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Hinduism in Manipur

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Hinduism is one of the two largest religions in the Indian state of Manipur, practised mainly by the Meitei people of the Imphal Valley and the adjoining plains. According to the 2011 Census of India, Hindus formed about 41.39 per cent of the state's population of roughly 2.86 million, narrowly ahead of Christians at 41.29 per cent.[1][2] Meitei Hinduism is overwhelmingly Vaishnava and developed from the early 18th century, when Vaishnavism was adopted as the religion of the Manipur royal court under King Pamheiba, also known as Garib Niwaz.[3]

Meitei Hindu bridal costumes, including the cylindrical Potloi skirt, worn by Meitei actresses Bala Hijam, Kamala Saikhom and Soma Laishram

Manipuri Vaishnavism is distinct from the Hinduism of the Indian mainstream [4]It grew out of the Gaudiya tradition but was absorbed into an existing Meitei society, producing a syncretic system in which Krishna and Radha worship coexists with the indigenous Sanamahi tradition, in which a locally assimilated Brahmin community, the Bamon, serves as priests, and in which everyday diet remains fish-based and non-vegetarian, unlike the vegetarianism common to much mainland Vaishnavism.[3][5][6] The arrival of Vaishnavism also reshaped Meitei society more forcibly, introducing the Bengali script in place of the indigenous Meitei script, a system of ritual purity and pollution, the suppression of some indigenous shrines, and, according to Meitei tradition, the burning of Meitei manuscripts remembered as the Puya Meithaba. The scale and intent of these measures are debated among historians, some of whom view the change as a process of assimilation as much as one of coercion.[3][7][8]

From the 20th century onward, a Sanamahi revival movement has led a growing number of Meiteis to identify with the pre-Hindu faith as distinct from Hinduism.[9] Since 2017, the rise of Hindutva politics under the Bharatiya Janata Party state government, the longer presence of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in northeast India, and the parallel growth of armed Meitei nationalist groups, have given religion a more prominent place in the state's politics, a dimension that came to international attention during the ethnic conflict that began in 2023.[10][11][12]

History

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Early Vaishnava contact

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Hindu influence reached Manipur gradually from the 15th century, carried by Brahmin migrants and pilgrims from the Indian plains, whose arrival in batches is recorded from the reign of King Kiyamba (Kyamba) onward.[13] The introduction of Vishnu worship is generally traced to Kiyamba (who ruled in the late 15th and early 16th centuries), who is said to have received an image of the Vishnu chakra from a ruler of the Shan Kingdom of Pong. A Vishnu temple was built at Lamangdong in present-day Bishnupur, and the migration and settlement of Brahmin families is described in the chronicle Bamon Khunthoklon.[14][15] In 1704, King Charairongba was initiated into Vaishnavism and took the name Pitambar Singh, becoming the first Hindu monarch of Manipur; he nonetheless continued to build temples for both Vaishnava and indigenous deities.[15][7]

Reforms under Pamheiba (Garib Niwaz)

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Vaishnavism became the religion of the Manipur court during the reign of Pamheiba (Garib Niwaz, who ruled from 1709 to 1748). Initiated around 1717 under the influence of the Bengali Vaishnava preceptor Shantidas Gosai, Pamheiba first aligned himself with the Ramanandi tradition, presenting himself as a warrior king and devotee of Rama, a self-fashioning that the scholar Rodney Sebastian links to his military and state-building ambitions.[3] Royal decrees promoted Hindu rituals and a Brahmin advisory role at court, and the Bengali script was promoted in place of the Meitei script for official use.[3][8]

The imposition of the new faith met resistance. Sebastian writes that Pamheiba's refashioning of kingship did not sit well with sections of his people and elites who objected to the suppression of indigenous religious practices.[3] Royal chronicles record the destruction of shrines and images of indigenous deities during this period.[3][16] The mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik notes that Pamheiba also sought to impose vegetarianism and to require cremation rather than burial of the dead, measures that were widely resisted.[5] The reach of the reforms was not total, however. A study by Yumnam Oken Singh and Gyanabati Khuraijam observes that the Manipuri Muslim community was not compelled to convert even under Pamheiba, whom the authors describe as the most forceful of the Vaishnava kings.[17]

Puya Meithaba

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The episode most strongly associated with the conversion is the Puya Meithaba, the burning of Meitei manuscripts (puyas) ordered by Pamheiba, traditionally dated to 1729 and sometimes placed in 1732, at Kangla in Imphal.[8][3] Together with the replacement of the Meitei script by the Bengali script, the event occupies a central place in Meitei collective memory as a symbol of cultural loss, and it has been commemorated since 1979 as Puya Mei Thaba.[8][18]

The earliest published accounts describe the destruction of most or all Meitei manuscripts. Scholars like Rodney Sebastian interpret his religious policy as one of strategic ambivalence rather than uniform missionary zeal.[3] Owing to this persecution of the indigenous faiths the decline of the Meitei script that followed was reversed only from the mid-20th century, when scholars and activists campaigned for its revival.[18]

Suppression and assimilation of the indigenous faith

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Before the spread of Vaishnavism the Meiteis followed the indigenous Sanamahi tradition, which revered ancestors and a pantheon of nature and household deities (lai), including the household god Lainingthou Sanamahi, the primordial deity Pakhangba, and the forest gods (umang lai), served by indigenous priests and priestesses.[3][7] The royal adoption of Vaishnavism brought pressure on this older religion. Chronicles record the destruction of indigenous idols and shrines under Pamheiba, the rewriting of texts in the Bengali script, and the reinterpretation of indigenous figures in Hindu terms, so that, for example, Pakhangba was identified with the Hindu serpent god Ananta.[7][3] The replacement of the Meitei script and the marginalisation of indigenous rites also contributed to a long decline in ritual literacy.[18] This contention is reflected in continuing disputes, such as the 2021 controversy over construction work linked to the Govindajee temple at the former royal palace of Sana Konung, a site that adherents of the Sanamahi faith regard as sacred to their own deities.[11]

Bhagyachandra and the Gaudiya synthesis

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Vaishnavism was consolidated and reshaped under Bhagyachandra (Ching-Thang Khomba, who ruled in the later 18th century). Bhagyachandra adopted the Gaudiya tradition and, according to Sebastian, established his authority both as a devotee of Krishna and as a patron of the indigenous gods, producing a hybrid religious order that proved more durable than Pamheiba's stricter approach.[3] He installed the deity Govindajee, built the Shri Shri Govindajee Temple complex at Imphal, and is credited with creating the Manipuri Raas Leela, a devotional dance drama based on the love of Krishna and Radha.[19][20] Over time a synthesis between Vaishnavism and the older Meitei religion developed, and this blend characterises much of present-day Meitei Hindu practice.[15]

Distinct character of Manipuri Hinduism

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Although the Meiteis are counted among India's Hindus, their form of Hinduism developed in relative isolation and absorbed a large body of pre-existing Meitei belief and custom, so that it differs in several respects from the Hinduism of the Indian heartland.[5]

Manipuri Vaishnavism

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Manipuri Vaishnavism is a Krishna-centred, Radha-Krishna devotional tradition derived from the Bengal Gaudiya school of Chaitanya. Worship centres on temple images, congregational singing and dance.[15][19] Devdutt Pattanaik contrasts it with the Vaishnavism of neighbouring Assam, which is grounded more in Advaita philosophy, tends toward the monastic, emphasises the chanting of the divine name, and largely avoids both image worship and the veneration of Radha.[5]

Syncretism with Sanamahism

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Although initially Sanamahi was suppressed over time Manipuri Hinduism began to increasingly be defined with repurposing indigenous Sanamahi tradition and gods as avatars of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Many Meitei Hindu households maintain altars to deities such as Lainingthou Sanamahi which they regard as Saraswati within the home alongside their Vaishnava observances.[3] Pre-Hindu festivals such as Cheiraoba, the Meitei new year, and the Lai Haraoba, a festival of the indigenous umang lai deities, also became repurposed as Hindu gods [15] Scholars describe present-day Meitei religion as a synthesis in which the seven Meitei clans (salai) and the ancestor cult remained socially central even after Vaishnavism was declared the state religion.[3]

The Meitei Brahmins (Bamon)

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The priestly class of Manipuri Hinduism is the Bamon, a term derived from "Brahmin". The Bamon are descended from Brahmin migrants who arrived from Bengal, Mithila, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere from the 15th century onward, and who married local women and adopted Meitei language, dress, food habits and naming customs.[13] Early migrants were known as Miyancha under Kiyamba and were formally recognised as Bamon only later, during the reign of Pamheiba. Scholars note that Manipuri Brahmins differ from Brahmins elsewhere in India because of this thorough assimilation into Meitei society, and that they are ritually higher in status than other Meiteis because Vaishnava life-cycle rites require their officiation.[13]

Caste, purity and the Loi

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The adoption of Vaishnavism introduced into Meitei society a system of ritual purity and pollution, known as mangba-sengba, that had not previously existed in the same form. The orthodox Hindu body, the Brahma Sabha, could declare a person mangba (polluted), after which a fine had to be paid for ritual purification (sengba); those who did not comply could be outcast and resettled in designated villages.[13] Scholars trace the origin of the Loi, a marginalised group within Meitei society, partly to this mechanism. The same period saw the levying of religious taxes such as the Chandan Senkhai, a tax on the use of sandalwood paste, that reinforced the purity regime.[13] This caste and purity order is one of the features that Sanamahi revivalists later singled out for criticism.[21]

Diet

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Unlike much of mainstream Vaishnavism, seen in the rest of India, which is associated with vegetarianism, Meitei Hindu society remained strongly non-vegetarian, and fish in particular is central to its diet. The fermented fish ngari is described as the base of Manipuri cooking and is eaten on a near-daily basis, alongside fresh, smoked and preserved fish.[6][22] Pamheiba's attempt to impose vegetarianism in the 18th century did not take hold among the wider population.[5] Fish holds not only a dietary but also a ceremonial place in Meitei life, being treated as an essential element in some rituals.[6]

Beliefs and practice

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Manipuri Vaishnavas worship Radha and Krishna together rather than Krishna alone, and this devotion became the dominant religious form in the valley.[15] Temple worship centres on the Govindajee temple at Imphal and on household and community shrines, with devotional singing (kirtan and Nata Sankirtana) integral to religious life.[19] The persistence of household Sanamahi altars and of pre-Hindu festivals alongside Vaishnava ritual reflects the long accommodation between the two traditions.[3][15]

Cultural influence

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The court Vaishnavism of the 18th century gave rise to a body of religious performing arts. The Manipuri Raas Leela is recognised as one of the major Indian classical dance forms; its repertoire, including the Maha Raas, Basanta Raas and Kunja Raas, was developed under Bhagyachandra and performed at the Govindajee temple.[19][20] Associated traditions include Nata Sankirtana, a form of congregational devotional singing, and the elaborate Potloi or Kumil costume worn by Raas dancers, which is attributed to Bhagyachandra.[19][20]

Demographics

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Largest religion by district in Manipur, 2011 census

According to the 2011 Census of India, of Manipur's 2,855,794 people, about 1,181,876 (41.39 per cent) were Hindus, 1,179,043 (41.29 per cent) Christians, 239,836 (8.40 per cent) Muslims, and roughly 233,000 (8.19 per cent) followers of other religions, the large majority of them Sanamahis.[1][2] Hindus are concentrated among the valley-dwelling Meiteis, who make up a little over half of the state's population.[1]

Hinduism is the largest religion in the valley and plains districts. In the 2011 census, Hindu majorities were recorded in Imphal West, Bishnupur, Thoubal, Kakching and Imphal East, while the hill districts such as Senapati and Kangpokpi, populated largely by Christian Naga and Kuki-Zo communities, recorded small Hindu populations.[2]

Change in the Hindu share

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The share of the population recorded as Hindu in Manipur has fallen over successive censuses. An analysis of census data by the Centre for Policy Studies found that the Hindu share of the state's non-tribal population declined from about 87.7 per cent in 1991 to roughly 69.5 per cent in 2011. The study attributed much of this decline not to conversion away from Hinduism but to a growing number of Meiteis recording themselves under the census category of "other religions", almost all of them Sanamahis, whose numbers rose sharply between 1991 and 2001.[9] Over the same broad period the Christian share of the state's population rose, reflecting both the near-total Christianity of the Scheduled Tribe population and migration, a trend reported in national media.[23][9]

Sanamahi revival

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From the early 20th century, a movement to reassert the pre-Hindu Meitei faith took shape, framing the historical adoption of Vaishnavism as a forced conversion and opposing the caste divisions introduced with it. Organisations such as the Apokpa Marup, founded in 1930, and the Meitei Marup, founded in 1945, contended with the orthodox Brahma Sabha.[21] Activists campaigned for Sanamahism to be recorded as a religion distinct from Hinduism, and the census category of "other religions" used by Sanamahis grew accordingly.[24][9] Scholars note that open confrontation between Meitei Hindus and Sanamahists eased somewhat from the 1990s.[21] Estimates of the share of Meiteis who follow Sanamahi rather than Hindu practice vary; one submission to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom placed the figure at between 8 and 16 per cent.[25]

Hindutva and politics

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The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and other organisations of the Sangh Parivar have worked in northeast India since the mid-20th century, opening schools, hostels and welfare bodies, with the stated aim of integrating the region's diverse communities within a Hindu framework.[11] Commentators have noted that the RSS effort has had limited success among the largely Christian hill tribes but more traction among the valley Meiteis.[26] Critics, including the broadcaster TRT World, have described the wider Hindutva project in the region as an attempt to draw tribal and indigenous communities into Hinduism.[27]

Religion became more prominent in Manipur's politics after the Bharatiya Janata Party formed the state government in 2017 under Chief Minister N. Biren Singh. The administration promoted a narrative questioning the Scheduled Tribe status of Christian tribal communities, a status that protects affirmative-action benefits.[28] Human Rights Watch has accused the state government of pursuing divisive policies that promote Hindu majoritarianism, an assessment cited in international coverage.[10] The relationship between Hindutva and Meitei identity is not straightforward, however; many in the Meitei valley favour the indigenous Sanamahi religion and the demand for tribal status rather than a Hindu-nationalist programme, and some Sanamahi bodies have themselves opposed state actions seen as favouring Hindu institutions over indigenous ones.[26][11]

From around 2020, armed Meitei nationalist organisations grew in strength, the largest being Arambai Tenggol, founded under the patronage of the titular Meitei king and Rajya Sabha member Leishemba Sanajaoba, together with Meitei Leepun.[12] Their orientation differs. Reporting by New Lines Magazine and a submission to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom describe Arambai Tenggol primarily as a militant Sanamahi revivalist body seeking to restore the pre-Hindu faith, while Meitei Leepun has been characterised as Hindu nationalist in orientation; both are largely composed of Meitei Hindus and both have framed the growth of Christianity as a threat to Meitei identity.[12][25] Arambai Tenggol's founding oath-taking ceremony was conducted under Sanamahi rites and syncretic Hinduism with Sanamahism, and journalists and rights groups have described the group as an armed militia.[11][12]

During the ethnic conflict that began on 3 May 2023 between the mainly Hindu Meitei and the predominantly Christian Kuki-Zo, large numbers of religious buildings were destroyed. By the end of July 2023, more than 220 churches and 17 Hindu temples had reportedly been damaged or destroyed.[10] Meitei Christians, a minority within the Meitei community, reported attacks on their churches and clergy attributed to Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun.[12] Christian commentators and rights organisations reported instances in which Meitei Christians were pressed to return to the Sanamahi faith or become Hindu, in some cases by signing affidavits and surrendering Bibles, accounts framed by these sources as coerced reconversion; some Meitei organisations disputed such accounts and attributed church destruction to Kuki-Zo groups.[28][12]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 Meetei, Chingshubam Merathaba (2021). "Pre-Natal Beliefs and Rituals Within Sanamahism Among Meetei Society Of Manipur" (PDF). Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Science. 9 (10). 2011 Census of India figures for Manipur
  2. 1 2 3 "Manipur Religion Census 2011". Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India (data mirror). Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Sebastian, Rodney (2021). "Refashioning Kingship in Manipur in the 18th Century: The Politico-Religious Projects of Garibniwaz and Bhāgyacandra". Religions. 12 (12): 1041. doi:10.3390/rel12121041.
  4. ↑ ""I Wish I Wasn't Born a Hindu": A Tale of Discrimination and Disillusionment – Round Table India". 2024-07-28. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Pattanaik, Devdutt (22 July 2023). "How Hinduism Reached Manipur and Remains Entrenched". Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 "Tradition and Sustenance: The Importance of Fish in Manipuri Culture". 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2026. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Sanamahism: The Lost Religion of Manipur". Live History India. 24 October 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "An Incendiary Script". Outlook India. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Religion Data of Census 2011: XXXI Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland". Centre for Policy Studies. October 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 "Why ethnic violence in India's Manipur has been going on for three months". Al Jazeera. 9 August 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Bitter-Sweet Hindutva Experiment Deep In Tribal-Dominated Northeast India". Outlook India. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Meitei Christians in India's Manipur Face Broad Attacks". New Lines Magazine. 28 December 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Social Structure of the Meiteis of Manipur". ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts. Granthaalayah Publications. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  14. ↑ "The Vaishnava Temples of Manipur: An Historical Study". Sahapedia. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Medieval Indian Literature: An Anthology. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. 1997. p. 327. ISBN 81-260-0365-0.
  16. ↑ "Dynamics of Naga-Meitei relationship: The quest for common ground". The Northeast Today. 18 August 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  17. ↑ Singh, Yumnam Oken; Khuraijam, Gyanabati (December 2013). "The Advent of Vaishnavism: A Turning Point in Manipuri History" (PDF). European Academic Research. 1 (9).
  18. 1 2 3 "Meitei Mayek". Atlas of Endangered Alphabets. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 "Manipuri Raas Leela: The Remarkable Manipuri Classical Dance". ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts. Granthaalayah Publications. 2024.
  20. 1 2 3 Talukdar, Prabir Kumar. "Maha Raas: The Aura of Manipuri Raas Leela". NEzine. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  21. 1 2 3 "Sanamahism of Meitei: a "new ancient" religion of Manipur". 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2026. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  22. ↑ Keishing, Somishon; Banu, Thahira (2015). "Fermented Fish (Ngari) of Manipur: Preparation Technique and its Potential as a Functional Food Ingredient". Retrieved 2 June 2026. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  23. ↑ "Christian population on the rise in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur". Hindustan Times. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  24. ↑ "Minority religion status sought". The Sangai Express. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  25. 1 2 "Submission for the record: Manipur violence coverage" (PDF). United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. September 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  26. 1 2 "Little elbow room". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  27. ↑ "How India's northeast is turning into an ethno-religious tinderbox". TRT World. 16 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  28. 1 2 "Christians face a fresh onslaught in Northeast India". UCA News. 8 January 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  29. "Naga group NSCN-IM calls Manipur violence an attack on Christian Kukis by Meitei armed group Arambai Tenggol". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
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