Vol. 4, Issue 6, Part E (2018)

From the beginning of the British administration the matters relating to the hill administration was entrusted to the Political Agent who was also the Superintendent of the state. In 1893, the hill area of Manipur was divided into five divisions with seven lambus under each Sardar. British rule introduced a separate legal system which dealt only with problem of justice for the hill people. In so far as criminal justice was concerned the Vice-President of the Manipur Durbar had powers equivalent to those of a magistrate of the first class under the Indian Criminal Procedure Code of 1898 and high court of appeal lay with the Political Agent. But in civil cases, there had no right of appeal. The hill areas and hill communities were separated and segregated from the general administration of the state on the plea that the people were not Manipuri (Meetei) in general and had entirely different customs and language. A new scheme of administration called Manipur Administration Rules 1907 was introduced under which the hill area administration was separated from the general administration and entrusted to the Vice-President of the Manipur Durbar. He performed his duty in the name of His Highness of Manipur. The article traces how organic relations amongst the ethnic communities had been segregated during the colonial period. It makes an attempt to understand the new identity formation took place and social divide occurred in the state during the colonial period. The contemporary socio-political happenings in the state could be traced to the way of British understanding the people in the state. It is a complex issue but the paper tries to identify the genesis of the new identity formation and consequent socio-political reality of the people in the state.