that on this very day in 2017, scientists at Caltech published research that revealed a rather astonishing discovery—the jellyfish Cassiopea, a brainless creature, was observed sleeping. Yes, you read that right. A brainless sleeper! It’s enough to make you question everything, isn’t it?
And finally, our feature story from the history of 21st September : the tale of how Manipur became a part of the Indian Union. Quite a journey through time, wouldn’t you say?
From Maharajas to Merger Mayhem: The Manipur Story
On the eve of 14 August 1947, Manipur found itself in a rather peculiar situation. After years of being under the British Raj’s shadow, the state was handed back a slice of its autonomy—albeit with the slight caveat of remaining attached to India’s apron strings. This was all thanks to the rather unceremoniously named “lapse of paramountcy” of the British Crown. One might think this would result in a grand celebration, with bunting and tea cakes all round. But instead, it left many scratching their heads about what, precisely, it all meant for the small kingdom nestled in India’s northeastern hills.
You see, a few days before that historic moment, on 11 August 1947, the Maharaja of Manipur, Bodhchandra Singh, signed the Instrument of Accession. Sounds terribly official, doesn’t it? The document transferred the responsibilities for defence, external affairs, and communications to the Union of India while leaving the internal affairs of Manipur intact—or so one would hope. Yet, as often happens with paperwork and politics, it wasn’t quite as straightforward as that.
The ink on the Maharaja’s signature had barely dried when the legality of the whole affair began to be debated. Some were under the impression that this meant Manipur had entered a gentle relationship with India, keeping most of its sovereignty. But as it turned out, things were about to become more entangled than a knitter’s ball of yarn after the cat’s had a go at it.
Manipur, as it happens, had already drafted its own constitution in 1947. A lovely thought, one might say—a state writing its own rules, sorting out how it wanted to run itself. Sadly, this little piece of legislative brilliance wasn’t recognised beyond the borders of the kingdom. It was, metaphorically speaking, like throwing a fabulous party but forgetting to send out the invitations. India, busy with its own post-Independence kerfuffle, politely ignored Manipur’s self-made constitution, leaving the state to bask in its brief moment of theoretical autonomy.
Then came 21 September 1949, when things took a rather sinister turn. Maharaja Bodhchandra was allegedly coerced—though, depending on whom you ask, the story takes different twists and turns—into signing the Manipur Merger Agreement. Manipur was to become part of the Indian Union, with the agreement taking effect on 15 October. This bit of history continues to be a bone of contention, as many question whether the Maharaja was entirely willing, or if he found himself signing under duress.
Once merged, Manipur was reduced to the status of a Part C State, which, to put it mildly, was a bit of a downgrade. Imagine being invited to a grand banquet only to find you’ve been seated at the children’s table. With a Chief Commissioner running the show and the representative assembly abolished, any dreams of self-governance were firmly put on hold.
Understandably, this didn’t sit well with everyone. By the time 1954 rolled around, Rishang Keishing, a local leader with a sense of injustice, began pushing for the return of representative government. His campaign was noble, but it was met with the rather condescending view from Delhi that the people of Manipur and other Part C states were simply not ready for such responsibilities. The Indian Home Minister declared that these areas, being strategic border regions, were too politically backward and administratively weak to be trusted with proper governance. Talk about a slap in the face.
However, India did toss Manipur a bone in the form of the Territorial Councils Act of 1956, which allowed for a measure of local self-governance. It wasn’t much, but it was something. Slowly, over the years, more autonomy trickled back, culminating in Manipur achieving full statehood in 1972. So, while it took some time, and a fair amount of persistence, Manipur eventually found its place within the Indian Union, not as a mere Part C state but as a full-fledged member of the federation.
Looking back, the story of Manipur’s post-Independence journey is one filled with twists, turns, and more than a few bureaucratic hurdles. It’s a tale of a state trying to navigate the choppy waters of political autonomy, caught between its royal past and its place in a newly independent India. And as with all good stories, the debates and disputes continue to this day, reminding us that history is never as clear-cut as we’d like it to be.
That’s all folks from the history of 21st September.
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