ABSTRACT
The Meitei Pangals, a Muslim ethnic and religious minority existing within the predominantly Hindu Meitei and tribal ethnic groups of the state of Manipur, has historically contributed to the state’s rich tapestry of cultural, social, and political life. This research article analyzes archival and secondary sources to unravel their unique cultural heritage, language, religious practices, and the traditional customs shaping their identity in a diverse state. It studies their political engagement, including representation, participation, and social standing. And it addresses the phenomenon of scapegoating, stereotyping, and marginalization of the Meitei Pangals within the current political landscape of Manipur. By integrating historical context with contemporary issues, the article presents an understanding of the social standing of the Meitei Pangals amid ethnic conflict.
KEYWORDS
Manipur, Ethnic Conflict, Meitei Pangal, Muslims, Ethnic and Religious Minority
Amidst the crisis and chaos in the state of Manipur, the Meitei Pangals, who are Muslim residents of the state, have been caught in the ethnic crossfire between the Kuki and Meitei communities. They have acted as a buffer between the Meiteis and the Kukis, as they run their day-to-day lives across the state. They have sheltered both the Meiteis and the Kukis during the conflict. In areas where Meiteis Pangal villages are located, in between the Meitei and Kuki areas, they have faced the brunt of the conflict. The Meitei Pangals, represented by the Meitei Pangal Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee, formed under the All-Manipur Muslim Organization Coordinating Committee in 2013, have demanded Scheduled Tribe (ST) status separately from the Meitei majority community in 2014. The tribals of the state, however, have expressed dissent toward the demands of both the Meitei Pangals and the Meiteis. It is worth noting that there has been no confrontation between the Meitei Pangals and the tribal communities.
The origins of the Meitei Pangals lie in Muslims marrying local Meitei women around 1606 CE, fostering interfaith relationships and assimilation. Despite some variations, the Pangals share a common culture with the majority Meitei community in Manipur such as shared food habits, dress, language, agricultural practices, style of construction of houses, the production of household items, and other artistic endeavors.
Historically, there has been no religious/ethnic conflict between the Meitei Pangals and the Kuki/Naga of Manipur. A notable feature of the Manipur conflict is that it has often lacked the dimension of religion, although religious issues began dividing the communities in the 1990s. Incidents such as the 1993 riots, mob lynchings, Islamophobia, and stereotyping by the majority Meitei community have contributed to the mistrust and tensions between the two communities. Furthermore, the Meitei Pangals have faced taunts and accusations of sheltering Rohingya Muslim refugees.[1]
The differences between the Meitei Pangals and Meiteis mainly revolve around religious identity. The forced evictions of Pangals from the Kshetri Bengoon Awang Ching Mamang, Imphal East District, by the State Government in 2018 further exacerbated the situation, which also affected the Kukis. The Kukis had also been evicted by the state government since 2018 citing encroachment in the reserve forest area.[2] The state government had discounted these allegations, stating that the Meiteis had also been affected.[3]
The question arises, who are the Meitei Pangals? When did they arrive and start living in the state? What is their identity? What is their equation with other communities in the state? What is their stake and their social standing in the state? These questions form the crux of this article which delves into the historical roots of the Meitei Pangals in Manipur, traversing the community’s societal structures, cultural practices, political participation, and socio-economic status. In the subterranean complexities of Manipur’s conflict, this article sheds light on the Meitei Pangals’ identity as an ethnic and religious minority. By doing so, it contributes to a broader understanding of the community in order to facilitate the formulation of inclusive strategies to address the backwardness of the Meitei Pangals and the marginalization of their identity.
Meitei Pangals in the Mix of Other Communities
The Meitei Pangals had an equal social status, during different periods of Manipur especially beginning from the rule of Maharaja Khagemba (1597–1652), relative to the ruler and the ruled. The Pangals were known for their piousness, strength, and skills in warfare. They were a crucial part of the ‘Lallup System’ (military forces) of Maharaja Khagemba and the kings that followed. Hudson notes in his book, Meitheis, that the persons liable for duty under the lallup system were the Meitheis, the Brahmins, and the Musalmans, who are called Pang-gans.[4] An Englishman, Hudson, did not properly spell Meitei/Meetei in his book. Likewise, R. Constantine has observed that in the post-1950 Manipur, Hindu-Muslim relations in Manipur were a lodestar for the rest of India to such an extent that Manipuri Muslims (Pangals) were addressed as Meitei Muslims.[5]
Figure 1. Statues of a Meitei man (middle) with his arms around a tribal man (left) and a Meitei Pangal man (right), symbolizing communal harmony, displayed in the Menjor Multipurpose Research Centre (MMRC) and Unity Park, Khangabok, Thoubal district, Manipur (Kangleipak). https://shorturl.at/qAXPh
Manipur became part of India in 1949 and achieved statehood in 1972 with Md Alimuddin, a Meitei Pangal, as the chief minister. There was, however, an increasing trend towards divisive and sectarian politics in the 1990s in India, and the state of Manipur also saw the advent of divisive politics. The riots of 1993 between the Meiteis and the Meitei Pangals led to the killings of one hundred Pangals, as per a government report.[6] Every year, May 3 is remembered for the heinous genocidal violence where innocent women, children, and helpless laborers were murdered in cold blood on May 3 and 4, 1993.[7] The incident is known as ‘’May gi Lan’’ (meaning “War in May”) in the local parlance of the Meitei Pangals.
The twenty-first century did not seem to lessen this tendency. The Pangal community has been stereotyped, targeted, and played to the advantage of powerful forces. The whole community has been blamed/stereotyped for the misdeeds and anti-social elements of a few. In the recent ongoing ethnic violence between the Meiteis and the Kukis, the Meitei Pangals were not spared from being accused. Some organizations have expressed condemnation, like the Delhi Association of Manipur Muslim Students (DAMMS) and the All Manipur Muslim Students Organisation (AMMSO) that have demanded the state government take legal measures against the hatemongers to end the conspiracies and stereotyping in the face of increasing accusations and public insults to the Pangal community amid the ongoing violence in Manipur. In a joint statement, the DAMMS and AMMSO claimed that the Pangals had become an easy target for some sections of the Meiteis who were trying to humiliate and blame the whole community for almost anything unwarranted happening in the valley of the state. The DAMMS and AMMSO stated that black sheep exist in every community, and they have to be identified and penalized. They added that amid the violence it had become much harder for the people of Manipur to earn money to meet their needs, especially the daily wage earners.[8]
In contrast, the Meiteis and Meitei Pangals in Bangladesh, Tripura, and Assam live peacefully. The historical blood relations and associations between the Meiteis and the Meitei Pangals were reinvigorated amid the conflict: on the one hand, the Meiteis tagged the Kuki-Zo as outsiders, and on the other the Meiteis remembering their historical association with Meitei Pangals, called for a united front to prevent the disintegration of the state.
The Pangals, however, have been stereotyped as thieves and as Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslim sympathizers.[9] The mob lynching of Muslims in central India did not leave Manipur untouched. One such incident that triggered a shockwave was a viral video of the lynching of a young Meitei Pangal, Mohamed Farooq Khan, by a group of Meiteis in the Tharoijam village Patsoi Police Station, Imphal West on allegations/charges of theft on September 13, 2018.[10] The victim was an MBA graduate, an entrepreneur who established Palem Foods Private Limited. Khan had left home in the evening, saying he would return shortly. Later that night, a mob surrounded him at a place far from his home and thrashed him to death, with crowd that included armed police officers, children, and young people looking on. The lynching was videotaped by the perpetrators and circulated immediately on social media. The police personnel present when Khan was being lynched did nothing to intervene to protect him. His last request for water was denied before he lost consciousness and subsequently died. Though this incident was similar to other lynchings seen in India, there was one crucial difference: the allegation made against Khan was not that he killed a cow or ate its flesh, which would not have carried any salience or fostered hate and anger in a community where most people eat beef; he was charged instead with stealing a two-wheeler. What is significant is that the local Manipuri Muslims are stereotyped as thieves and drug peddlers.[11]
A wave of lynchings of the members of lower and marginalized sections of society has swept the country for various reasons, including alleged theft, child lifting, cow protection, and caste-related violence. It prompted the Supreme Court to direct Parliament on July 17, 2018 to enact a law to curb mob lynching and directing the state governments to take specific measures. The Manipur State Assembly on December 21, 2018 passed the Protection from Mob Violence Bill to prevent lynching by providing exemplary punishment like public humiliation, social boycott, and rigorous life behind bars. Manipur became the first state in India to pass a bill recommending life imprisonment for those involved in mob violence if it resulted in the death of a person. The bill has since been pending approval by the central government, which sent it back to the government of Manipur, for it to clarify. Like their counterpart, the Meitei’s Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the Meitei Pangals have groups like Anjuman Islah-E-Muashrah to tackle crime and anti-social elements in Pangal society.[12]
Ethnic conflict has increasingly created law and order problems affecting all the communities of Manipur. There is a growing number of cases of confiscation of vehicles, kidnapping, and physical assault by armed assailants. Unknown underground groups have made ransom demands on political leaders, professionals, and even the schools, as well as business enterprises, petrol pumps, and shops.[13] The livelihood of the poorer sections of the Pangal community who work as street vendors is badly affected, as they have trade relations with the tribals and Meiteis. Their plight highlights broader issues related to governance, and law and order.
Yet, the trauma continues. Five Meitei Pangals were killed during a firing incident that took place on the night of January 1, 2024, in the Muslim-majority area of Lilong in Thoubal district. The insurgent group, People’s Liberation Army (PLA), opened fire on the locals, killing five and injuring others. The PLA is banned under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. It was the first incident in a Meitei Pangal area since the ethnic clashes broke out on May 3, 2023.[14] The state government acted swiftly to prevent further escalation of the issue.
The Meitei Pangals have been living in the hill districts of Churachandpur, Tengnoupal, and Ukhrul. The crucial villages close to Churachandpur with significant Meitei Pangal populations are Kwakta and Borayangbi. Both the villages have maintained commercial ties for decades with the tribals in Churachandpur. And as Kwakta is located closer to Churachandpur town than Borayanbi, there is a deeper economic integration. The people of Borayangbi (also known as Pora) travel a long distance to access Churachandpur town. Until May 3, 2023, Kwakta town was commercial hub visited by customers from Churachandpur, but due to the recent conflict, the Meitei Pangals from Kwakta have almost stopped transporting goods and commodities in and out of Churachandpur on account of severe restrictions such as blockade and self-appointed vigilantes conducting strict surveillance on the movement of people. As most of the population of Kwakta depends on Churachandpur directly or indirectly due to the distance from Imphal, trading activities are centered in Churachandpur. Earlier, the markets of Kwakta had tribal dwellers, but now the market is almost dormant due to ongoing issues.[15]
The Pangals and masjids in Churachandpur are safe, but there is a trust gap developing between the communities. Due to the conflict, economic activity has disintegrated, leading to the loss of livelihood for almost all the communities, whether they are Meitei, Kuki, Pangal, or the Marwaris.[16] When Kwakta was turned into a battleground since May 3, 2023, the collateral damage was on the Meitei Pangals, despite being non-party to the conflict. The Pangals of the area have protected churches and houses belonging to the tribals in and around Kwakta. The tribals live in Ukhatampak and Ngairong, where two churches are located. Although these villages are within the geographical area of Kwakta, they are under the jurisdiction of the Churachandpur district. Since May 2023, the Meitei Pangals have traversed across the area for work since the Pangals were not involved in the recent violence. Yet, sometimes they have been scapegoated. Historically, there has been no animosity or confrontation between the Pangals and Kukis in the Borayangbi-Kwakta-Churachandpur area.[17]
Meitei Pangals also reside in Moreh town in the Tengnoupal district adjacent to Namphalong town in Myanmar. Lying along the Indo-Myanmar border, the area is significant due to its international trading hub status. The geographical location has fostered a diverse community, with people from various ethnic and religious backgrounds living together. The blend of Meitei, Kuki, Pangal, Tamil, Nepali, Bihari, Rajasthani, Bengali, and Punjabi communities from different faiths of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Jainism, and Buddhism illustrates a rich tapestry of cultural and religious integration. The multicultural environment enhances Moreh’s social fabric, which also plays a crucial role in the economic and cultural exchanges between India and Myanmar.
The Meitei Pangals have been a crucial part of the economic activities in Moreh town for decades. The Kukis have a significant population in the area. The recent conflict displaced the Meiteis, and the Pangals have hesitated to return to Moreh. The commanding officers of several police stations in the hill areas were mainly assigned to Meitei Pangal, considering the emerging social, political, economic, and geographical distance between the Meiteis and the Kuki communities.[18] There have been cases of assault and threats to the lives of people from the Pangal community. On March 7, 2024, two Meitei Pangals who went for construction work at Moreh were assaulted by an unknown armed group from the Kuki-Zo community at Moreh. Cases of kidnapping Meitei Pangals and assault have been reported.[19] Furthermore, the Meitei Pangals living in the town of Ukhrul in Manipur are primarily contractors, government officials, employees, and businesspeople.
The Juma masjid in the district headquarters, built in September 1995, was surrounded by controversy over a proposal in 2017 to change its location to make way for constructing a new district court in the area. The masjid was established with approval from the Government of Manipur and was the oldest among the three masjids constructed in the hill district headquarters. The government’s move was condemned by Manipuri Muslim organizations.[20] As a result the masjid was not demolished and still located there.
The interactions between the Meitei Pangals and tribals, i.e., Naga and Kuki in the Imphal city, are primarily focused on trading goods and commodities. Tribals usually bring vegetables to sell in Imphal which are purchased by the Meiteis and Muslims. There are women’s markets in the capital Imphal city where Meitei women dominate. For the tribals, there is a Tribal Market in New Checkon, Imphal, which has been empty since the violent Meitei-Kuki conflict broke out on May 3, 2023. The Meitei Pangals have been demanding a separate market within the capital. The state government took note of it, but the market has not been established as of now.
In the Crosshairs
The town of Kwakta is a multiethnic locality in Bishnupur district of Manipur where Meiteis and Kukis lived as neighbors with the Meitei Pangals comprising 90 percent of Kwakta’s population. After the outbreak of ethnic violence between the Meiteis and Kukis in May 2023, the livelihood of the Meitei Pangals in Kwakta is shattered. Kwakta town itself, given its location in the Meitei-dominated Bishnupur district’s border with Kuki-majority Churachandpur district, has been in the crosshairs of the conflict since the violence began. Two of the masjids in Kwakta were used for hours by state security forces along with Meitei fighters in May 2023, and casualties among the Meitei Pangals from stray bullets and bomb blasts have been reported. The Meitei Pangals have fled, particularly those residing in the foothills and near the Thanjing Range. This range has faced conflicting ownership claims by Kukis and Meiteis. Since then, there has been a massive price hike of edibles and essential items and a lack of jobs. After the fighting ended, people began returning to Kwakta, but they have been living in panic.[21]
The Meitei Pangals moved freely between the hills and the valley after the violence ended, but they now face targeted attacks, movement restrictions, and dwindling essential supplies. On August 12, 2023, a mob set ablaze an auto-rickshaw of a Pangal in Manipur’s capital city of Imphal. The mob accused the driver, Muhammad Tiken, of ferrying goods—clothes and other items—for the Kukis, although he claimed they were essential items for his relatives in Churachandpur. The mob sent a clear message to the Meitei Pangals of strife-torn Manipur by seizing the goods and then setting the auto-rickshaw on fire.
More than a thousand Pangals live in Churachandpur, a region cleared of all Meiteis since May 3, 2023. This small ethnic minority, caught in the crossfire between the Meiteis and the Kukis, is struggling to make ends meet. They are struggling for essentials. They cannot take their goods to sell in the district. Whenever their goods are ferried from the Imphal Valley—whose Kuki population was also forced to flee to the tribal-dominated hill regions of Manipur—the Meiteis assumed they were meant for the Kukis. What we see in Manipur is an old war tactic of starving the enemy by blocking roads and highways and cutting off supplies.[22]
For instance, on August 24, 2023, a vehicle carrying essentials to Churachandpur from Imphal was stopped in Moirang in Bishnupur district. A mob harassed the Pangal vehicle driver and seized his goods. Earlier home to mostly Meiteis, parts of Bishnupur now fall in a buffer zone the state has created to keep apart the two warring communities, the Meiteis and Kukis. Occurrences of harassment are still sporadic but they are gaining momentum as tensions between the Kukis and Meiteis persist. In this volatile mix, Manipur’s Pangal community is worried about their safety.[23]
A blame game between the Kukis and the Meiteis over who sparked the violence—and their complete separation—has gone on since May 3, 2023. Fortunately, the Pangals were insulated from the war of words and physical attacks, despite reports that they aided Kukis in Imphal and the Meiteis in hill districts in the early days of May and thereafter. At the start of the conflict, the Pangals enjoyed the confidence of both communities, and they were still “allowed” to access the hills and the Imphal Valley—but without their goods, even essentials.
Now, however, both communities are turning on the Pangals. The Kukis accuse the community of sharing information about their whereabouts with the Meiteis, leading to targeted attacks against them. They face similar accusations by the Meiteis. Despite the instigation, the Pangals do not want to take sides and yearn for peace to prevail. Yet the Pangals fear that they are being forced to take sides, even though there is no longer widespread violence in Manipur. While incidents of arson and killing have been isolated to the remote areas, it does not mean tensions between the Kukis and the Meiteis are over. Both communities now “seek support” from other communities living in the state.[24]
Indeed, now that the Meiteis view the Pangals as Kuki informers, they see them as a hindrance to their tactic of starving out the enemy. In turn, the Kukis are in no mood to allow free highway traffic. The only social group that moved freely between the hills and Valley, the Pangals, are thus caught in the crossfire.
The conflict has split the Pangals, too. A few Pangals are closer to the Kukis due to geographical proximity or sympathy for the minority Kukis, while others lean more towards the Meiteis due to the geographical proximity, bonds, and social affinity. One outcome of the Pangals sharing space with tribals in Kwakta has been that essential supplies could find their way to the tribals. However, this is no longer “allowed.” Organizations of the Meiteis appear adamant: They want the Muslims of Kwakta to fill out a form at the “Meitei Pangal Intellectual Forum,” a Meitei Pangal organization formed for coordinating with other community organizations, that records a list of items and quantities the Pangals plan to bring back from Imphal. Hawk-eyed vigilantes scrutinize vehicles passing through the valley and entering the hills. Earlier, the checking was done at one point in Bishnupur, but now Moirang—a town closer to Kwakta—also has a checkpoint. As a result, Kwakta is running out of household items and money. Most items are unavailable, not just for the Kukis but for Pangals, too. That is why most Pangals would disagree with Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh’s recent announcement that peace prevails in the valley.[25]
An Ethnoreligious Minority and its Stake in Manipur Politics
The Meitei-Pangals of Manipur, an ethno-religious minority with a unique culture and a shared sense of belongingness, are followers of Islam and a designated minority in India. The ascription of the minority tag changes relatively and contextually. There is a discussion on who should be a minority in India. Throughout Indian history, the relationship between the majority and minority communities has not always been conceived within the correct discourse. Mahatma Gandhi, however, approached it differently. He believed in building bridges between communities through fellowship and mutual identification.[26] In terms of religion or community, the Muslims are a minority along with Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, and Zoroastrians (Parsis) under the National Commission for Minorities Act of 1992, Section 2(c).[27] Along state/union territory lines, the Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir are a minority in that Union Territory, and again in the Jammu region the Hindus are the majority community.
The Meitei Pangals’ surnames are in the Meiteilon (Manipuri language) and not in Arabic. The existing surnames show that Meitei-Pangals are unique and particular when it comes to their sense of being a part of Manipuri society, which is influenced by Meitei civilization. Manipur has three major ethnic groups: the Meiteis in the valley, and the Nagas and Kuki-Chin tribes in the hills. Relative to them, the Meitei Pangals form a minority Muslim community: they possess a minority identity within the minority.[28] Although the Meitei Pangals are an ethno-religious minority in the context of Manipur, they are a minority within the minority Indian Muslim community.
The state government has faced criticism for the inadequate representation of minority groups in state politics. The Meitei Pangals’ stake in Manipur’s political space is diminishing relative to other ethnic communities. As of October 2024, there were three Meitei Pangals in the sixty-member Legislative Assembly of Manipur. The Meitei Pangals are also lagging behind with an inadequate representation in crucial governmental institutions. Insufficient Muslim representation has diminished the community’s role in shaping policies and decisions. The underrepresentation in multiple government sectors including the legislative assembly, state cabinet, local governance bodies, and administrative services has led to severe mismatches in shaping policies such as inequitable resource allocation, policy oversight, and social injustice. To address these issues, the community has demanded a potential solution of greater reservation for themselves, believing it would result in equitable decision-making, and would address specific community needs, and foster social cohesion.
The political discourse among the Muslim minorities in India centers around limited political choices: to join one of the existing parties sympathetic to minorities or secular in orientation, to work through a non-partisan pressure group that ensures the election of minority-oriented representatives regardless of party affiliation, or to form a political party in order to fulfil their interest by balancing power in a coalition government. Indian Muslims have adopted all three approaches.[29] These approaches, however, are not reflected in the case of Manipur Muslims. A distinctive nature of the Meitei Pangals in Manipur politics is that they never had any political party. They contested elections under the banner of the mainstream parties.
The state government has attempted to diversify participation in the government establishment, but the transition needs urgency. To ensure the participation of a diverse population in the government space, the key mechanism is the reservation of jobs for the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC). The Manipur state government’s reservation policy is as follows: it reserves 31 percent jobs for STs, 17 percent for OBCs, 10 percent for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), and 2 percent for SCs. The 17 percent reserved for OBCs is subdivided into 12.5 percent for Meiteis, 4 percent for the Meitei Pangals, and 0.5 percent for other minorities.[30] The Meitei Pangals, with a population of around 8 percent, is the most backward community in Manipur. They have been voicing their concerns through various platforms that the government of Manipur should insert affirmative action in the policies and programs. The Constitution of India encourages the protection of the ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories, thereby creating conditions for promoting that identity.
The Meitei Pangals have been urging the state and central government to recognize them as a Scheduled Tribe under the Constitution of India. The Meitei-Pangal ST Demand Committee, formed on April 3, 2013, under the umbrella of the All Manipur Muslims Organization Coordinating Committee has been advocating the demand for their inclusion as a scheduled tribe. The Committee submitted memorandum since 2011 to the Governor, the Chief Minister and relevant central authorities, demanding the inclusion of the Meitei Pangals in the ST list. It is worth noting that despite the clash between Meiteis and Kukis over the ST demand of the Meiteis, the Meitei Pangals are not involved in the conflict.
Riyazuddin Khan, an advisor to the All-Manipur Muslim Development Committee, a Meitei Pangal group, campaigning for the Scheduled Tribe status argues, “If the majority community (Meiteis) have been demanding ST status, then why shouldn’t we get it? If Kuki and Naga tribes have ST status, then why shouldn’t we get it?” He adds, “We have a right to demand the ST status. However, it is up to the central government to give this to us. What is happening now is undemocratic and unnecessary.”[31]
The “One Day People’s Convention” organized by the Meitei Pangal Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee (MPSTDC) on “The Future Prospects of Meitei Pangal Community in Manipur” at Kshetrigao, Imphal East, on January 22, 2023, adopted resolutions to pursue their demand. They claim that the Meitei Pangals, as an indigenous community, are on the verge of extinction, and in order to survive as a distinct community in the time to come, it is imperative on the part of Meitei Pangals to protect themselves using constitutional means.[32]
Yet, there are voices of opposition. The All Tribal Students’ Union, Manipur (ATSUM) claims that members from different hill districts expressed their “well-founded fear and anxiety” if ST status is granted to the Meitei/Meetei and Meitei Pangal communities, it would open the floodgate to further exploit the scheduled tribes in Manipur. They reaffirmed their opposition to granting ST status to the Meitei/Meetei and the Meitei Pangal communities.[33]
The Constitution has not clearly prescribed any principle or policy for drawing up lists of Scheduled Castes and Tribes. There are indications, however, in the Constitution that extreme social, educational, and economic backwardness would qualify a caste or a tribe to be included in these lists. Article 46 of the Constitution enjoins the State to promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and to protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation. Article 15(4) enables the State to make special provisions for the social and educational advancement of backward classes of citizens and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.[34]
The Lokur Committee, set up in 1965 under the department of Social Security of the government of India for revising the list of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, however acknowledges that the specification of tribes and tribal communities as Scheduled Tribes presents some problems. The difficulty in setting out formal criteria for defining a tribe arises from the fact that the tribes in India are, and have been for some decades, tribes in transition. When the list of Scheduled Tribes was prepared in 1950 by making additions to the list of backward tribes under the Government of India Act, 1935, in considering fresh proposals for inclusion in the list, it was noted that
care was necessary in drawing up the schedule in order to ensure that communities which had been assimilated in the general population were not at this stage invested with an artificial distinctiveness as tribes, and that communities which might be regarded as tribes by reason of their social organisation and general way of life but which were really not primitive should not now newly be treated as primitive.[35]
The ambiguous definition of the meaning of “tribe” has meant that even social scientists have found it difficult to evolve a universally acceptable definition for a tribe. The report of Lokur Committee adds that there are some communities which, though not strictly eligible to be treated as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, deserve special assistance. It would not be sufficient to treat them merely as “Other Backward Classes” as they require more aid than is provided to Other Backward Classes. The communities referred to are the Gujjar, Gaddi, and Banjara communities.[36] The Meitei Pangals, claiming to fulfil the criterion recommended by the Lokur Committee, have demanded for designation of their community as a Scheduled Tribe, as they possess the indications of primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the community at large, and backwardness.[37]
Jacky Masud Maibam, the spokesperson for the Meetei-Pangal Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee, focuses on the unique identity of the Meetei-Pangal, stating, “The Meetei-Pangal are very different from the other Muslims residing in the rest of the world. Since our adoption by the Manipur Maharaja, we have started a new chapter of culture and tradition.” He laments that the political, social, economic, and cultural aspects of the Meitei-Pangals have been ignored, and the community has suffered extreme deprivation. He comments that it is imperative for the Meitei-Pangals to protect and preserve their distinctive community along with the like-minded people of Manipur’s society.[38]
Ethnicity Theorized
Although ethnicity pertains to the word ethnic, a distinction of humankind based on race, it has lost its original connotation, and is now employed in a broader sense to signify the self-consciousness of a group of people united, or closely related, by shared experience of language, religious belief, common heritage, etc. While race usually denotes the attributes of a group, ethnic identity typifies the creative response of a group that considers themselves marginalized in society.[39] Barth and Anderson believe that boundaries are essential for ethnic groups’ self-definition to separate themselves from ‘others.’[40]
Ethnic identity can be defined as the set of meanings that individuals impute to their membership in an ethnic community, including those attributes that bind them to that collectivity and distinguish it from others in their relevant environment.[41] As Gumilev puts it: “There is not a single fundamental criterion defining an ethnos, which can be equally applied to all known instances: language, origin, customs, material culture, and ideology may sometimes be or may not be decisive. Only one point can be factored out: the acknowledgement of each that we are such-and-such, and the rest are different.”[42]
Benedict Anderson, in his seminal work Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, writes that nations (ethnicity) are not ancient communities united by history, blood, language, culture or territory, as nationalists often claim, but the distinctly modern imagination of a given State’s population as constituting such an originating community produced by nationalism.[43] According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN defines the term “religious minorities” as a broad range of religious communities, traditional and non-traditional, recognized by the State or not, large and small, which seek the protection of their rights under minority rights standards. Moreover, religious minorities may be national, ethnic or linguistic minorities.[44] The topic is complex not only because of the varying meanings of key terms in related fields but also due to the sensitive nature of human identity and self-awareness.[45]
The Origins of the Meitei Pangals
The Muslims of Manipur, known as the Meitei Pangals migrated to Manipur and settled primarily on the riverbank in the Imphal valley over different historical periods starting from the reign of Maharaja Naophangba (594-624 CE). A mismatch has arisen in the recording of the various kings because the Meiteis follow their own calendar which differs from the Gregorian. The Diary of Manipur and The Lost Kingdom note that Naophangba ruled from 594 to 624 CE. G. Kabui, however, states, “. . . Naophangba ruled from 428 to 518 CE which is not necessarily accurate.”[46]
The name’s etymology, from a Persian source, denotes that the term ‘Pangal’ was given due to their fortitude in battle, and the ‘Pangal’ means “strength” in Meiteilon.[47] Explaining the origin of the word ‘Pangal,’ scholar R.K. Jhalajit explains that although in modern Manipur, Pangal means a Muslim, in medieval Manipur, it meant an East Bengali.[48] East Bengal was known to the Manipuris as Bengal, but most people pronounced it Pangal. Anyone living in or coming from that place was a Pangal, irrespective of their professed religion. The earliest Muslim settlers in Manipur were from East Bengal, and so they were called Pangal. Later, due to a change in the meaning, only Muslims from Bengal were called Pangal.
Various historical sources put different dates on the entry of Islam into Manipur, leading to a debate about when Muslims started settling in the state. The migration of Pangals is recorded in the Puya (Anal) which are court chronicles, written during the rule of different Maharajas, maintained by the palace pandits. They are in the Manipuri language, of which, some have been translated into English. The Puya (Anal) like Sakok Lamlen Ahanba and Kanglei langba Pakhangba assert that certain Muslim immigrants came during the reign of Maharaja Lairen Naophangba.[49] According to the Puyas, Maharaja Lairen Naophangba invited a Pangal Muslim guru who came to Manipur from the West, denoting the lands of the Arabs, to help build the Kangla palace, where Meitei Maharaja resided and conducted durbars. The palace still exists and the Meiteis consider it sacred.[50] Likewise, Parratt notes that the “Musalman Aribam Family” came to Manipur during the Maharaja Naophangba period.[51] Scholars like J.C. Higgins support the theory of arrival of Muslims and formation of clans like ‘Aribam’ during Maharaja Naophangba’s reign.[52] Similarly, L. Joychandra, in The Lost Kingdom, notes that Naophangba built the Kangla throne in Imphal, and according to the Puyas Kanglei Langba Pakhangba and Sakok Lamlen Ahanba, he invited a ‘Pangal Musalman guru’ to oversee the construction of the building.[53] The Chinese spotted Syrian (Ta-ts’in) settlements in Manipur and Sylhet, according to their account written in 785-804 AD. The Syrians hosted the Caliphate of the Umayyad dynasty (661-750 AD) in Damascus; there is no doubt those Syrians in Manipur would be Muslims. The state (abode) was described as ‘Ta-ts’in Po-lo-men.’
Indeed, Muslims in Manipur were variously called Ta-t’sin Po-lo-men by the Chinese; as Pasha, Pathan, and Turushka in Meitei Puya literature;[54] as Kathe Musalman by the Burmese and Henry Yule; as Bangals by Assami (the same as Assamese); and Mugglo by J.P. Wade.[55]
Some Meitei scholars believe that the Pangal population in 930 CE was adept at preparing salt from dug wells since their Muslim co-religionists used to collect salt from the Bengal Sea.[56] The presence of a Pangal village during Maharaja Irengba (984-1074 CE) and their introduction of rice broadcasting (a method of sowing rice) and transplantation in Manipur is mentioned in the historical book Ningthourel Lambuba.[57] Some Meitei Pangal historians, such as M.A. Rahman and K. Khullakpam believe that Muslims began to settle in Manipur much later during the reign of Maharaja Mongyamba (1562-1597 CE), with the coming of three Musalmans (Muslims) from Sylhet as gun makers in the middle of 16th century. They were regarded as the earliest Muslim settlers in Manipur who were ascribed the Meitei’s sub-clan, Aribam.[58]
Scholar Farooque Ahmed, however, claims that Islam arrived in the region in the early seventh century CE through the Prophet’s uncles Saad ibn Abi Waqqas and Amir Hamza. Farooque writes that Aribam, a Muslim sub-clan (sagei) in Manipur, traces its biological ancestry to Amir Hamza and Saad ibn Abi Waqqas: “It is an accepted fact that the Aribam section of Manipuri Muslims trace its biological ancestry to Hamza (567-625 CE), the paternal uncle of the Prophet and Saad ibn abi Waqqas (d. 647 CE), the maternal uncle of the Prophet.”[59] He also cites a theory that the term “Aribam” is believed to have been derived from the Arabic word “Aribah,” meaning “pure Arabs.”
Farooque believes that Hamza reached Manipur before 610 CE, and “Waqqas was among the three Sahaba who reportedly left Abyssinia by sea on the way to China in 615 CE and reached Manipur via Chittagong port in that year itself.” He further notes that Muhammad Hanifa, the eldest of the two sons born to Caliph Ali and his second wife Khawla bin Jafar, fled to Arakan in 680 CE after he lost the struggle for Caliphate and founded an Islamic community. Muhammad Hanifa visited Manipur and met the local Muslims, he adds. Historians such as Abul-Fazl Ezzati, Taher Ba Tha, Maung Than Lwin, Habib Siddiqui, and Ashraf Alam note that Muhammad al Hanifa (Hanafiyya) landed in Arakan and married the local queen Kaiyapuri, and that their tombs are still existing in Maungdaw, north of Arakan, and that they are revered as saints. Her people then embraced Islam en masse. The mountain peaks where they lived are still known as Hanifa Tonki and Kaiyapui Tonki.[60]
Farooque notes that the Pangal Musalman guru who preached in Manipur during Maharaja Naophangba’s reign, as mentioned in the local archaic texts, could have been either Waqqas or Hamza. He writes:
Evidence indicates that this “guru” was a saintly man. However, if the Maharaja had reigned till 624 CE, this saint could have been either Saad ibn Abi Waqqas or Hamza, uncles of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. Amir Hamza, whom the Prophet addressed as ‘the Lion,’ later went back to Arabia, where he was ultimately martyred in the Battle of Uhud in 625 CE during the lifetime of the Prophet. If the mentioned saint could be Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, he could have arrived in Manipur by sea (Bay of Bengal) around 615 CE and then left for home and returned after 27 years and landed on the Chinese coast, bringing with him a copy of the Holy Qur’ān.[61]
According to Hui records, Saad ibn Abi Waqqas was the progenitor of the Hui (Chinese Muslims), who claim that his tomb is still preserved in Guangzhou, China. Saad ibn Abi Waqqas died in 674 CE at the age of eighty and was buried there. The mentioned Canton tomb is believed to be that of the son of Waqqas, who arrived in the area and probably married a local wife.[62]
Farooque writes that Muslims from Arabia, Persia, and Turkey visited China via the Silk Route, which passing through Assam and Manipur, and reached Yunan and elsewhere. He also claims that Muslims from various parts of mainland India immigrated to Manipur from time to time: “The Bengali Muslims came and settled since the time of Maharaja Naophangba. Pathans came as traders, adventurers, soldiers, etc. The Suri Pathans came when Sher Shah Suri was ruling Bengal till 1564. Some Gujarati Pathans also emigrated to Manipur in 1688.” However, he adds, the most significant immigration of Muslims in Manipur took place in 1606 when a large number of Muslim troops were brought from Taraf (in Sylhet).[63]
Farooque claims that Shah Shuja, the son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, entered Manipur after being defeated by his brother Aurangzeb in the battle of Khajwa. He narrates:
Most notable was the coming of Prince Shah Shuja in 1661-62 and Prince Mirza Baisanghar (alias Lakhayarful, son of Prince Danial, son of Emperor Akbar) in 1679, as they lost the wars of succession in the Mughal imperial household. Assam and its territory, Naga Hills, were added to the Mughal empire according to the January 1663 treaty after the Mughals, led by Mir Jumla, ably assisted by Diler Khan, defeated the Ahoms in 1661. The Mughal frontier of North East India was known to the Meities as Makak, so the Mughal imperial outpost in Makokchung (Nagaland) was called Makak emigration to Manipur. The Makak battalion led by Baisanghar (Lakhayarful) was sent to Makokchung in 1663 to administer the region of Naga Hills. When the Mughals’ control waned in the region (Assam) due to rains and sustained Ahom resistance, Lakhayarful and his men moved southward in the Manipur valley, as they knew Prince Shah Shuja was already in Manipur. Lakhayarful called up Prince Shah Shuja from Ukhrul Hill, then in hiding from Aurangzeb’s men, and Shah Shuja came to be called Sunarful as he had led the elephant entourage as Sunan-i-phil on their arrival in Manipur valley in 1769.[64]
Farooque adds that these Mughals had a separate office, Mangol Sanglen, in the royal palace, and their descendants are known as the Makakmayum clan.[65] Despite the speculation and claims, historians do not accept large-scale settlements because the weak historical sources cannot establish the exact date of early settlement. Instead, they seem to agree that there might have been settlements in fewer numbers. However, all sources seem to confirm the definitive history of Muslims coming to Manipur in 1606 CE. As recorded in the Royal Chronicle of Manipuri Kings, the Cheitharon Kumpapa, a large settlement of the Pangal population started in 1606 CE during the reign of Maharaja Khagemba. Before 1606 CE, they entered as traders, preachers, adventurers, gun makers, and salt makers from the brine springs. The Royal Chronicle (Cheitharon Kumpapa) translated into English records events concerning the kings and the state up until the end of the kingship in 1955, and claims to trace their history back to 33 CE.
At the beginning of the seventeenth century, there was a dispute between Maharaja Khagemba and his younger brother Sanongba over the issue of a broken boat of the latter. Sanongba fled to Cachar with his mother, Changpombi. She requested the then-king of Cachar, Dimasha Prataphil, to help them and attack Manipur. He agreed and requested help from Nawab Muhammad Nazir or Bayajid Karrani of Taraf (Sylhet), now Bangladesh. Agreeing to the request of the Cachar king, Nawab Nazir sent a Muslim contingent consisting of 1,007 soldiers under the generalship of his younger brother Muhamad Sani in 1605.[66] Along with the troops of Cachar, Muslim troops reached Manipur in early 1606. The Muslims involved in the events of 1606 were from Taraf, now in the Sylhet division of Bangladesh; earlier, it was part of an undivided Assam. Taraf is about fifty-five kilometers northwest of Serail Paragan and about sixteen kilometers southwest of Habiganz. The Nongsamei, a text that deals significantly with the Muslims’ arrival in Manipur, accounts for their involvement in the 1606 events. The Cachar troops set up their camp on the upper hill slope of Khoupum, while Muslim troops stayed on the banks of Sarel Yangoi, which is now in Lamangdong (Bishnupur). The Maharaja of Manipur had already prepared well for the battle. Knowing this, the Cachar troops retreated home without informing the Muslim troops in the plains. However, the Muslim troops fought alone without retreating. During the battle, Maharaja Khagemba realized that he could not match the strength of the Muslim troops with the force at his disposal, so he decided to defeat the Muslim troops through a diplomatic maneuver. The two parties agreed to withdraw their respective troops. However, the Manipuri troops cleverly surrounded the Muslim troops and issued them an ultimatum, to surrender or die.[67]
At last, in 1606, a legal treaty of three points was signed between Maharaja Khagemba and Qazi Muhammad Sani, commander-in-chief of the Muslim troops, to end the war and to decorate the Muslim troops with a peaceful settlement in Manipur. The points of truce were: Islam should be respected, Muslims should not be demeaned but treated with dignity, and Qazis should have proper independence. Muslims should be allowed to follow Sharia law, and neither they nor their descendants should be expelled from Manipur. If expulsion became unavoidable, those expelled should receive their mothers’ rightful shares. Manipuri women who had already performed nikah should be granted property rights. These conditions of the treaty signed between the two sides played a pivotal role in the settlement of Muslims in Manipur.[68]
Meanwhile, Burmese troops waged war against Kangleipak in the Kabaw Valley in the Manipur-Burma Border. When Maharaja Khagemba sought help from the Muslim troops to assist the Meitei forces in their fight with the Burmese, the Muslims agreed to fight alongside them. Fortunately, the Meitei army won the battle. Maharaja Khagemba was extremely happy and conferred on them the name Pangal (meaning strength in the Meitei language). The Muslims married Meitei women and adopted the Meitei language and various local practices which did not violate Islamic practices. The Muslim soldiers were eventually naturalized as Pangals. The migration of Muslims in Manipur continued during the reign of Maharaja Chandrakriti (1850-1886 CE).[69]
The Meitei Pangals spread across into Assam, Tripura, the area of present-day Bangladesh, and Myanmar. The scholar Abdul Khalique writes that the Manipuri Muslims now living in Bangladesh are the descendants of those Meitei Pangals of Manipur who left their homeland during the war between the kingdom of Manipur and Burma in 1819-1826 CE. Since the state of Manipur had constantly been threatened by the neighboring Burmese, a large group of the Manipuris—both Hindu and Muslim migrated out of Manipur, and some of them were stationed at Cachar in Ahom. After a few years, a large group of Manipuri Muslims residing in Cachar advanced towards Bangladesh and reached Longla, where they were stationed for a few years. Longla was then under the Prithimpsa estate, owned by Ali Amjad, a famous landlord of Sylhet. Later, the Manipuri Muslims living in Longla left for Bhanugach pargana under Kamalgonj thana (now in Bangladesh) in quest of better livelihood and coexistence with the Manipuris who settled there (in taraf, Sylhet) in the 1819-1826 period in Manipur history, referred to as the seven-year devastation, when the Burmese conquered Manipur.[70]
The data on Manipuri Muslims in Burma is minimal. It is known, however, that the Burmese took many Meiteis and Meitei Pangals back home after they attacked Manipur in the eighteenth century. Even today, elders in the Manipuri community fondly talk of those who were carried away. The Manipuris in Burma can be broadly divided into Ponna (Brahmans) and Kathe (Burmanized non-Brahmans), and the latter can be subdivided into Kathe Buddhists, Kathe Hindus, and Kathe Muslims.[71]
A Socio-Cultural Picture
After 1606, the Pangal Loishang (Department for Welfare of the Meitei-Pangal) was established to deal with the community’s internal issues under the leadership of a kazi. After marrying Meitei women, they adopted Meiteilon (the Manipuri language) as their mother tongue. Their social format was based on a pale imitation of the Meitei social organizational pattern, and thus the Meiteis came to influence the cultures of Pangal and vice-versa. Meitei culture and Islamic principles complemented each other in molding the essence of Pangal society, as a particular culture cannot claim that it does not subscribe to the cultural practices of other communities.
The only glaring difference between the two societies is religion. The influence of Meitei culture over the Muslims in Manipur is so significant that it is one of the reasons why they are referred to as ‘Meitei Pangal.’ In social life, it is significant to note that the family life and social organization of the Pangals follows the Meitei family institution and social organizations. Traditional dressing patterns among Manipur’s Muslim women are similar to those of Meitei women: a fanek (a cloth fastened around the waist that descends to the ankle), and a khudei (a cloth used to cover the head and other areas of the body). In 1908, T. C. Hodson noted the fanek’s colour. “The colours of the faneks of the Panggan women differ from those used by Manipuris, as, for instance, the green used by a Meithei will be darker, less glaring than the shade of green allowable to the Panggan.” They also wear the hijab, niqab, and burka in adherence to Islamic practices.[72]
Individuals or groups of Pangals were given sagei names (a kinship/house name/clan term denoting blood relationship) according to different yardsticks, not merely based on an individual’s occupation, and even one-off acts, such as offering something to the Maharaja, were adopted as a criterion. The descendants of these individuals or groups were later identified with these sagei names. We should note, however, that different sagei always have different blood categories, for sometimes brothers would form different sagei, and existing sagei would split.[73] The Pangals were absorbed into Meitei society by accommodating traditional family titles of Yumnak/Sagei/Clan[74] or introducing new Yumnaks.[75] As sagei carries the meaning of relative, kin, or household, it is therefore a cognate group because of their consanguineous relationship.[76]
The wide-ranging skills and crafts of the Pangals have forged the cultural and architectural evolution of Meitei society. The historical texts, Nongsamei and Pangal Thorakpa make numerous references to Maharaja Khagemba personally appreciating the skills of the Pangals and facilitating their marriages with Meitei women, besides allotting them family titles (sagei/clan) based on their skills. It is mentioned in the Nongsamei that a Muslim named Nooriya Sheikh, a master potter, presented a pot (sanabun) to the Maharaja that he had made by using a wheel. Overwhelmed with the gift and the craftsman’s skill, the Maharaja offered him a Meitei woman, as his wife. Nooriya Sheikh’s family was given the clan title of Phusam for his introduction of a new technique of pottery-making on the wheel in Manipur.[77]
In a similar case, three Muslim carpenters, Kundan Khan, Zama Khan, and Sheikh Jali, and two wood carvers, Muhammad and Niamatullah, made a palanquin (locally known as dolai) by using a lathe (local name, phundrei) and presented it to the Maharaja. A lotus, with seven leaves carved out of ivory by these craftsmen, adorned the top of the palanquin’s canopy (local name, sekpin). The Maharaja was delighted by the beauty and craftsmanship of the Muslims and offered a Meitei woman to each of them as their wives. In recognition of their skills, the wood carvers were given the family title Khutheibam (Khutheiba meaning master in craftsmanship), which later became their lineage’s family/clan name. The Maharaja gave the Muslim carpenters, who used wooden lathes to polish wood, the clan Phundrei Mayum. Their families were assigned the art of designing the hookah and canopy, among other things.[78]
The early Manipuri Muslims introduced rice-transplantation, a new technique of rice cultivation in Manipur, a method of which the locals were not aware, according to the Nongsamei.[79] Before the arrival of Muslims in Manipur, knowledge and practice of the transplantation (lingthokpa) method of rice cultivation was limited in Manipur. Only two traditional methods, punghul and pamphel, were widely practiced in the valley of Manipur.[80] Muslims also introduced the bullock/buffalo-drawn plow.[81] Muslim weavers were credited with introducing the fly shuttle, locally known as pangan-tem, used in weaving clothes. Some of these weavers produced fine-quality silk at Apong Ingkhol near Imphal. They wove traditional fabrics like dolai fi and kangtholphan fi.[82]
Like the surnames of the Meiteis, the Meitei Pangals have surnames like Khullakpam, Makak Mayum, Merai, Epham, Singba, and so on.[83] These are not simply generic surnames like Sayed, Khan or Shaikh, rather the Manipur Muslim names are determined by their clans, or the consanguinity, cohesion, relationships, and conjugal relations, and many Pangals who carry these names claim inheritance by them.[84] The caste system is unknown to the Pangals: their Sufi-like traditions obliterated any division that existed, helping in the rise of the melting pot phenomenon and simultaneously acculturating with the Meitei social system. The process of knitting closer social ties with the Meiteis was helped by their practice of marriage of this diasporic community, which later became a settled one. The egalitarian spirit promoted by the preaching of Islam had a positive effect towards communal harmony and mainstreaming. The Meitei Maharajas appreciated the Muslim social pattern. The Muslim practice of putting the first clod of soil in the foundation in constructing a house was believed to be auspicious and was prominent in the state. The Meiteis began using Muslims to put the clod of earth in Meitei homes, as the Meiteis believed it was auspicious and considered a good omen. Moreover, as the Bengali script came with the Pangals, it helped in literary advancement in Manipur.[85]
The Meitei Pangal practice of singing the Islamic hymn, “Marifat,” raises the question whether or not there once were Sufis among them. The “Marifat” hymns emphasize Allah’s glory, the stories associated with Islam and with Prophet Muhammad, the temporal nature of human existence, and the inevitability of the hereafter. It is not certain whether this type of song was associated with the Sufis who might have lived in the area. At present, the songs can be written and sung by anyone. However, no traces of Sufi orders (turuq) or their dances have ever been found in Manipur.[86]
The nomenclature of the Muslim sagei bears an imprint of how it came to be christened in different ways based on, as mentioned above, either individual skill, or place of origin, or the name of the place where they settled. According to writer Ibohal Singh, the Muslims of Manipur were also allotted the family title of yumnak/sagei according to their occupation. The names of the subclans were assigned according to occupation, post, and settlement location in Manipur. Ibohal Singh comments that nowadays Pangals hardly use their family titles like in the earlier periods.[87] This could be because from the last decade of the nineteenth century, the Muslims of Manipur have been engaged in a quest for identity. Regarding the social stratification of the Pangals, Md. Latif Shah notes that all sections of the Pangals do not have equal social status; however, there are no social distinctions. The Maharaja of Manipur assigned the names of their sagei based on skill and aptitude. So, there is no hierarchical differentiation within the sagei based on either economy or occupation.[88] There are around sixty-two Muslim sagei in Manipur.
As noted by Allen in 1905, the 1901 census that classified India’s Muslims neither classified the Pangals in terms of caste-like groups nor grouped them as Syeds, Sheikhs, Mughals, Pathans or by such terms as Ashraf, Ajlaf, or Arzal. They were classed as a single category, i.e., Muhammadans. Throughout Meitei Pangal history, no tradition or practice of venerating mazaars or dargah has ever appeared, as performed mainly in northern India.[89] In 1932, the Muslim Panchayat prepared a report that categorized the Pangals as Syeds, Sheikhs, and Pathans for the first time. It was also an attempt to Ashrafisize them, which represents an attempt to fit into upper category of the Muslim social ladder. But in particular, the Muslims of Manipur have ascribed sagei, even if they had lineage of Arabs, Mughals, or of Bengal, or had migrated from these lands, at different periods of history. Their marrying Meitei women established their distinct identity revolving around their customs, culture, and practices. In the 1930s in Manipur Valley, there was a strong undercurrent for identity-based articulations, rather than family or clan affiliation.
Marriage Traditions
Though the Meitei Pangals and the Meiteis adhere to different religious principles and beliefs, some common norms exist, especially in their culture. Meitei Pangals have adopted the cultural practices of the Meiteis, which are not ultra-vires with the Islamic beliefs and practices. In the matter of marriage, an emphasis is on inter-sagei (clan) and not on intra-sagei marriage, which is the opposite of the kind of intra-caste marriage system prevalent among Muslims in Central India. At marriages, the relatives, family, friends, and kin of the groom need to obtain the consent of the bride’s parents. After that, the groom’s side conducts an engagement called ‘’Haijaba,’’ which was earlier performed thrice. At this stage, both the bride and the groom exchange their consent. Like the groom, the bride’s side needs to have its witnesses. There are two forms of marriage: Luhong and Loukhatpa. In either form, the nikah (solemnization) is conducted by a Maulvi. Before the nikah, the groom is required to give the bride the pre-decided gold ‘mohors.’ On the day of giving the gold, three witnesses are chosen who personally take the consent of the girl for the “marriage proposal.” The Pangals do not generally marry close relatives or with the same family titles because of the traditional belief that marriage between clan members results in the birth of defective or deformed children. This practice seems to have been adopted by the Meiteis, who follow the system of inter-marriage. The performance of nikah is the most essential characteristic of marriage for the Muslim community. In some families, nikah is performed on the day of marriage; in other families, marriages are performed after some gap after nikah. Mehr, paid by the groom to the bride in the form of gold, is not fixed but is decided by the status and capability of the groom. In Meitei Pangal society, there are no restrictions on widows, widowers, or divorcees remarrying.[90]
Meitei Pangals invite their relatives and members of their clan to customary functions and rituals performed before the marriage ceremony such as Sagei Kwa Yenba, Kwa Khaiba, and Panuka Puba. After seeking the hand of the daughter in marriage, the Sagei Kwa Yenba (distributing betel nuts amongst clan members) is performed. The groom’s father engages a person for this purpose and sends him along with betel nuts and leaves for distribution to the sagei relatives of the bride. Kwa Khaiba (cutting of betel nuts into four square pieces) is performed on a date agreed to by the parents of the groom and bride. If the pieces of the betel nuts are found without any defect, it is considered a good omen. The Panuka is a compound word of pan and kwa (betel leaves and nuts). This system is a counterpart of the Heijing Pot Puba (bridal shower like in the West but also similar to engagement as well) of the Meiteis. Betel leaves, and nuts are distributed among friends of both the groom and bride, along with sweets and fruits. Again, under the influence of a Meitei marriage, certain practices are becoming an essential part of the marriage ceremony of the Meitei Pangals in Manipur. These are the Mapam Chakkouba (bride’s visit to the mother’s house for a grand feast), and the Hiram (the bride’s family again hosts a lunch at the bride’s maternal home, for the bride and her new family).[91]
Unlike the Meitei custom, there is no Laita-Tintha, a religious ritual of appeasing the gods for the couple’s welfare. On any auspicious day, the marriage is solemnized in the name of Allah. It is similar to the solemnization of marriages in other Muslim countries. The expenditure, however, in the marriage ceremony is taken as the “bride price,” which is borne by the groom’s side and is obligatory.[92] The bride can take the property she desires from her parents’ wealth. The dowry system is not practiced in Pangal society of Manipur, but the father must give his daughter a copy of the Quran on marriage day.[93]
Economic Status
Even during British colonial rule (1891-1947), the kingdom of Manipur had offices/departments (loishang) exclusively for Muslims engaged in various vocations. T.C. Hodson writes that colonial departments assigned Muslims with economic duties in the early twentieth century, under the Pangan Sanglen (Department of Horses and Elephants), Pangan Inkhol (Department of Agriculture), Pangan Singa Loisang (Department of Musicians), Pangan Phundrei Loisang (Department of Artisans), Pangan Kumar (Department of Pottery Making), Pangan Mall (Department of Acrobats), and Pangan Likli (Department of Manufacturing Glass).[94]
Muslims, including Meitei Pangals, account for 8.4 percent of the population of Manipur, according to data from the Census of 2011, with four districts having sizeable Muslim populations: Thoubal, Imphal East, Imphal West, and Bishnupur. All four of these districts, however, have a Hindu majority. Nearly half the state’s Muslim population lives in Thoubal, while accounting for only a quarter of the district’s total population. The sex ratio of Muslims is 991 females per 1,000 males, their literacy rate is much lower with 58.6 percent against the state’s 76.94 percent. There is lack of recent survey data, but according to the 2001 census, their work participation is 43.7 percent (the lowest of the state’s religious categories), as against 48.1 percent for all religions in the state. The Muslim female work participation rate is even lower at 29.6 percent, due mainly to low income, lack of education and skills, with each factor contributing to the other.
Under the Census of 2001, among Muslims, 28.6 percent were said to be cultivators as against 40.2 percent for all religious categories; 22.3 percent were agricultural laborers as against 12.0 percent for all religious groups; 7.6 percent belonged to the “household industries;” and 41.5 percent belonged to the “other workers” category.[95] The 2001 census also revealed that 70.96 percent of Muslims lived in rural areas, whereas 29.03 percent inhabited urban areas.[96]
Muslims were noticeable by their absence in the service sector in 1998, where higher education is a prerequisite, according to a survey by the All Manipur Muslim United Organization Coordinating Committee. As per the survey, out of the aggregate Muslim population, there were 51 class I officers (including three women), 101 class II officers, 1,270 employees in class III, and 1,663 employees in class IV. The highest representation was in the state police force. A sizable chunk of the urban Muslim population engaged in various low-profile, informal or unorganized economic activities. Only five persons were reported to have engaged in small-scale industry. The report also spelt out that there was a lack of adequate representation of Muslims in government services, and over the years it is significantly on the decline. So, the overall economic backwardness of Muslims acts as a hindrance to their educational achievement.[97]
The Socio-Economic Survey of Meitei Pangals 2004, conducted by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of Manipur, in collaboration with the All Manipur Muslims (Meitei Pangal) Welfare Association, is a crucial report initiated by the Government of Manipur for the first time to generate a comprehensive picture of the Meitei Pangal community on its social, religious, cultural, and economic aspects. As adequate data relating to the minority community was not readily available, the survey was mainly conducted to assess the Muslim community’s contributions to the state’s overall socio-economic health, implement suitable measures for their uplift, and to bridge the gap. The survey shed light on the overall economic status of the Muslims. The data on monthly household income given by the report indicate that Muslims lag far behind other communities in all indicators of socio-economic status. The report shows that most of the Muslim households fall in the low-income group. Almost 41.23 percent of the Muslim households had a monthly household income below Rs. 2,000, and a mere 3.06 percent had a monthly income of Rs. 10,000 and above.[98]
As per the Socio-Economic Survey, out of those Muslims who engaged in economic activity, 40.27 percent were cultivators, and out of the total Muslim population, 71.17 percent were out of the labor force, with only 28.83 percent remaining in the labor force. Of 28.83 percent, 24.14 percent were employed, and 4.69 percent were unemployed. Moreover, out of the male Muslim workers, 50.25 percent were self-employed or engaged in their own enterprises, and 21.39 percent had regular salary/wage. Many Muslim workers were self-employed persons who ran their enterprises independently or with one or more partners without hiring any laborers, however they may have unpaid helpers. As many as 50.25 percent of males worked in their own enterprises with no employees, and 41.40 percent of female workers were in this category of work. Almost 35.31 percent of female workers worked as unpaid helpers in household enterprises. Muslim women were found to have been engaged in their own household enterprises with no employees. Unpaid helpers followed women in household enterprises. Only 6.39 percent of Muslim women were working as regular salaried/waged employees, as against 21.65 percent of their counterparts in other communities.[99]
Despite the lack of recent reliable data, it is believed that the Muslims of Manipur lag in human development, including education, decent living standards and access to healthcare facilities. If there has been an improvement in the literacy level of different communities, the rates of progress have not been uniform. It is a matter of concern not only for Manipur but also for the whole country. The Meitei Pangals lag behind others in education: moreover, there is a higher dropout rate among the Pangal students, which some argue is due to poverty.[100]
The Meitei Pangal community very active in cultivation and mainly depends upon agriculture; a few work in government services, vocational professions, or trade and commerce. Their living conditions are not economically affluent.[101] Manipuri Muslims, constituting almost 50 percent of the total agricultural labor because of the kitchen-garden culture that exists in Manipur, play a significant role in agriculture, weaving industries, and the vegetable market. Almost 90 percent of the weaver and vegetable market vendors are women in the state, and the same proportion is for the Pangal community. The Muslim Women’s Survey (the first comprehensive baseline survey of Muslim women in India conducted in the year 2000) demonstrates that religion per se does not influence the status of women even though there are community-specific disadvantages which arise out of poverty. According to the survey, two-thirds of Muslim women are self-employed or engaged in home-based labor. They are in the informal sector, self-employed in low-paying, often semi-skilled home-based work, casual laborers, and domestic workers, all characterized by poor working conditions and low wages.[102]
A unique Muslim women’s market can be seen in Lilong, the highest Muslim-populated area, almost 6 kilometers from Imphal, where around 200 to 300 Muslim women occupy regular stalls and sell daily consumption commodities. Many Muslim women vendors are seen in many of the keithels (markets) in the valley of Manipur, sitting side-by-side with women of other communities, selling vegetables, fruits, fish, eggs, clothes, and other merchandise. In the Khwairamband Market, around 25 Muslim vendors have got permanent seats. More than 200 to 300 Muslim women vendors, who do not have a permanent place to put up their stalls, are seen in the narrow gullies, roadside, or at open spaces in and around the Khwairamband Market. In Imphal city, besides the Khwairamband Market, Muslim women vendors are there in Hatta, the Tribal Market in New Checkon, and the Konung Mamang, Keithel. They are present in other markets like Lilong, Thoubal, Wangjing Keithel, Nungfou, Khongjom, Sora, Mayang Imphal, Kakching, and Pallel. They also work in informal and unorganized sectors like shop, hotel industry, animal husbandry and poultry farming, embroidery and tailoring, and in construction and brick-making.[103]
The presence of the Meitei Pangals in government jobs is the lowest relative to other communities of the state. In the last decade, there has been a positive change for the Meitei Pangals who have been selected by the Union Public Service Commission and Manipur Public Service Commission for positions in the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Foreign Service, the Manipur state government services, as well as assistant professors in higher state education institutions. However, the Pangals are still under-represented in government jobs compared to other communities. Their representation in positions of power is negligible in areas such as state bureaucracy, police, and judiciary compared to those of the Meiteis, the Nagas, and the Kukis. Lack of access to regular jobs, especially in the public sector, has been a general concern among them.
The Pangal youth cannot find employment, especially in the government and organized sectors due to their lack of education.[104] Meitei Pangals’ presence in the higher education sector, especially in postgraduate and research, is relatively meagre largely due to the government’s neglect of issues concerning the community. Successive governments have been ignorant and negligent of the essential and urgent needs of the community. The longstanding demand of converting all the Manipuri Muslims to the Most Backward Community (MBC) status to solve the problem of education and economic wellbeing is still a distant dream. The Manipuri Muslims Political Forum urged the government to initiate free education policy for Muslim students up to the twelfth standard, like the state of Uttar Pradesh.[105]
In the context of the demand for reservation of Muslims, there are two approaches employed by Muslims in their argument for addressing the acute condition of their being in the least privileged category, even below Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and non-Muslim Other backward Class. One approach uses the status of Muslims as a minority and underprivileged community, and the second one is based on the social stratification of the Muslims into caste/class. Although in Islam there is no stratification, the Muslims have been absorbed into the socio-culture of India, and as a result they are differentiated on a caste/class basis, where in Muslim OBCs are economically below the OBCs of other communities. Both approaches affirm reservation in jobs and education as essential ingredients in trying to improve the disturbing condition of backwardness of Muslims in India.[106]
The plight of Muslims has drawn national attention at the highest level. The National Commission on Backward Religious and Linguistic Minorities was appointed in 2004 under the Chairmanship of Justice Ranganath Mishra, former Chief Justice of India. The Commission submitted its report in May 2007, making a recommendation, among others, for 15 percent reservations for religious minorities, of which 10 percent was exclusively for Muslims.[107] Their backwardness in India was amply established by the Prime Minister’s High-Level Committee under Justice Rajindar Sachar, appointed in 2005 to compile and analyze all available data on the community’s educational, economic, and social status. The Committee made recommendations to address the status of the Muslim community by setting up an Equal Opportunity Commission to look into grievances of deprived groups like minorities; creating a nomination procedure to increase participation of minorities in public bodies; establishing a delimitation procedure that does not reserve constituencies with high minority population for the SCs; increasing employment share of Muslims, mainly where there is a great deal of public dealing; working out mechanisms to link madrasas with higher secondary school board; and recognizing degrees from madrasas for eligibility in defence, civil and banking examinations.
Manipuri Muslims are socially and educationally backward and have been given the status of OBCs based on a survey by an Expert Committee on Other Backward Classes Manipur constituted on July 20, 1993, along with the Meiteis, among others. In the report, 62 sagei/clans of the Pangals have been recognized.[108] Even after 77 years of India’s independence, the socio-economic status of the Pangals is still behind that of other communities in the state. In 2006, the state government granted 17 percent of state government jobs for Minorities and Other Backward Classes, of which 4 percent of government jobs are reserved for Pangals and 12.5 percent for Meitei OBCs. Now, several organizations argue that the reservation meant for the Pangals is inadequate and they recommend raising it to at least 10 percent. The demand for 10 percent reservation is based on the proportion of the population in the state. Moreover, they favor extending the reservation to admission in higher education and professional and non-professional courses.
The Manipur government took note of the demand, but has still not incorporated it into policy or put into action even though growing poverty and unemployment have lent an urgency to the demand for reservation in jobs, education, and political representation. Meanwhile, the demand for provision of Scheduled Tribe status by different groups, including Meiteis and Pangals, has escalated. The Pangals, as shown, also want to be included in the list of Scheduled Tribes; they do not want to be left out if the Meiteis are given Scheduled Tribe status. When a Commission of the Ministry of Minority Affairs of the government of India enquired why the Pangals were not recognized as a Scheduled Tribe, the state government reported that “the Muslims are not tribal people and they constitute a clan.”[109]
Role in State Politics
The question of political consciousness of the Meitei Pangal community is less discussed in academic writings. However, the literature related to the community reflects their political participation as Pangal Loishang (Department) since the beginning of the seventeenth century. Scholars deduce that the Pangals have participated directly or indirectly in governance, especially since 1606 CE. The participation of Pangals is evident in the forms of Qazi-Ul-Quazat (Chief Qazi), khullakpa (Chieftain) and Qazi and Khullakpa (Chieftain) 1606 CE.[110] During Maharaja Khagemba’s rule, Muhammad Shani was the Qazi ul Quazat, Tona Malik was Qazi in 1606, and Shaikh Junaid was a chieftain in 1627.[111] The trend of appointing Meitei Pangals in the religious-political governance continued during different periods of the maharajas, such as Khunjaoba, Paikhomba, Charairongba, and during Churachand, Abdur Rahman urfey Sanajaoba was the last Qazi in 1919-31.[112]
T.C. Hudson, as shown, notes seven administrative departments that looked after the affairs of the Meitei Pangal: Pangal Shanglen, Panggal Inkhol, Panggal Fundrei Loisang, Panggal Kumar, Panggal Mall, and Panggal Likli.[113] As referred earlier, there was a military system called Lallup during the different periods of Manipuri kings. The persons liable to be called up for duty under the Lallup system were the Meitheis, the Brahmins, and the Musalmans, called Pang-gans.[114]
The Manipuri Muslims had their customs and conventions. They had their own Qazis (Magistrate) who were experts in the law of the Muhammadans.[115] In 1891-92, a Panchayat court was constituted at Lilong for the trial of Manipuri Muslims, which consisted of five Muslims. This Panchayat had the same authority as other Panchayats in the area. Decisions made by any Panchayat could be appealed to the higher court at Cheirap, Imphal.[116] A Muslim Personal Law Board functioned under a Qazi, which continued till 1908 when T.C. Hudson was working as a British political agent and superintendent. Back then, there were special seats reserved in the government for Muslims. They were trusted for being honest, fair, and hard-working.[117]
In the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891, the sacrifice of Dasu Sardar, a Meitei Pangal, is widely remembered in Manipur. Dasu, a photographer of the Royal Court and a close associate of Maharaja Kulachandra and Tikendrajit, was brutally killed along with his two daughters on the night of March 24, 1891 by the British for not disclosing the whereabouts of Yuvraaj Tikendrajit. Many Metei Pangals fought bravely against the British in support of the Meitei Maharaja and laid down their lives, which is still remembered and acknowledged by both the society of Meiteis and Meitei Pangals.[118]
After the defeat in 1891 war, Manipur became a princely state under British paramountcy. Within this political structure, the Durbar carried out administrative, executive, policy-making, and judicial functions from 1907 to 1947.[119] There were Muslim members in the Durbar during the British period.[120] The separate electorate for the Muslims with the introduction of the 1909 Act by the British and the subsequent expansion to include other communities and sections of society through the 1919 Act, Communal Award of Ramsay Macdonald, and the Government of India Act 1935 was seen as detrimental to the social fabric. In 1938, the Nikhil Manipur Mahasabha was constituted by Hijam Irabot Singh, and the group even had a Muslim member, Md Nikhil Ahmed Choudhury.
When democratic stirrings took place in the princely states in different parts of the country, the state people’s conference was launched, and Manipur could no longer remain unaffected. Maharaja Bodhchandra initiated a constitution-making body in December 1946. On March 10, 1947, he finally announced the formation of the Constituent Assembly, which consisted of 16 members representing officials of Manipur and the people. The Committee was inclusive to such an extent that it had a Manipuri Muslim, Md Qazi Wali-ullah, on it. The Committee submitted a draft of the Constitution of Manipur to the Maharaja for his final assent. On July 26, 1947, the Maharaja publicly announced that he approved the Manipur State Constitution Act 1947 and the Manipur Hill People (Administration) Regulation Act 1947.[121]
According to the Constitution, the State Assembly would have members in the proportion 30:18:3 from the General, Hill, and Muhamaddan areas, respectively, and two representatives representing educational and commercial interests.[122] The Maharaja inaugurated an Interim Council on August 14, 1947, with a Chief Minister, the younger brother of the Maharaja, four ministers from the plains, and two from the hills.[123] In the interim government council formed in 1947, Maulvi Bashiruddin Ahmed became a minister. The formation of Manipur State Election Rules, 1948 had a provision and decreed that, out of the thirty valley seats, there would be plural voting to elect a Muslim and a non-Muslim for the Muslim-dominated (majority) constituency of Lilong, Mayang Imphal, and Yairipok.
The first Assembly Election was held in July and August 1947, with candidates from political parties running for political office. In the 1948 elections, five Manipuri Muslims were elected.[124] After its merger with India on October 15, 1949, Manipur’s State Legislative Assembly was dissolved, and Manipur became a Chief Commissioner Province under the Constitution of the Indian Republic, initially placed in Category ‘C’ of states. An Advisory Council was formed in 1950 to advise the Administrator, and the state became a Union Territory on November 1, 1956. The Advisory Council was replaced by a Territorial Council composed of thirty elected and two nominated members early in 1957. Later, under the Government of India Territorial Act of 1963, a Legislative Assembly of thirty elected and three nominated members was established. The status of the Administrator was raised from Chief Commissioner to Lieutenant Governor on December 19, 1969, and Manipur became a full-fledged state on January 21, 1972 under the North Eastern Areas (Regulation) Act 1971, unfurling a new chapter in the political history of the state.[125]
At present, among the political groups, the prominent ones are: Federal Party of Manipur, Kangleipak Communist Party, Kuki National Assembly, Kuki People’s Alliance, Manipur Peoples Party, Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee, Manipur Progressive Secular Alliance, Manipur State Congress Party, Maoist Communist Party of Manipur, Naga National Party, North East India Development Party, People’s Democratic Alliance (Manipur), People’s Liberation Army of Manipur, People’s Resurgence and Justice Alliance, and Secular Progressive Front.[126] The Meitei Pangals never had a political party in Manipur.
After Manipur became a full-fledged state, the first Chief Minister, Muhammad Alimuddin, served from March 1972 to March 1973, winning his seat from the Lilong constituency over Abdul Gani of Indian National Congress (INC). He was in charge of the Home Department, Secretariat Administration, Appointment and Services Department, Civil Supply Department, Medical and Public Health Department, Transport Department, and Planning Department.
Figure 2. The first Chief Minister of Manipur, Muhammad Alimuddin, who was in office from March 1972 to March 1973. Photo credit: e-pao.org, https://www.e-pao.org/galleries/images/misc/2015/11/Alimuddin_20151121_1.jpg
Habibur Rahaman from the Khekman Assembly constituency won his election under the banner of the Indian National Congress in 1972. In the same year, from Keirao and Athokpam constituencies, Md. Jalaluddin and Md. Chaoba, respectively, became members of the legislative assembly under the Manipur People’s Party banner. Muhammad Abdul Latip served two terms as a member of the Manipur Legislative Assembly. In the 1972 elections, he contested from the Mayang Imphal constituency in Imphal West district as an independent candidate and won, overcoming his competitor, Khaidem Gulamjat Singh of Manipur People’s Party (MPP). In the 1974 elections, Latip contested under the Manipur People’s Party and succeeded again, defeating Khaidem Mangol of the Communist Party. Thus, five Manipuri Muslims from different constituencies entered the Assembly in the first Legislative Assembly Election of 1972.[127]
In the 1974 election, seven Manipuri Muslims were elected to the 60-member Assembly, and this number has been the highest to represent the Meitei Pangals in the Manipur legislature till the present. Muhammad Alimuddin once again won his seat from the Lilong constituency. For the second time, Alimuddin became the Chief Minister of Manipur.[128] O. Joy Singh, a veteran member of the legislative assembly who served as Speaker from 1974 to 1975, rated him as the most successful and endearing chief minister in the history of Manipur. Alimuddin established the Regional Medical College, which is now the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences at Lamphelpat, and he brought a Centre of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, at Canchipur, which has now become Manipur University and set up the Manipur Public Service Commission.[129] In 1974, seven Meitei Pangals became MLAs. But, in the election that took place in 1980, the number dropped to four, and in the 1984 election, it fell further to three. The 1980, and 1984 elections showed a declining trend of Meitei Pangal representation in successive elections. Thereafter, there was an inadequate representation of the community, with only one representation in the 1990 and 2000 state election.
In the elections of 1995, 2002, 2012, 2017, and 2022, a consistent trend of representation set in, with three members of the assembly from the Meitei Pangal community. However, the election in 2000 had one member, and the 2007 poll had two from the community. There is Meitei Pangal population in the assembly constituencies of Andro, Bishenpur, Jiribam, Kakching, Keirao, Khangabok, Kshetrigao, Heingang, Kumbi, Lilong, Mayang Imphal, Moirang, Wabagai, Wangkhei, and Kumbi. The constituency of Lilong has the highest number of Meitei Pangal voters compared to other communities.[130] In every election, the constituency has elected a Meitei Pangal representative. The Wabagai constituency has elected the second highest number of Meitei Pangal representatives with five members, followed by Kshetrigao with four members since the 1974 assembly election. In Moirang constituency, Pangals form nearly one-third of the electorate, and the community is concentrated in the Kwakta area. Despite having significant number of Pangal voters, the Moirang constituency elected only one Pangal representative, Mohammad Heshamuddin, once in the 1995 election.[131]
In the Assembly election of 2002, Md Alauddin Khan, with the Indian National Congress Party, was elected to the 8th Manipur Legislative Assembly from Keirao constituency and served as a state minister for Public Health, and Engineering Department and Power in the O. Ibobi led government. Later, he was made Cabinet Minister for Minority and Other Backward Classes (MOBC), Rural Development (RD) and Panchayati Raj (PR), and Veterinary and Animal Husbandry. He was re-elected from the same constituency in the 9th Manipur Legislative Assembly in 2007. He was again inducted into the O. Ibobi ministry as cabinet minister for RD, PR, MOBC, and Science & Technology. He lost the 10th Manipur Legislative Assembly election.[132] The two other candidates elected to the assembly were Dr. Md Maniruddin Shaikh and Md Abdul Salam from the Lilong and Wabagai constituencies, respectively. They both belonged to the Indian National Congress Party, and Dr Maniruddin Shaikh served as the State Minister of Education, Tourism and Fisheries. He became the second Manipuri Pangal to hold the position of Speaker in the Manipur assembly from 2005 to 2007. He completed his MD degree in Pediatrics from Aligarh Muslim University, and served as a Medical Officer and Assistant Director for over 30 years in the J.N. Hospital, Imphal.[133] Md Abdul Salam served as Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RD and PR) from 1997 to 1999, and Minister of Minorities & Other Backward Classes (MOBC) from 2002 to 2004. He was nominated as panel chairman to conduct assembly sessions by the Speaker in his absence from July 2004 till the completion of the 8th Manipur Legislative Assembly term in 2007. Md Abdul Salam was the first Meitei Pangal to join the Rajya Sabha. He had represented the state in the upper house since 2014 until he passed away in 2017.[134]
In the state Assembly elections of 2007, only two Muslim MLAs were elected, namely Muhammad Alauddin Khan (INC) from the Keirao and Muhammad Helaluddin Khan (RJD) from the Lilong assembly constituency. Muhammad Alauddin Khan was the cabinet minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raaj, Minority and Other Backward Classes, and Fishery.[135] In the 2012 Assembly election, Md Amin Shah, Md Fajur Rahim and Md Abdul Nasir, who belonged to the INC Party, were elected from the Kshetrigao, Wabagai and Lilong constituencies.[136] In 2017, Md Fajur Rahim, Md Ashabuddin and Md Abdul Nasir won from the Wabagai, Jiribam and Lilong constituencies. In the bye-election at Lilong constituency, Y. Antaz Khan won over Abdul Nasir. In the 2022 Assembly election, N. Hassan, Md Ashabuddin and Md Abdul Nasir won from the Kshetrigao, Jiribam and Lilong constituencies.
The last portfolio holding MLA was Md Abdul Nasir in 2012, when Ibobi Singh led the government. So, based on the trend over the last few decades, the representation of Meitei Pangals in the Assembly has not increased in number. The lack of representation and political power broker is a big blow to the Meitei Pangals. The delimitation process, likely to be conducted in 2026 based on the 2001 Census, has created insecurity among the minority Pangals, believing the process may not lead to proportionate representation. In the Delimitation Commission 2020, Md Abdul Nasir was nominated as Pangal representative after ardent pleas from the community, but the delimitation was not conducted.
Meitei Pangal Women’s Space in Manipur Politics
There are documented examples found in Nongsamei Puya and Pangal Thorakpa that the Pangal women assisted during the wars by making a weapon, the shuttler, locally known as Tem in the Manipuri language.[137] However, there is a vacuum of Pangal women in the political space of Manipur from the beginning of the seventeenth century till the post-colonial period. Political consciousness among the Pangal women could have started in 1904 during the first Nupi Lan (an agitation of the women folk, where Meitei women bravely stood up against the injustice), though no historical accounts of this assumption exist. The first agitation was triggered by the action of Colonel Maxwell in July 1904 to reintroduce the abolished Lallup System, wherein men were required to perform free labor for ten days every month. After the bungalows of two British officials were burnt down in 1904, Maxwell temporarily reintroduced the Lallup System to rebuild them. This move proved a misstep as the women rose in unison to protest against the injustice of forced labor. On September 3, 1904, thousands of women gathered spontaneously and marched towards Maxwell’s official residence. They were assured that the order would be reconsidered; however, it all came to nought. Hence, on October 5 that year, around 5,000 women gathered at Khwairamband Bazar in protest, refusing to move till the order was retracted.
There are no writings on Muslim women’s participation in the 1925 women-led agitations against the water tax introduced by the state authorities.[138] However, the participation of Pangal women in the second Nupi Lan is well documented such as Shara Bibi, Shajaobi Bibi, Tombi Bibi, Gulzan, Bodon Tombi, Sanabi Bibi, Noor Jahan, and Safarjan from Kshetri Mayai Leikai, Khergao, Khergao Sabal Leikai, Kshetri Awang Leikai, Keikhu and possibly many more from other parts of the state. More than 30 Pangal women took part in the “Nupi Lan” conflict of 1939 (Women’s Uprising on December 12, 1939) along with Meitei women, rising up against the British policy of exporting rice with the help of some Marwari businessmen to other states that led to inflation in the entire state, locally known as chaktangba.[139]
Except this, there are no writings on the participation and representation of Pangal women in the state’s political affairs till 1947. There was no representation in the Territorial Council (later known as the Territorial Legislative Assembly) in 1963 despite having three Meitei Pangal members. In the second Manipur Territorial Assembly in 1967-69, two Meitei Pangals were present, though women were not represented. After Manipur got full statehood on January 21, 1973, the State Legislative Assembly comprised 60 members, five of whom were from the Meitei Pangal community, but no Meitei Pangal women were represented.
Meitei Pangal women formed community organizations (CSOs) only after Nupi Lan in 1939, such as the Muslim Chanura Development Organization, Kangleipak Muslim Chanura Marup, Ushoipokpi Tharaurok Women Development Organization, United Muslim Women Development Organisation (UMWDO), etc. The participation of Meitei Pangal women in the communal harmony rally of May 1993 reveals the early development of political awareness among them. They took up cudgels in fighting drug trafficking, and counseling and rehabilitating drug users in association with community organizations. They also formed the Meira Paibis organization (torch bearers) like their counterparts in the Meitei community.
Meitei Pangal women have a presence in professions such as medicine, engineering, and education, as well as in the Manipur Civil Service, and state government services, but in fewer numbers. In the 11th state assembly election, a Meitei Pangal woman, Najima Bibi, contested from the Wabagai Assembly constituency of Thoubal district, becoming the first Meitei Pangal woman to contest a state poll, but she lost.[140] The lack of political awareness among the Meitei Pangal women is evident by its under-representation.
Discussion and Conclusion
In the violence-wracked environment, all the communities in the state have become politically insecure, a situation that has intensified in recent years and manifested through various political movements. Even the Meiteis, who hold political dominance, feel acutely disadvantaged due to restrictions on buying land or settling in the hill areas, and because of their exclusion from benefits provided to Scheduled Tribes. Other communities also have their concerns. A sense of insecurity stems from the communities’ spatial distribution, where no single group controls political and economic power simultaneously. Their insecurity has fueled a range of political movements.
Manipur is a prime example of a deeply divided society, where the political ambitions of major communities’ clash over the state’s future. Some movements advocate for greater autonomy from the center, while others seek to divide it into smaller sub-states to control specific regions—demonstrating the wide swath of strikingly different views of the various social groups about their homeland.
Despite a lack of reliable data, it is evident that the Meitei Pangals are among the most disadvantaged groups, educationally, economically, and politically, compared to other communities in the state. Like the other groups, they are reconstructing their identities, but they face greater challenges than other communities, raising an urgent need for research and documentation to build an inclusive knowledge base about the society, economy, and politics of the Meitei Pangal community. Another lapse is that the 1901 census did not classify the Pangals into distinct caste-like groups or categorize them with terms such as Syeds, Sheikhs, Mughals, Pathans, or Ashraf, Ajlaf, and Arzal. Instead, they were grouped under a single category: Muhammadans. They were not classified into these categories but were treated as a homogeneous group. It was only around the 1970s that Muslim writers began seeing the Pangals in terms of four groups—Syed, Sheikh, Mughal, and Pathan.
There is a lack of a recent census for the Pangals, as none was conducted after the 1901 Census that classified this minority community—except the report prepared by Muslim Panchayat appointed during British rule. Throughout history the Muslims in Manipur have learnt and acquired cultural traits from other groups, notably the Meiteis/Meeteis, the most prominent of these being language and dress. As they acculturated, Muslims spoke the Meitei/Meetei language. Yet, unlike northern India, where practices such as venerating mazaars or dargahs are standard, no such traditions have been observed among the Meitei Pangals. This reflects distinctness from Sufism and other Muslims in India.
India’s diverse histories and societies are often overshadowed by the narratives from the country’s central regions which dominate discussions and policy-making. Beyond the widely recognized images of dominant societies and histories, there are groups with different historical trajectories and challenges. Among these, the OBC category includes groups with unique historical backgrounds, which reflects the tendency to limit OBC criteria to caste-specific considerations. However, Meitei Pangals are again at a disadvantageous position vis-à-vis non-Muslim OBCs. The attempt to see Meitei Pangals in terms of these categories is an attempt at status mobility under a framework borrowed from outside. The Meitei Pangal is caste-less community but which at the same time is backward because of a different historical trajectory accompanied by its own reasons.
In a governance system designed to address backwardness and support weaker sections, including women, greater sensitivity is needed for meaningful development. The educational progress of Pangal women lags significantly behind their male counterpart and also, in comparison to that of other communities. It is necessary to promote higher education amongst Pangal women. Ideally, democracy and empowerment should go hand in hand, and this ideal needs to be realized. While Muslim women have the right to elect their representatives, their choices are often constrained by a lack of information, resulting in unmet development needs. Without education, democracy is hollow, and empowerment remains elusive. True democratization involves not only political democracy but also the decentralization of power. Inclusive growth can only be achieved through an inclusive democracy.
Hm Izhar Alam worked as a Guest Faculty at Women’s College, Department of Political Science, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Aligarh. He holds a PhD degree in Political Science from the Department of Political Science of AMU, and is a University Gold Medal awardee. He is a recipient of the UGC PG-URH and other prestigious scholarships. He is a University Grants Commission-Junior Research Fellow in Political Science and was awarded Senior Research Fellow during his research study. His recent work includes research articles such as “Abrogation of Article 370 and the Question of Asymmetrical Federal Arrangement in Northeast India,” in Springer Nature Social Sciences, Switzerland; and “Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation Strategies and International Politics: A Scenario of the Indian Perspectives in the Light of the Global Contexts,” in an edited volume in a publication by Springer Nature.
Arshi Khan is a Professor of Political Science in the Department of Political Science at Aligarh Muslim University, India. With degrees from various institutions in different countries, including a PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, his papers have been published in over fourteen books edited in India, the United States, UK, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Cyprus, Turkey, UAE, and Iraq. He has published four Monographs, over fifty-one refereed and indexed national and international journals, and over one hundred eighty articles/analyses in newspapers. He has edited two books, Federalism, Democracy and Conflict Resolution, published by Macmillan, and Exclusion of Muslims in India: Participation, Tolerance and Legitimacy of the State, published by Genuine Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd. His recent book titled Social Violence in Contemporary India: An Exploration of Aftermath was published by the Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi.
Md Nawaz Sharif grew up in Kwakta in the Bishnupur district of Manipur, which has been one of the epicentres of violence since May 2023 between the Meiteis and Kukis. He is pursuing a PhD from Dhanamanjuri University, Manipur. His doctoral research is centered around U.S.-Afghan relations. His other areas of interest include minorities and conflicts in the Indian Northeast. He is a University Grants Commission-Junior Research Fellow. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (honors degree), and Masters in Political Science from the Department of Political Science at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.
[1] Hm Izhar Alam, “Case Study of a Long-Running Conflict,1947-2023: Ethnic Clashes Jeopardize Manipur’s Roseate Economy as Flaring Violence Could Spread Across the Wider Northeast,” Rising Asia Journal 3, no. 3 (2023): 606-678, https://www.rajraf.org/article/ethnic-clashes-jeopardize-manipurs-roseate-economy-as-flaring-violence-could-spread-across-thewider-northeast/1111
[2] Md Chingiz Khan, “Divisive Tactics Seen Behind Targeted Eviction in Manipur,” Tehelka 15, no. 16 (2018): 42-44; and Radhika Chatterjee, “Declaration of Village Land as Protected Forest Areas in the Hill District of Manipur Triggers Statewide Protests,” Land Conflict Watch, April 18, 2023, https://www.landconflictwatch.org/conflicts/declaration-of-village-land-as-protected-forest-areas-in-the-hill-district-of-manipur-triggers-statewide-protests
[3] Hm Izhar Alam, “Case Study of a Long-Running Conflict,1947-2023.”
[4] T. C. Hodson, The Meitheis (New Delhi: Neeraj, 1984), 60.
[5] R. Constantine, Manipur Maid of the Mountains (New Delhi: Lancers, 1981), 38-45.
[6] Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, “Report of Working Group of National Integration Council to Study Reports of the Commissions of Inquiry on Communal Riots,” 2007, 78-80, https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/NIC-W-Group.pdf.
[7] Ishan Kukreti, “Manipur’s Complicated Meitei-Muslim ‘Truce’,” News Laundry, April 20, 2016, https://www.newslaundry.com/2016/04/20/manipurs-complicated-meitei-muslim-truce; and Delhi Association of Manipur Muslim Students, “30th Anniversary of Pangals Black Day - 03rd May 2023,” E-PAO, May 4, 2023, https://shorturl.at/ILUvx
[8] The Sangai Express, “Don’t Insult Whole Community: Pangals,” September 2, 2023, https://www.thesangaiexpress.com/Encyc/2023/9/2/By-Our-Staff-ReporterIMPHAL-Sep-1-Condemning-the-increasing-accusation-and-public-insult-on-the-Pangal-c.html
[9] Syed Ali Mujtaba, “The Plight of Meitei Pangals or Manipur Muslims Remains Unheard,” The Milli Gazette, May 27, 2023, https://www.milligazette.com/news/6-issues/34065-the-plight-of-meitei-pangals-or-manipur-muslims-remains-unheard/
[10] Harsh Mander, “Lynching of Young Muslim Entrepreneur in Manipur Last Year Shows Such Acts are Carefully Planned,” Scroll.in, August 2, 2019, https://scroll.in/article/924029/lynching-of-young-muslim-entrepreneur-in-manipur-last-year-shows-such-acts-are-carefully-planned; and Jimmy Leivon, “Manipur: Man Lynched on Suspicion of Vehicle Theft, Five Arrested,” Indian Express, September 15, 2018, https://indianexpress.com/article/north-east-india/manipur/manipur-man-lynched-on-suspicion-of-vehicle-theft-five-arrested-5357121/
[11] Ibid.
[12] The Quint, “Manipur Lynching: Personal Enmity and Bias Against Muslims Blamed,” November 6, 2015, Video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-vP-x4tzRA; The Times of India, “Vehicle lifter Gang Busted,” November 20, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/17286013.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst; Md Chingiz Khan and Mohammad Imtiyaj Khan, “Stereotyping for Lynching in Manipur! “The Pioneer, December 30, 2018, https://www.dailypioneer.com/2018/sunday-edition/stereotyping-for-lynching-in-manipur-.html; and Rinku Khumukcham, “Mob Lynching Decried; Condemnation Pours; Protest Staged; Demands Actions Against All Those Responsible,” Imphal Times, September 15, 2018, https://www.imphaltimes.com/news/mob-lynching-decried-condemnation-pours-protest-staged-demands-actions-against-all-those-responsible/amp/
[13] Chandrajit Mitra, “Kidnapped Manipur Man Rescued in A Day, AK-47 Found From Those Arrested,” NDTV, December 10, 2023, https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/kidnapped-manipur-man-rescued-in-a-day-ak-47-found-from-those-arrested-4650576; and Chronicle News Service “NPUI condemns loot, ransom demand,” E-PAO, October 25 2023, https://e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=40..261023.oct23#google_vignette
[14] “Four Civilians Gunned Down in Manipur’s Imphal Valley,” The Hindu, January 2, 2024, https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/four-civilians-gunned-down-in-manipurs-imphal-valley/article67696515.ece; “Dispute Over Drug Money Behind Firing That Killed 4 In Manipur’s Lilong: Report,” NDTV, January 2, 2024, https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/dispute-over-drug-money-behind-firing-that-killed-4-in-manipurs-lilong-report-4787573; and Babie Shirin, “Bodies of 5 Lilong Victims Laid to Rest in Manipur Amid Tight Security,” India Today, January 5, 2024, https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/manipur-violence-burial-of-people-of-pangal-thoubal-n-biren-singh-meets-community-members-2484509-2024-01-05
[15] Angana Chakrabarti, “In India’s Riot-hit Manipur, Muslims Stuck Between Warring Groups,” Al Jazeera, June 12, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/12/in-indias-riot-hit-manipur-muslims-stuck-between-warring-groups; and Sumir Karmakar, “Manipur’s Year of Death, Destruction and Separation: In this Unending Conflict, Everybody is a Loser,” Deccan Herald, May 3, 2024, https://www.deccanherald.com/india/manipur/manipur-s-year-of-death-destruction-and-separation-in-this-unending-conflict-everybody-is-a-loser-3005694
[16] Ibid.
[17] Abhinay Lakshman, “In Manipur, Campaign Void in Buffer Zone Kwakta as Parties Find Quieter Ways to Make Inroads,” The Hindu, April 12, 2024, https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/manipur/in-manipur-campaign-void-in-buffer-zone-kwakta-as-parties-find-quieter-ways-to-make-inroads/article68055138.ece; and Anjishnu Das, “Caught in the Manipur Crossfire: A Look at the Meitei Pangals, The Indian Express, August 12, 2023, https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/manipur-crossfire-meitei-pangals-8889093/
[18] Sentinel Digital Desk, “Moreh: An Example of Inter-faith Harmony,” The Sentinel, September 1, 2022, https://www.sentinelassam.com/topheadlines/moreh-an-example-of-inter-faith-harmony-610360
[19] Sumir Karmakar, “Manipur’s Year of Death, Destruction and Separation: In this Unending Conflict, Everybody is a Loser, Deccan Herald, May 3, 2024, https://www.deccanherald.com/india/manipur/manipur-s-year-of-death-destruction-and-separation-in-this-unending-conflict-everybody-is-a-loser-3005694; IFP Bureau, “Assault on Meitei-Pangal Individuals Condemned,” Imphal Free Press, March 9, 2024, https://www.ifp.co.in/manipur/assault-on-meitei-pangal-individuals-condemned; and “Two Meitei Pangal Labourers Beaten by Armed Miscreants in Manipur’s Border Town Moreh,’’ Ukhrul Times, March 7, 2024.
https://ukhrultimes.com/two-meitei-pangal-labourers-beaten-by-armed-miscreants-in-manipurs-border-town-moreh/
[20] The Morung Express, “Orgs Oppose Alleged Plan to Move ‘Masjid,’ October 31, 2017,
https://morungexpress.com/orgs-oppose-alleged-plan-move-masjid
[21] Angana Chakrabarti, “In India’s Riot-hit Manipur, Muslims Stuck Between Warring Groups, Al Jazeera, June 12, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/12/in-indias-riot-hit-manipur-muslims-stuck-between-warring-groups; Anjishnu Das, “Caught in the Manipur Crossfire: A Look at the Meitei Pangals,” Indian Express, August 12, 2023, https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/manipur-crossfire-meitei-pangals-8889093/; and Maktoob, “A Mosque in Crossfire: Muslims Stranded between Manipur’s Fighting Ethnic Groups,” August 8, 2023, YouTube Video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9PVYAn8kKk&t=4s
[22] Aaisha Sabir, “Outnumbered Meitei Pangals Fear Being Forced to Take Sides,” NewsClick, August 27, 2023, https://65.108.152.112/outnumbered-meitei-pangals-fear-being-forced-take-sides?amp
[23] Ibid.
[24] Sabir, “Forced to Take Sides,” and Abhinay Lakshman, “Muslim Meitei Pangals Fear They Will Be ‘Pulled’ into Manipur Conflict, The Hindu, August 18, 2023, https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/unable-to-broker-peace-despite-best-efforts-please-intervene-meitei-pangals-urge-centre/article67209744.ece
[25] Ibid, and Sukrita Baruah, “After 3 Meiteis Killed, Town Now in Crosshairs of Manipur Conflict, Indian Express, August 7, 2023, https://indianexpress.com/article/india/after-3-meiteis-killed-town-now-in-crosshairs-of-manipur-conflict-8879904/
[26] Bishnu N. Mohapatra, “Minorities and Politics,” in The Oxford Companion to Politics in India, edited by Niraja Gopal Jayal and Pratap Bhanu Mehta (New York: Oxford University Press), 220.
[27] National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. Government of India, Ministry of Minority Affairs. https://www.minorityaffairs.gov.in/WriteReadData/RTF1984/1659697873.pdf
[28] Michael Stausberg, Alexander Van Der Haven, and Erica Baffelli, “Religious Minorities: Conceptual Perspectives,” in Religious Minorities Online, edited by Erica Baffelli, Alexander van der Haven and Michael Stausberg (Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2023), https://doi.org/10.1515/rmo.23389320
[29] Omar Khalidi, “Muslims in Indian Political Process: Group Goals and Alternative Strategies,” Economic and Political Weekly 28, no. 1/2 (1993): 43-54. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4399279
[30] Order by Government of Manipur, Department of Personnel & Administrative Reforms on “Reservation in Appointments to Government Posts/Services and Admission to Professional Institutes for OBCs” in December 27, 2006, https://manipur.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/government-order; and Manipur Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Rules, 2011 Published vide Notification No. 9/1/91-DP(ST/SC) Imphal, on March 14, 2011.
[31] Alhaj Muhammad Riyaz Shah, “Demand for ST Status for Meitei/Meetei Pangals of Manipur,” E-PAO, April 3, 2013, https://shorturl.at/7NSOn; and Angana Chakrabarti, “In India’s Riot-Hit Manipur, Muslims Stuck between Warring Groups.” Al Jazeera, June 12, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/12/in-indias-riot-hit-manipur-muslims-stuck-between-warring-groups
[32] “After Meiteis, Meitei-Pangal Community in Manipur Demands ST Status,” Northeast Live, January 22, 2023, https://northeastlivetv.com/around-ne/manipur/after-meiteis-meitei-pangal-community-in-manipur-demands-st-status/
[33] All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur (ATSUM). “Demand of Meetei/Meitei and Meitei Pangal Communities for Inclusion in ST Category,” Consultative Meeting Letter, March 23, 2023, https://www.hoten.life/p/demand-of-meetei-meitei-and-meitei-pangal-communities-for-inclusion-in-st-category-h0ggwypf46otcuv; and “ATSUM Meet Reaffirms to Oppose Meetei/Meitei & Meitei Pangal ST Status Demand,” Ukhrul Times, March 23, 2023, https://ukhrultimes.com/atsum-meet-reaffirms-to-oppose-meetei-meitei-meitei-pangal-st-status-demand/
[34] Lokur Committee, “Report on Revision of the Lists of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes” (Government of India, Department of Social Security, 1965), 5. https://tribal.nic.in/downloads/Statistics/OtherReport/LokurCommitteeReport.pdf
[35] Lokur, 6.
[36] Ibid., 23.
[37] Government of India, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, “Change in Criteria for Inclusion in ST List,” Press Information Bureau, December 28, 2017, https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1514486; and Government of India, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, “Lokur Committee for Identifying Scheduled Tribes,” Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3328, to be answered on March 29, 2023, https://sansad.in/getFile/annex/259/AU3328.pdf?source=pqars
[38] IFP Bureau, “ST Status Is Only Constitutional Means to Protect Meetei-Pangal Community,” Imphal Free Press, January 22, 2023, https://www.ifp.co.in/manipur/st-status-is-only-constitutional-means-to-protect-meetei-pangal-community
[39] Barun De and Sunanjan Das, “Ethnic Revivalism: Problems in the Indian Union,” in Ethnicity Caste and People, ed. S. K. Singh (Manohar: New Delhi, 1992), 69.
[40] F. Barth (ed.), Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organization of Cultural Differences (Boston, Massachusetts: Little, Brown, 1969); and Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (London: Verso, 1983), 15.
[41] Raymond C. Taras and Rajat Ganguly, Understanding Ethnic Conflict (New York: Routledge, 2009); and Milton J. Esman, Ethnic Politics (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1994), 27.
[42] L.N. Gumilev, “O termine Etnos,” Doklady geograficeskogo obscestva SSSR (1967): 3-17, and also quoted in Victoria Arakelova, “Ethno-Religious Communities: To the Problem of Identity Markers,” Iran & the Caucasus 14, no. 1 (2010): 1. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25703828
[43] Anderson, Imagined Communities, 141-201.
[44] Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, “The Inclusion of Religious Minorities in Consultative and Decision-Making Bodies,” Report, The United Nation September 2014, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Minorities/Religious_minorities.pdf
[45] Arakelova, “Ethno-Religious Communities,” 1.
[46] Gangumei Kabui, History of Manipur: Pre-colonial Period (New Delhi: National Publishing House, 1991), 159.; L. Joychandra Singh, ed., The Lost Kingdom: Royal Chronicle of Manipur (Imphal: Prajatantra Publishing House, 1995), 73-79; and British Library, ‘Nithor Nath Banerjee papers on Diary of Manipur’, Mss EUR D 485, London, 1904.
[47] Sanjenbam Jugeshwor Singh, “Relation between Meitei and other Ethnic Communities of Manipur as per old Books,” Imphal Times, June 29, 2023, https://www.imphaltimes.com/articles/relation-between-meitei-and-other-ethnic-communities-of-manipur-as-per-old-books/amp/
[48] R.K. Jhalajit Singh, A Short History of Manipur (Imphal: J.M. Printing Works, 1992), 13.
[49] J.C Higgins, Notes on Meiteis (Manipuri) Beliefs and Customs (Imphal: State Archives, Government of Manipur, 1999); Th. Subhas Singh and Oinam Ranjit Singh, “Status of Pangals in the Pre-Colonial Period: A Study of Manipur Muslims,” The Orient Vision V, no. 3-4 (Jul-Dec 2008, Imphal: NRC): 79; Khulem Chandrashekhar, ed., Sakok Lamlen Ahenba (Imphal: AMLHC Uripok, 1992), 10; and Kokngangsana Rajkumar, ed., Kanglei Langba Pakhangba (Imphal: R.K Manisana, 1983), 2.
[50] Irene Salam, The Muslims of Manipur (Delhi: Kalpaz Publication, 2010), 31.
[51] Saroj Nalini Parratt, The Religion of Manipur: Beliefs, Rituals, and Historical Development (Calcutta: Firma KLM, 1980)
[52] Higgins, Notes on Meiteis, 83.
[53] L. Joychandra Singh, ed., The Lost Kingdom: Royal Chronicle of Manipur (Imphal: Prajatantra Publishing House, 1995), 73-79; and G.E. Gerini, Ptolemy’s Geography of Eastern Asia (New Delhi: Oriental Book Reprint, 1909), 813-814, 860-890.
[54] Gerini, Ptolemy’s Geography of Eastern Asia, 813-814, 860-890; and Y. Bhagya Singh, Leithak Leikharol (Imphal: Oriental Printing,1958), 112-113.
[55] Henry Yule, A Narrative of the Mission of the Court of Ava in 1885 (London: Oxford, 1968),156-177; J. Narayan Sarkar, Freedom Struggles in Medieval Assam (Dibrugarh: Dibrugarh University,1989), 47-79; and Benudhar Sharma, ed., An Account of Assam by J.P Wade in 1800 (Guwahati: R. Sharma, 1921), 29.
[56] Salam, The Muslims of Manipur, 32.
[57] Oinam Bhogeshor Singh, Ningthourol Lambuba (A Detailed History of the Kings in Manipur) (Imphal: JM Printing Works, 1976), 73; and Asim Roy, The Islamic Syncretistic Tradition in Bengal (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1983), 32.
[58] Higgins, Notes on Meiteis, 83; Kheiruddin Khullakpam, Turko Afghangi Chaoda Naoda (Descendant of Turko-Afghan) (Imphal: CIRCLES, 1997), 7; Md. Abdur Rahman, “Asuppa Mityengda Manipuri Muslim,” Ningshing Chephong (Imphal: ICRA Award, 1995), 7; and Thangjam Subhas Singh, “Socio-economic Condition of the Manipuri Muslims in Pre-colonial Manipur” (PhD Diss., Manipur University, 2008), 22.
[59] Farooque Ahmed, Manipuri Muslims: Historical Perspectives 615-2000 CE (New Delhi: Pharos Media & Publishing, 2011), 45.
[60] Farooque Ahmed, Manipuri Muslims: Historical Perspectives, 45-46; and Abul-Fazl Ezzati, The Spread of Islam: The Contributing Factors (London: Islamic College for Advanced Studies Publications, 2021), 303-333.
[61] Makakmayum, Manipuri Muslims.45-46
[62] Gangumei Kabui, History of Manipur: Pre-colonial Period (New Delhi: National Publishing House, 1991), 172-173; Mohammed Khamouch, “Jewel of Chinese Muslims Heritage,” Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation, UK, June 2005, 3-4, https://muslimheritage.com/jewels-of-the-muslim-chinese-heritage/; Jonathan N. Lipman, Familiar Strangers: A History of Muslims in Northwest China (Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 2011), 29.; Lianmao Wang, Return to the City of Light: Quanzhou, An Eastern City Shining with the Splendour of Medieval Culture (Fuzhou: Fujian People’s Publishing House, 2000), 99; and Raphael Israeli, Islam in China: Religion, Ethnicity, Culture, and Politics (Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2002), 291.
[63] Makakmayum, Manipuri Muslims.
[64] Ibid
[65] Ibid.
[66] L. Ibungohal and N. Khelchandra Singh, ed., Cheitharol Kumbaba, The Royal Chronicle of Manipur (Imphal: Manipur Sahitya Parishad, 1989), 3.
[67] Mohd Shakil Ahmed, “Understanding Muslim Social Arrangement: The Pangals of Manipur, India,” American Journal of Islam and Society 27, no. 4 (2010): 126–133. https://doi.org/10.35632/ajis.v27i4.1300; Kayamuddin Pukhrimayum, “Manipurda Muslim Khunthorakpa,” in Manipur Amsung Meitei Pangal, ed. Arambam Samarendra (Imphal: P.S Printing, 1998); and R.K. Sanahalsingh, ed., Pangal Thorakpa (Imphal: Liberty Publication Association), 1985.
[68] Rafayattullah, Yaddasht Kursi-Nama (Original work published in Lahore, 1929), trans. Maulana Muhammad Jalaluddin, Kheiruddin Khullakpam and Maulana Tayeb Ali (Imphal: Circles, 1997), 6-8.
[69] Pukhrimayum, “Muslim Khunthorakpa;” and N. Debendra Singh, Identities of the Migrated People in Manipur (Imphal: Centre for Manipur Studies, Manipur University, 2005).
[70] Md. Abdul Khalique, “Manipuri Muslim (Meitei Pangal) in Bangladesh,” in Manipur: Past and Present, ed. Naorem Sanajaoba (New Delhi: Mittal Publications, 2005), 162.
[71] Ahmed, “Understanding Muslim Social Arrangement,” 132.
[72] Hodson, The Meitheis, 18.
[73] Mohd Shakil Ahmed, “Understanding Muslim Social Arrangement: The Pangals of Manipur, India,” 128.
[74] In Meitei and Meitei Pangal society, the sagei or family title is referred to as yumnak in Meitei language.
[75] W. Ibohal Singh, The History of Manipur (An Early Period) (Imphal: Commercial Co., 1986), 608.
[76] Mohd Shakil Ahmed, Essays in Sociology: Muslims in Manipur (New Delhi: Institute of Objective Studies, 2011), 84.
[77] O. Bhogeswor Singh and M.A. Janab Khan, ed., Nongsamei (Imphal: Manipur Stationery and Printing Industries, 1973), 34; and Ahmed, “Understanding Muslim Social Arrangement.”
[78] Singh and Khan, Nongsamei, 36.
[79] Singh and Khan, Nongsamei, 46-48; and Ahmed, “Understanding Muslim Social Arrangement,” 3.
[80] Oinam Ranjit Singh and E. Nixon Singh, “Economic Profile of Manipur from 33 AD - 1652 AD: A Critical Evaluation,” Alternative Perspectives II, no. III (April-June 2007): 2.
[81] Gangumei Kabui, History of Manipur, 29.
[82] O. Pahari, “Economic Conditions of Muslims in Manipur,” SKWC Journal of Social Sciences I, no. I (Jan-Dec 2010): 184-85.
[83] Ahmed, “Understanding Muslim Social Arrangement,” 4.
[84] S.R. Mangang, Meitei Law and Usage (Imphal: Weda Press, 1988), 144-145.
[85] Mangang, 145
[86] Ahmed, “Understanding Muslim Social Arrangement,” 130-131.
[87] Ibohal Singh, The History of Manipur, 608.
[88] Muhammad Latif Shah, “Pangal Manipuri Muslim,” in People of India: Manipur Vol 4, ed. K.S. Singh (Calcutta: Anthropological Survey of India & Seagull Books, 1998), 197.
[89] Ahmed, “Understanding Muslim Social Arrangement,” 129-130; and B.C. Allen, Gazetter of Naga Hills and Manipur (New Delhi: Mittal, 2002), 124-36.
[90] Irene, The Muslims of Manipur, 21; Thangjam Subhas Singh, “Socio Economic condition of the Manipuri Muslim in the Pre Colonial Period” (PhD diss., Manipur University, 2007), 84; M.M. Ahmed, Manipuri Muslimgi Chatnabi Amasung Harao Kumhei (Imphal: Writers Union, 2011), 48; Imtiaz Ahmed, Family Kinship And Marriage Among The Muslim (Imphal: Khonthang Publication, 1978), 27-29; Md. Ahmed Ali Shah, “A Brief Historical Study of Religion and Society of The Pangals of Manipur” (PhD diss., Manipur University, 1994), 45; Arambam Samarendro,“Manipur Amasung Meitei Pangal,” in The Culture of the Manipur Muslim (Pangal) and Meitei Influences, ed. A Rahaman (Imphal: P.S. Printing, 1998), 6; Kheiruddin Chaudari, The Culture of the Manipur Muslim (Baskandi, Assam: Souvinir, 1990), 6; Rita Kamei, “Historical Studies of Muslim Women in Manipur” (PhD diss., Manipur University, 2011), 76; and Ali Quazi Ahamed, The Manipuri Muslim (Baskandi, Assam: 1979), 29.
[91] Irene, The Muslims of Manipur, 71; and Arambam Samarendro, “Manipur Amasung Meitei Pangal,” 6.
[92] Mangang, 144.
[93] Ibid.
[94] Hodson, The Meithies, 70.
[95] Government of India, Annexure to the Report of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, Volume – II (New Delhi: Ministry of Minority Affairs, 2007), 154-156; and Ahmed, “Understanding Muslim Social Arrangement.”
[96] Government of Manipur, Statistical Abstract Manipur 2005 (Imphal: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, 2006); and Ahmed, “Understanding Muslim Social Arrangement.”
[97] Feroja Syed, “Inequalities and Deprivation of Religious Minorities: A Study of the Manipuri Muslims in Urban and Rural Settings” (PhD diss., Gauhati University, 2018), 4.
[98] Government of Manipur, Report on Socio-Economic Survey of Meitei-Pangal (Manipuri Muslims) (Imphal: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, 2004), 36.
[99] Government of Manipur, Report on Socio-Economic Survey of Meitei-Pangal (Manipuri Muslims) (Imphal: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, 2004), 30-36.
[100] M. Amarjeet Singh, “Pangals in Manipur: A Community Symbolising Disadvantaged Status in the State,” in Comprehending Equity, ed. Kedilezo Kikhi and Dharma Rakshit Gautam (New York: Routledge, 2021), 162-172.
[101] Md. Abdul Khalique, “Manipuri Muslim (Meitei Pangal) in Bangladesh,” in Manipur: Past and Present, ed. Naorem Sanajaoba (New Delhi: Mittal Publications, 2005), 162; and Ahmed, “Understanding Muslim Social Arrangement.”
[102] Feroja Syed, “Occupying Public Sphere—Economic Role of Muslim Women in Manipur,” Journal of Critical Reviews 7, no. 15 (2020): 6824-6827.
[103] Syed, “Occupying Public Sphere—Economic Role of Muslim Women in Manipur,” 6825.
[104] N. S. Saksena, Terrorism History and Facets: In the World and in India (New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, 1985), 139.
[105] Md Abdul Gaffar, “In Defence of Multiculturalism—A Case of Manipuri Muslims,” International Journal of Research 1, no. 5 (2014): 85-95.
[106] Mohd Shakil Ahmed, “Dimensions and Dynamics of Social Structure of the Pangals,” Journal of North East India Studies 4, no. 2 (December 1, 2014): 109-113. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12772854
[107] Ibid.
[108] Government of Manipur, Report by the Expert Committee on Other Backward Classes (Imphal: Directorate for Development of Tribals and Backward Classes, 1993).
[109] Feroja Syed, “Reservation of Muslims in Manipur,” International Journal of Research in Social Sciences 8, no. 5 (2018): 242–251; Government of India, Annexure to the Report of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, Volume II (New Delhi: Ministry of Minority Affairs, 2007), 154-158; and M. Amarjeet Singh, “Pangals in Manipur: A Community Symbolising Disadvantaged Status in the State,” 162-172.
[110] Farooque Ahmed, “Tracing Early Muslim settlement in Manipur,” Manipuri Muslims and Arab Perspectives 4, no. 1-6 (1997): 88-89.
[111] Mohd Sadiqur Rahman, “Socio Economic History of Manipuri Muslims” (PhD Diss., Manipur University, 2018), 82-102; W Ibohal Singh, The History of Manipur: An Early Period (Imphal: Manipur Commercial Company, 1986), 217; and Mohd Shakil Ahmed, “Social Stratification: Ashrafisation in Manipur,” Economic and Political Weekly 44, no. 34 (2009): 18-20. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25663464
[112] Ibid.
[113] Hodson, The Meitheis, 70.
[114] Ibid., 60.
[115] N. Ibobi Singh, The Manipur Administration 1709-1907 (Imphal: Friends & Co., 1976), 118.
[116] Singh, The Manipur Administration 1709-1907, 197.
[117] R. Brown, Statistical Accounts of the Native State of Manipur (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, 1873), 15; and Farooque Ahmed, “Tracing early Muslim settlement in Manipur,” 88.
[118] A. Hakim Shah Khullakpam, The Manipur Governance to the Meitei-Pangal (Manipuri Muslim), 1606-1949 (Imphal: Pearl Education Society, 2008); The Sangai Express, “Dasu Sardar released,” November 02, 2023, https://www.thesangaiexpress.com/Encyc/2023/11/2/By-Our-Staff-ReporterIMPHAL-Nov-1-A-book-entitled-Dasu-Sardar-authored-by-Moirang-College-Principal-Dr.html; and Syed Ahmed, “Tributes Paid to the Muslims who Fought against the British in the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891,” TwoCircles.Net., April 26, 2013, https://twocircles.net/2013apr26/tributes_paid_muslims_who_fought_against_british_anglomanipur_war_1891.html
[119] L.P. Sinha, “The Politics and Government of Manipur,” The Indian Journal of Political Science 48, no. 4 (1987): 487-493. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41855332
[120] R. Constantine, Manipur-Maid of the Mountains (New Delhi: Lancer, 1981), 56.
[121] Sinha, “The Politics and Government of Manipur.”
[122] “The Manipur State Constitution Act 1947, Chapter IV: The State Assembly,” https://shorturl.at/XaGhf
[123] Sinha, “The Politics and Government of Manipur.”
[124] Rahman, “Socio Economic History of Manipuri Muslims,” 96; and Sinha, “The Politics and Government of Manipur.”
[125] Ibid.
[126] Ibid.
[127] Secretariat OMV Branch, Government of Manipur, Manipur Civil List Corrected upto April 1 1972 (Imphal: Government Press), https://ia601409.us.archive.org/5/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.125690/2015.125690.Manipur-Civil-List-1972_text.pdf
[128] Ibid.
[129] Rahman, “Socio Economic History of Manipuri Muslims,” 88-102.
[130] PTI, “Muslim Community a Major Factor in 10-odd Manipur Seats,” The Times of India, February 24, 2017, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections/assembly-elections/manipur/news/muslim-community-a-major-factor-in-10-odd-manipur-seats/articleshow/57326971.cms
[131] Oinam Bhagat and A. Bimol Akoijam, “Assembly Election: Trends and Issues,” Economic and Political Weekly 37, no. 6 (2002): 519-524. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4411709
[132] Syed Ahmed, “Senior Muslim Politician of Manipur Md Alauddin Khan Passes away,’’ Twocircles.net, October 17, 2012, https://twocircles.net/2012oct17/senior_muslim_politician_manipur_md_alauddin_khan_passes_away.html
[133] The Sangai Express, “Speaker’s Chair cleared for Dr Sheikh,” December 8, https://www.e-pao.net/epPrinter.asp?p2p=news&src=1.12.091205.dec05&sNStart=%3C!EpnNews1%3E&sNEnd=%3C!EpnNews1End%3E&sHead=%3C!EpnHeading1%3E&sHeadEnd=%3C!EpnHeading1End%3E
[134] PTI, “Congress Rajya Sabha MP Haji Abdul Salam passes away at 69,” The Indian Express, March 1, 2017, https://indianexpress.com/article/india/congress-rajya-sabha-mp-haji-abdul-salam-passes-away-at-69-4549231/; and Daniel Chabungbam, “Haji Abdul Salam - Rajya Sabha MP
(Member of Parliament from Manipur) (Elect Feb 2014) A Profile,” E-PAO, March 1, 2017, https://shorturl.at/qIt5I
[135] Rahman, “Socio Economic History of Manipuri Muslims,” 102.
[136] “Tenth Assembly Elections in Manipur,” Economic and Political Weekly 47, no. 14 (2012): 67-70. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23214681
[137] O.B. Singh and M.A.J. Khan, Nongsamei Puya (Imphal: Manipur Stationery and Printing Industries, 1973); and R.K. Singh, Pangal Thorakpa (Imphal: Liberty Publication Association, 1985).
[138] Rami Niranjan Desai, “When Manipuri Women taught Victorian West Real Feminism,” Firstpost, March 11, 2024, https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/ramification-when-manipuri-women-taught-victorian-west-real-feminism-13747668.html; Sanamani Yambem, “Nupi Lan: Manipur Women’s Agitation, 1939,” Economic and Political Weekly 11, no. 8 (1976): 325-331, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4364388; and Karie Cross Riddle, “Structural Violence, Intersectionality, and ‘Justpeace’: Evaluating Women’s Peacebuilding Agency in Manipur, India,” Hypatia 32, no. 3 (2017): 574-592, http://www.jstor.org/stable/45153639
[139] Irene, The Muslims of Manipur; and Saroj N. Arambam Parratt and John Parratt, “The Second Women’s War and the Emergence of Democratic Government in Manipur,” Modern Asian Studies 35, no. 4 (2001): 905-919, http://www.jstor.org/stable/313195
[140] The Telegraph, “Najima Braves Fatwa, Bias to Contest,” February 17, 2023, https://www.telegraphindia.com/north-east/najima-braves-fatwa-bias-to-contest/cid/1427805