THE ANGLO MANIPURI WAR, 1891

The hovost Marshal and the senior medical Officer at Manipur were in attendance. The Officer Commanding No. 8 Bengal Mountain Battery detailed 40 men. Ten men on each side of the square were distributed out of 40 men. Their duty was to keep all persons 50 yards distinct from the troops. All men of the British garrison with the exception of those who were given specific duty remained in their respective lines under a British Officer accountered, armed and they were ready to turn out if required.

Construction of two gallows meant for Senapati Tikendrajit Singh and Thangal General was completed by the midday of the 13th August, 1891. From the early morning Manipuris started to gather near the place of execution. By the time of the execution the number of Manipuris who gathered there exceeded eight thousand. Half of the Manipuri crowd were women 'who kept up a wail of lament throughout the proceedings' of the execution.

Senapati Tikendrajit Singh and Thangal General arrived at the gallows. They were once again informed of the orders for their execution. They mounted the scaffold. The drop fell* and death was instantaneous. They remained hanging for one hour. After that the senior Medical Officer examined the bodies. He pronounced life to be extinct. The troops returned to the quarters. The corpses were handed over to the relatives of the deceased for cremation after the ordinary custom.

The future administrative arrangement in Manipur attracted the attention of the Governor General of India even before the three British columns reached Manipur. The Governor General on the 18th April, 1891 expressed his view that the wiser course in regard to the future administration of Manipur would not be to annex the State of Manipur to the Biritish empire. According to him, a Native Ruler was to be recognised and the Native Ruler should be placed under the British protection. The Ruler should be attached to a specially selected British Resident. The State as well as the adjacent hill tracts should be under the control of the Resident.

The Government of India also obtained the view of the Chief Commissioner of Assam on the future administration of Manipur. The Chief Commissioner of Assam vehemently argued for the annexation of the State of Manipur in a lengthy way. While summing up his arguments, he pointed out that the Government of India was not only justified in annexing the State but also it was an imperative for the maintenance of the prestige of the Government of India.

According to him the annexation was also called for as it would serve as a lesson and warning to other Native States. He further argued that since the Government of India assumed the responsibility of protecting the people of Manipur thirty years ago against the oppression and against the consequences following from misrule and periodical revolutions, it was a moral duty of the Government of India to annex State of Manipur. The last point on which the Chief Commissioner gave emphasis was that there was no reason to think that annexation would incur financial loss to the Government of India.

The Home Secretary of Govt, of India was in favour of inflicting upon Manipur a sufficiently striking punishment in place of annexation. According to him such a severe punishment was necessary for the British security in India when the eyes of all the Native Chiefs in India were on British. The Government of India should not, therefore, fail to inflict severe punishment on a rebel State which had committed the murder of its officers. The punishment that was to be inflicted upon should act as a real deterrent to the Chiefs who were disloyal all over India.

According to the Viceroy the revolt was essentially a Manipuri movement. He posed two questions on the answers to which the future arrangements of Manipur was dependent. The first question related to the moral right for annexation of the State of Manipur. The Viceroy explained that the lawful ruler of Manipur who was recognised by the Goverment of India was deposed by force and the nominal ruler had been convicted of waging war against the Queen Empress of India. The de facto ruler of Manipur State since the revolt of 1890 to the date of the occupation of Manipur by the British force was the Senapati Tikendrajit. He had the support of the Manipur army and the people of Manipur.

The result of the rebellion was the murder of a high official of the Government of India and its officers. The murder of the British Officers was followed by the destruction of the Telegraph lines and the desecration of the graves of On the punishment to be inflicted on Manipur State, the Viceroy pointed out that the rebellion had been promptly suppressed by show of overwhelming force. In the engagement between the British and the Manipuris the latter suffered considerable loss of life.

The capital of Manipur had been occupied by the British troops. The Senapati Tikendrajit and Thangal General most important persons who were concerned in the rebellion were to be put to death and the Regent and one of his brothers were to be transported for life. Their property were to be forfeited. The execution of Senapati and Thangal was to be regarded as first-rate importance in respect of the exemplary character of punishment.

On the future administrative arrangement of Manipur State the Viceroy said that the State was to be declared to have forfeited its right to exist as a State. However, as a matter of clamency, the forfeiture should not be insisted on. The right course of action under the circumstances was to pass the sentence of extinction on Manipur state in the most solemn European Officers in the remote villages of Manipur. The Viceroy believed that all these actions by the Manipuris were taken up to extirpate all traces of British supermacy in Manipur.

The result of all these actions by the Manipuris was that Manipur forfeited its right to exist as a State. The answer to the first question was that the British Government had a moral right to annex the State of Manipur. The second raised by the Viceroy was the desirability of exercising the moral right to annex Manipur in consideration of broad policy. According to the Viceroy, a punishment sufficiently significant and exemplary could be a substitute for annexation. The Veceroy was opposed to needless annexation.

On the punishment to be inflicted on Manipur State, the Viceroy pointed out that the rebellion had been promptly suppressed by show of overwhelming force. In the engagement between the British and the Manipuris the latter suffered considerable loss of life. The capital of Manipur had been occupied by the British troops. The Senapati Tikendrajit and Thangal General most important persons who were concerned in the rebellion were to be put to death and the Regent and one of his brothers were to be transported for life. Their property were to be forfeited.

The execution of Senapati and Thangal was to be regarded as first-rate importance in respect of the exemplary character of punishment On the future administrative arrangement of Manipur State the Viceroy said that the State was to be declared to have forfeited its right to exist as a State. However, as a matter of clamency, the forfeiture should not be insisted on. The right course of action under the circumstances was to pass the sentence of extinction on Manipur state in the most solemn manner by revoking all existing Sanads.

The State was to be regranted to a new ruler whose authority should be carefully limited under such conditions as would render it impossible for all time for any Manipuri to conceive the idea that Manipur State was enjoying sovereign rights and therefore not owing any allegiance to Her Majesty, Queen Empress. A new Sanad was to be granted to the new ruler. The Sanad should place Manipur in a position of distinct subordinarioa Any privileges granted to the ruler should be made to continue only during the good behaviour of the ruler and the pleasure of the Government of India.

On the Selection of the new ruler the Viceroy desired that the deposed Maharaja Surchandra Singh should not be restored. An entirely new departure was preferable by doing with the sons of Chandra Kirti once and to all. The Viceroy was in favour of appointing a minor as the ruler of the State of Manipur. In between the time of selection and the actual succession to the throne there should be a long interval. During this long interval the Government of India would be able to take effectual securities for the future good behaviour of the state.

The age of the minor rule was therefore an important factor. The Viceroy rejected the case of the son of Ex-Maharaja Surchandra Singh recommended by the Chief Commissioner of Assam and General Collett. He was in favour of putting an end to the practice of succession of brother by brother in Manipur. In place of this practice, the succession from father to son was to be substituted. The new Sanad should be in line with the practice of succession from father to son.

A proclamation was issued declaring that Manipur State had become liable to the penalty of annexation. It also declared that Manipur was at the disposal of the Crown. The Queen Empress was, however, pleased to forgo Her right to annex to Her Indian Dominions the territories of the Manipur State. She was gracious enough to re-eastablish the Native ruler under such conditions as the Governor General in Council might consider desirable.

The Governor General was to select the new ruler for the Manipur State. The regrant of the state was an act of clemency believing that the punishment inflicted on the leaders of the revolt. The terms and conditions accompanying the regrant served as an adequate vindication of Her Majesty's authority in Manipur. The Governor General in Council was to declare the name of the new ruler along with the conditions under which the ruler would exercise his powers.

As regards the selection of the new ruler, the Governor General in Council was of the opinion that he should be a member of the ruling family wholly unconnected with the last rebellion. The Ex-Maharaja Surchandra Singh and all his brothers were to be excluded. A minor would be selected with the title of Raja. During the minority the state was to be ruled through a British Officer. The conditions amongst other things would include the clear indication that the State of Manipur was in absolute subordination to the Queen Empress.

The proposals of the Viceroy were approved by the Secretary of State, London.81 The Viceroy made a clarification to the Secretary of State, London on the selection of a minor. Though there was a son of Ex-Maharaja Surchandra Singh. The son was aged fourteen years. The Viceroy was not selecting the minor son of Surchandra Singh because the boy was probably subject to bad influence. He was therefore proposing to select minor of old ruling family.

The Government of India directed the Chief Commissioner of Assam to submit a report on the children of collateral branch under fourteen years age who had not taken part in the last rebellion. The Chief Commissioner accordingly submitted a report. Narsingh was the Regent on the death of Gambheer Singh, Bhagendra Singh was the fifth son of Narsingh. There were two minor sons of Bhagendra Singh. They were Tikendra Singh aged eight and Chura Chand Singh, aged five.

Of the two grandsons of Narsingh, the Chief Commissioner of Assam recommanded Chura Chand Singh in preference to Ex-Maharaja's son. At this stage even, the Chief Commissioner of Assam did not stop to pressurise the Governor General in Council for annexation of Manipur. He pointed out that the appointment of a new ruler would not be popular and he expected periodical attempts at revolution.

The Governor-General in Council accordingly informed the Secretary of State. London of the selection of minor. collateral Chura Chand, aged five years, great grandson of former Manipur Chief. The new Chief was to be styled Raja and would receive salute of eleven guns. The title would be hereditary descending in direct line by primogeniture. It was also to be provided that succession was to be approved by the British Government in each case.General Collett, Commanding Manipur Field Force was informed of the selection of Chura Chand Singh by the Governor-General in Council.

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