Rajesh Ghosh at 19:50, 14 October 2024

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{{Short description|Former political party in Manipur, India}}
{{about|the party founded in 1946|the party founded in 1997|Manipur State Congress Party}}
{{use Indian English|date=March 2024}}
{{use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox political party
| country = India
| name = Manipur State Congress
| foundation = 4 October 1946
| founder =
| president = R. K. Bhubonsana Singh
| general_secretary = Yumnam Khoimacha
| predecessor = [[Nikhil Manipuri Mahasabha]]
| dissolution = {{start date and age|1949}}
| merged = [[Indian National Congress]]
| eci =
| ideology = [[responsible government]]
| position = [[centrist]]
| colours =
}}
'''Manipur State Congress''' was a political party in the [[princely state]] of [[Manipur (princely state)|Manipur]] around the time of [[Partition of India|Indian independence]]. It was influential in the [[Manipur State Constitution Act 1947|Constitution-making Committee]]. It contested the election for the legislative assembly under the constitution in 1948, and emerged as the largest party in the assembly, but failed to win a majority. A newly formed royalist party formed the government and Congress sat in the opposition. Following the merger of Manipur into India in 1949, it merged into the [[Assam]] provincial unit of the [[Indian National Congress]].

== Background ==
In 1934, [[Nikhil Manipuri Mahasabha]] (NMM) was established by [[Hijam Irabot]] with the-then Maharajah [[Churachand Singh]] as president.<ref>{{harvp|Parratt & Parratt, Hijam Irabot|2000}}{{page needed|date=March 2024}}</ref> By 1938 it had become a prominent political front advocating the democratization of the powers held by the Darbar [Council] and an overhaul of the corrupt colonial administration.<ref>{{harvp|Parratt & Parratt, Hijam Irabot|2000}}{{page needed|date=March 2024}}</ref><ref name="Thoiba Singh">
{{Cite thesis |last=Thoiba Singh |first=Wakambam |title=Meetei Polity – A study of the socio-economic and political changes among the Meeteis from 1750 to 1950 |date=1984 |publisher=Guwahati University/Shodhganga |hdl=10603/69732 |hdl-access=free |at=p. 228-232 (Chapter 5)}}
</ref><ref>{{harvp|Indrakumar, Colonialism and Movement for Democracy|2015}}{{page needed|date=March 2024}}</ref> The organisation called for abolition of exploitative taxes, reunification of the hills with the valley, establishment of self-rule, installation of a [[Panchayati raj|Panchayat]] system, and the establishment of a unicameral legislature based on suffrage.<ref name="Thoiba Singh"/><ref>{{harvp|Indrakumar, Colonialism and Movement for Democracy|2015}}{{page needed|date=March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Parratt & Parratt, Hijam Irabot|2000}}{{page needed|date=March 2024}}</ref> Around the period of [[World War II]], 1940–1946, Irabot was imprisoned and later externed from the state. In prison, he had met communist leaders and was influenced by them. After release, he took part in [[All India Kisan Sabha|kisan movements]] (farmers' movements). During his absence, other leaders took control of the Nikhil Manipuri Mahasabha.

When Irabot returned to Manipur in 1946, according to commentators, the new leaders of NMM did not wish to relinquish control, and decided to marginalise Irabot.{{sfnp|Parratt, Wounded Land|2005|loc=pp. 94–95: "Some in the NMM, whether through genuine concern at possible Communist infiltration or simply through envy, were clearly unhappy with Irabot's participation in the deliberations, and swiftly plotted to remove him from the political scene."}} Their strategem was to accuse Irabot of collusion with the communists. In a letter written to Irabot in April, NMM made it clear that it sympathised with the [[Indian National Congress]] and that it was anti-communist.{{sfnp|Parratt, Wounded Land|2005|pp=94–95}} In a submission to the British [[Cabinet Mission]], NMM is said to have proposed a 'united kingdom' for the whole of India with the central government controlling defence, finance, trade, communications, road and transport, taxes and foreign policy.{{sfnp|Parratt, Wounded Land|2005|pp=94–95}} In August 1946, NMM petitioned Maharaja [[Bodhchandra Singh]] for an immediate declaration of responsible government. The Maharaja appears to have been receptive to an extent.{{sfnp|Parratt, Wounded Land|2005|loc=pp. 95–96: "Bodhchandra had by this time accepted proposals for an assembly, and on 21 September 1946 he wrote to the Political Agent asking for the Government's approval to make a declaration which would lead to responsible government."}}

In the meantime, Irabot had set up new organisations such as the Manipur Praja Mandal, Manipur Praja Sanmelani, Manipur Praja Sangha and Manipur Krishak Sabha. Through them, he promoted mass movements and competed with NMM.{{sfnp|Parratt, Wounded Land|2005|pp=95–96}}

=== Relations with Indian National Congress ===
Relations and strategies of Manipur parties with regard to Indian National Congress (INC) are subject to debate within Manipuri scholarship, with some scholars claiming that the Manipur State Congress was an integral part of the INC,{{sfnp|Meetei, Narrating the Nation in Manipur|2018|loc=pp. 116-117: "The Manipur state Congress Unit formed in 1946 as an extension of the Indian National Congress (INC), which had advocated integration... "}}<ref>
{{citation |title=Manipur, Maid of the Mountains |first=R. |last=Constantine |publisher=Lancers |year=1981 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dYQeAAAAMAAJ |page=86 |quote="... the Nikhil Manipur Mahasabha which had by then become the Manipur State Congress, was part and parcel of the Indian National Congress which brought about Independence."}}
</ref>
others denying that it had any relation with it,{{sfnp|Tarapot, Bleeding Manipur|2003|loc=pp. 170–171: "This party was not a unit of the Indian National Congress and had no link with the INC."}} and some others being ambivalent.{{sfnp|Parratt, Wounded Land|2005|loc=p. 101: "The Manipur State Congress did not originate in the Indian National Congress (as some have argued), and only gradually came under its umbrella, partly at least because its leaders saw this connection as a means of consolidating their power in the state."}}

INC's policies towards the princely states are found by scholars to have been "ambiguous and negligent".{{sfnp|Ramusack, Congress and the People's Movement in Princely India|1988|loc=p. 377: "Congress was oriented primarily towards institutions and events in the British-controlled provinces of India and in some ways was as ambiguous and negligent in its policies toward political activity in the princely states as the British were toward their rulers."}} The Haripura annual session in 1938 passed a resolution confirming the long-standing policy of non-involvement in the affairs of the princely states, but individual members were not barred from getting involved in their personal capacity. These involvements were via the [[All India States Peoples' Conference]] (AISPC), a conglomeration of peoples' movements in the princely states.{{sfnp|McLeod, Sovereignty, Power, Control|1999|pp=44–45}} It appears that both NMM and the Manipur State Congress after its formation, were members of the AISPC, and these links extended back to the days of Irabot's leadership.{{sfnp|Chishti, Political Development in Manipur|2005|pp=90–92: "It was quite apparent that the leaders of the Nikhil Manipuri Mahasabha also received regular instructions from the Sylhet and Gauhati Congresses. Irabot occasionally visited Gauhati and Sylhet to see the President of the Assam Provincial Committee with a view to receive instructions."}} [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], a key INC leader, was elected AISPC president in 1939 and remained in that position till 1946. In his January 1946 presidential address to AISPC (in Udaipur), Nehru stated his vision that about fifteen to twenty large states might enter the Indian federation as autonomous units with their rulers as constitutional heads while the other states would be absorbed into the neighbouring British Indian provinces. He was opposed to the formation of unions of princely states.{{sfnp|Ramusack, Congress and the People's Movement in Princely India|1988|p=393}}{{efn|These were evidently Nehru's remarks in his personal capacity, not official INC policy. As it happens, princely state unions were indeed formed after the independence of India.}}

== Formation ==
The Manipur State Congress was formed on 4 October 1946, in a meeting convened
at the Aryan Theatre in Imphal, with the agenda of bringing together all the political parties on a common platform so that pressure could be mounted on the Maharaja for responsible government.{{sfnp|Parratt, Wounded Land|2005|pp=95–96}}{{sfnp|Sudhirkumar Singh, Socio-religious and Political Movements|2011}} Irabot's parties, Manipur Krishak Sabha and Manipur Praja Sangha, were given one seat each on the governing committee, but Irabot himself was barred from being their representative on account of being a "communist". The accusation of Irabot created an ugly scene, with the result that Irabot and his colleagues left the meeting. The remaining organisations resolved to come together under the umbrella of Manipur State Congress. The president of the new party was R. K. Bhubonsana Singh and the general secretary was Yumnam Khoimacha.{{sfnp|Parratt, Wounded Land|2005|pp=95–96}}{{sfnp|Indrakumar, Colonialism and Movement for Democracy|2015|pp=67–68}}{{sfnp|Sudhirkumar Singh, Socio-religious and Political Movements|2011|pp=117–118}}{{efn|Bhubonsana Singh was formerly the president of Manipur Praja Sangha, which was a union of Manipur Praja Mandal and Manipur Praja Sanmelani, parties set up by Irabot himself.{{sfnp|Indrakumar, Colonialism and Movement for Democracy|2015|p=67}}}}

== Activities and fissures ==
In December 1946, the Maharaja declared the formation of a Constitution-Making Committee for the state. Manipur State Congress won all the five seats in the valley area for the Constitution-Making Committee. Irabot's parties boycotted the election, calling it undemocratic. The [[Manipur State Constitution Act 1947|Constitution]] was formulated by July 1947, ahead of schedule.{{sfnp|Indrakumar, Colonialism and Movement for Democracy|2015|pp=68–69}}

Almost a whole year passed before the election for the legislative assembly were held under the new constitution.{{efn|The reason for the delay is not adequately explained.}} On 11 August 1947, the Maharaja [[Instrument of Accession|acceded]] to the Indian Union and also signed a [[Standstill agreement (India)|standstill agreement]] to continue the existing arrangements as present under the British rule.<ref>
{{citation |first=Lal |last=Dena |title=History of Modern Manipur, 1826-1949 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vVluAAAAMAAJ |year=1991 |publisher=Orbit Publishers-Distributors}}
</ref>{{sfnp|Sudhirkumar Singh, Socio-religious and Political Movements|2011|p=139}}
The British Political Agent was replaced by a 'Dominion Agent' of the Government of India, with Debeswar Sarmah, a high-ranking member of the Assam unit of INC, taking the place.{{sfnp|Sudhirkumar Singh, Socio-religious and Political Movements|2011|pp=139–140}} The President of Manipur State Durbar was replaced by a chief minister, Maharaja's brother [[M. K. Priyobrata Singh]] being appointed to the post. He headed an Interim Council, two out of whose six members were drawn from the Manipur State Congress.{{sfnp|Parratt, Wounded Land|2005|pp=97–99}}

The formation of the Interim Council split the Manipur State Congress, with an opposing faction formed under the leadership of Elangbam Tompok Singh.{{efn|Tompok Singh was a former member of the NMM.}} It came to be called the 'Tompok Congress'. A faction under Tomal Singh (the 'Tomal Congress') supported the Interim Council as formed. It appeared that the Tompok Congress was integrationist, supporting measures for the integration of Manipur with India in some form.{{sfnp|Sudhirkumar Singh, Socio-religious and Political Movements|2011|pp=123–124}}{{sfnp|Chishti, Political Development in Manipur|2005|pp=120–121}}

Before the election, a new party called Praja Shanti came into being, widely believed to have been floated by the Maharaja and his Durbar elites. The party was pro-royalist and anti-Congress. When the election was held in June–July 1948, Manipur State Congress won 14 seats, but Praja Shanti was close behind with 12 seats. Praja Shanti was able to form the government with the support of Irabot's parties (6 seats) and the hill representatives, who were not affiliated to any of the valley parties (18 seats).{{sfnp|Indrakumar, Colonialism and Movement for Democracy|2015|p=69}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{citation |last=Chishti |first=S. M. A. W. |title=Political Development in Manipur, 1919-1949 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YMcxSM_ZO30C |year=2005 |publisher=Gyan Publishing House |isbn=978-81-7835-424-8 |ref={{sfnref|Chishti, Political Development in Manipur|2005}}}}
** {{cite thesis |last=Chishti |first=S. M. A. W. |title=Political Development in Manipur, 1919-1949 |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/144521638.pdf |year=1979 |publisher=Aligarh Muslim University |degree=PhD |ref={{sfnref|Chishti, Political Development in Manipur|1979}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Indrakumar |first=Konthoujam |chapter=Colonialism and Movement for Democracy in Manipur |editor1=Arambam Noni |editor2=Kangujam Sanatomba |title=Colonialism and Resistance: Society and State in Manipur |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-00-304589-2 |pages=61–69 |doi=10.4324/9781315638317 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OzjbCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 |ref={{sfnref|Indrakumar, Colonialism and Movement for Democracy|2015}}}}
* {{citation |last=McLeod |first=John |title=Sovereignty, Power, Control: Politics in the States of Western India, 1916-1947 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jXpzWlPpE1cC&pg=PR7 |year=1999 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=90-04-11343-6 |ref={{sfnref|McLeod, Sovereignty, Power, Control|1999}}}}
* {{citation |first=John |last=Parratt |title=Wounded Land: Politics and Identity in Modern Manipur |publisher=Mittal Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9788183240536 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fO4N_FI8jt4C |ref={{sfnref|Parratt, Wounded Land|2005}}}}
* {{citation |title=Hijam Irabot and the Radical Socialist Democratic Movement in Manipur |first1=John |last1=Parratt |first2=Saroj Arambam |last2=Parratt |journal=Internationales Asienforum |volume=31 |year=2000 |number=3–4 |pages=275–288 |url=http://crossasia-journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/iaf/article/download/988/966 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204433/http://crossasia-journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/iaf/article/download/988/966 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |ref={{sfnref|Parratt & Parratt, Hijam Irabot|2000}}}}
* {{Citation |last=Meetei |first=A. Noni |chapter=Narrating the Nation in Manipur: Reproduction of a historical question |editor1=Bhagat Oinam |editor2=Dhiren A. Sadokpam |title=Northeast India: A Reader |publisher=Routledge India |year=2018 |pages=113–124 |isbn=978-0-429-95320-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/northeast-india-a-reader |via=archive.org |id={{isbn|978-0-429-48987-7}} |ref={{sfnref|Meetei, Narrating the Nation in Manipur|2018}}}}
* {{citation |last=Ramusack |first=Barbara N. |chapter=Congress and the People's Movement in Princely India: Ambivalence in Strategy and Organization |editor1=Richard Sisson |editor2=Stanley Wolpert |title=Congress and Indian Nationalism: The Pre-independence Phase |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QfOSxFVQa8IC&pg=PA387 |date=1988 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-06041-8 |pages=377–404 |ref={{sfnref|Ramusack, Congress and the People's Movement in Princely India|1988}}}}
* {{cite book |author=Sudhirkumar Singh |publisher=Jawaharlal Nehru University |year=2011 |hdl-access=free |title=Socio-religious and Political Movements in Modern Manipur |page=120 |hdl=10603/121665 |ref={{sfnref|Sudhirkumar Singh, Socio-religious and Political Movements|2011}}}}
* {{citation |last=Tarapot |first=Phanjoubam |title=Bleeding Manipur |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FsUJ0E3BXkMC |year=2003 |publisher=Har-Anand Publications |isbn=978-81-241-0902-1 |ref={{sfnref|Tarapot, Bleeding Manipur|2003}}}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Defunct political parties in Manipur]]
[[Category:1946 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1946]]

Manipur State Congress - Revision history

Rajesh Ghosh at 19:50, 14 October 2024