Articles
The Uniqueness of the Manipuri Muslims
Opinion | Articles | Irene Salam | 16-Sep-2020
It is extremely common in Manipur to bracket the Meiteis (the largest indigenous community of the Manipur Valley who profess Hinduism, albeit with a mixture of their primeval religion Sanamahism) with the Meitei Pangals who profess Islam. Who are the Meitei Pangals? Why are they unique in the history of the Muslims all over the world? It is simply because unlike Muslims in other states of North East India and the Indian Subcontinent and elsewhere, they alone posses a DUAL IDENTITY illustrated by the nomenclature applied to them. The advent of the Muslims into Manipur occurred in 1606 AD when King Khagemba was the sovereign of the Manipur Kingdom. But why did the Muslims come to Manipur? A conflict had taken place between the two brothers of the King viz. Chingsomba and Sanongba concerning a boat race. Prince Sanongba with his mother the Queen Dowager Luwang Changbambi fled the kingdom and sought refuge at Kachar where the ruling Kachari King-Sapradas Narayan was his brother-in-law. The Prince requested the King for assistance in invading Manipur and placing him (the Prince) on the throne. The request was acceded to, and the invading army defeated the Meitei forces (1604 AD), who however captured their leaders. Because of this debacle, the Kachari King engaged some mercenaries of East Bengal, and a joint Kachari-Muslim invasion of Manipur occurred in 1606AD. (Khullakpam, A. K. S.). The fortunes of war were reversed and Prince Sanongba was captured along with 1000 Muslims. The Muslims were soldiers, but King Khagemba known as the most illustrious King of Medieval Manipur, showed exceptional liberality to these prisoners of war. He not only allowed them to settle in Manipur, but he gave them Meitei women to marry, he allotted them land which throughout history is always associated with status, and he allowed them to establish an Institute of their own (Parrat, S. N. 2005). This is reminiscent in some way to the Arab invasion of Sindh in 712 AD. The Arab conquerors were extremely far sighted, they allowed the Hindu population of Sindh to retain their religion on condition of payment of the jizya or poll tax. This was in itself an extraordinary gesture, as only followers of the BOOK – Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians had been accorded this privilege at the time.
Medieval Indian History is the story of the Muslims rulers of India, commencing from the accession of Qutbuddin Aibak (1206 AD) to Bahadur Shah, the last Mughal Emperor. Manipur, an ancient kingdom was outside the domain of India. Nevertheless, the Muslims who came to Manipur in the 17th century, unlike the above mentioned, were not conquerors, rulers, traders, or preachers. They were prisoners of war. The question arises as to how and when these prisoners assumed a DUAL IDENTITY, when they settled permanently in the Kingdom of Manipur. As prisoners of war their lives hung in the balance, though medieval rulers across the world were more inclined to cruelty than tolerance and liberality. In these circumstances the Muslims accepted King Khagemba’s offer to surrender and settle peacefully in Manipur. These Muslims were primarily mercenaries, so they were quite happy to settle down permanently and make Manipur their home, they may have consciously or unconsciously emulated the Delhi Sultans who came from Central Asia, or the Great Mughals who ruled from 1526 AD. Both these two rulers along with their nobility became Indian, in that India became their permanent home, and they never required a deputy to rule their kingdom as they never left it, neither did the nobles. The mansabdars (officers) of the Mughals were engaged in life service, they spent lavishly as they were never allowed to make remittances to their home country. So also the Muslims settling in Manipur never returned to Bengal. The Report on the Socio-Economic Survey of Meitei Pangals (Govt. of Manipur 2004), states that the Muslims were given local surnames, and they took part in number of wars fought by the Kings and became part of Meitei society. This was corroborated by R. Brown (1975). The Muhammadans of Manipur were married to Manipuri women and their ranks further swelled by marriage between the female descendants of these people and Manipuris. By Manipuri Brown meant ‘Meitei’, hence the first identity on their name was Meitei then came Pangal. To elaborate further Muslims have a native name Meitei Pangal indicating their mixed heritage, they are indigenized and Manipurised like other ethnic groups resident in the state. The first children of mixed marriages were a combination of Meitei and Muslims, because the latter adopted in entirety the Manipur way of life, culture, traditions, festivals etc. Children were really a product of a single Meitei culture. The only distinction between the Meitei and the Muslims was the latter’s profession of the Islamic faith. This is in part due to the high status women were accorded in Meitei societies where women were always close to the centre of authority. They would certainly have facilitated the process of making their husbands adapt to the Meitei way of life. Degree of assimilation and enculturation was extremely high, so they were aptly named ‘Meitei Pangal’.
Why were these Meiteised Muslims addressed as Meitei Pangal? The most accepted explanation is that the word Pangal being a corrupted form of Bangal (Bengal), the original home of the Manipur Muslims. The word ‘Bangal’ changed to ‘Pangal’ as most Meiteis in the 17th century pronounced B as P. In the early phase of settlement Muslims were absorbed into the King’s army. After 1606 AD, more Muslims came to Manipur and settle down excepting for one person. So they were given Meitei wives and land, but more importantly and most unusual was the assignment of sageis (sub clans) to the Muslims. Former Minister of Minority and Corporate Affairs was amazed when he learnt of the existence of Sageis of Muslims in Manipur. He remarked on this unusual phenomenon about the emergence of kinship group by blood (Salman Khurshid 2012). How did this phenomenon come about, which is non-existent in the Muslim world? Among Muslims religion regulates both sacred and secular practices. This as Dun (1975) asserted: the Muhammadans of this country (Manipur) are very ignorant of their religion. McCulloch was of the same opinion: Whole Mussalman population being very ignorant of the creed they profess is not attended with the inconvenience which it would be amongst a better informed people. The Muslims were liberal and unorthodox, had no masjid. This stage maybe called semi-Islamic, sub Islamic as it was largely influenced by the local culture and customs of the Manipur Valley. The period lasted from the middle of the seventeenth century to the end of the nineteenth century. These are the colonial writers. The Nongsamei Puya, The Socio Economic Survey 2004, and Kheiruddin Khullakpam hold different opinions and it is believed that the Quran was brought to Manipur in 1608 AD. Whatever it may be, the fact is that the Manipuri Muslims adopted Islam in a strict manner after 1910 AD when the individuals who were sent to the Deoband Seminary returned to Manipur. Thereafter, the Meitei Pangals became engaged in a ‘Quest for Identity’.
Richard Eaton had explored three common theories of Islamic conversion in India and their underlying assumptions, but none are applicable to the Meitei Pangal. The Kings of Manipur never asked the Muslims to forsake Islam, or to convert to Hinduism. The teachings of the Quran appeared to have worked more or less satisfactorily in the tribal surroundings and the strong democratic tradition of Madina. But as soon as Islam began to expand beyond the limits of a “city state”, the inspired Word of God, failed to be elaborated for the working of a more extensive political structure. With the fall of Madina, and the transfer of the seat of the Caliph to Baghdad, Persian ideas began to flow in; the Arab Muslims (Arab Muslims were the first to come to India) came to assimilate the old doctrine of Persian Imperialism, the most significant of which was the Theory of Divine Right of Persian Kings (AShraf, K. 1970). The Meitei Pangals were perfectly amenable to render obedience to the Meitei King. From Balban’s reign the Muslims rulers of India called themselves ‘Zil-ul-lah’ or ‘Shadow of God on Earth’. Even though the Meitei Kings were Hindus, there was an element of Divinity associated with Kingship. The principalities that constituted the Meitei Confederacy formed the backbone of the social organisation in the form of Salais (clans). Each Salai consists of a number of Sageis (Laishram, R. 2009). The Manipur Muslims were assigned Sageis from 1606 AD in recognition of their aptitude for and interest in specific type of professions. (LoyombaSinyen) There are about fifty such clans in Manipur- an exclusive feature unknown in the Muslim world (Chaudhury, Md, R) W. Ibohal concurs with the theory that family title or ‘yumnak sagei’ was on the basis of occupation. For example, the Muslim clan ‘Dolaipabam’ was connected with Dolaipaba Loisang- Department of palanquins, the Phundrei clan with making or turning of the hookah. Other clan names were given on a different basis. For instance the descendants of that person who presented a moina bird to King Khagemba were known as Moinam. Some sageis were based on the place of residency Ipham- the Muslims who protected the thatched garden of the Royal Palace. Yet other sageis were assigned on the basis of administrative duties performed eg. Luklakpam (The Khullakpa of a village was assisted by a Luplakpa in Paikhomba’s reign. (1666-1697). Two Sageis were based on the original homeland of the Muslims migrants into Manipur viz. Bhukramayum (Bukhrain Sylhet) and Makak Mayum (Makak Sylhet). The Muslims clans are invariably Exogamous according to N. Devendra Singh.
There were thus obvious reasons for the Muslims to make their permanently home in Manipur commencing with King Khagemba’s landmark decision to allow them to settle, marry Meitei women, giving them a distinctive Identity. What is intriguing is how a people with a different religion different in every way from the Meitei, became completely indigenized whether in the realm of language, dress, food, way of life and more important the Passage of Rites.
This transformation was facilitated by the fact that in 1606 AD itself, the King appointed the leader of the Muslims, Mohammad Shani as a member of the “Pongba Tara” (10 Ministers of the Manipur Kingdom). This was a singular honour conferred to a Muslim, which greatly enhanced the status of the Muslims. In addition the King permitted separate departments to be set up for the governance of the Muslims viz. Mangkhan Shang and the Pangal Shan. (Was he perhaps influenced by the institution of Tribal Chieftainship and Tribal Customary Law prevalent in Manipur?) Each Khul of the Muslims had a mohalla attached to the Masjid- symbolic signs of Islam. A Muslim Panchayat was also constituted in 1891-92 with 5 members. (Irene, S. 2018)
When the Maharaja of Manipur constituted a Manipur State Constitution Committee on 12th December 1946 of 14 members, one member was a Muslim, so also in the Interim Council of 1947, Maulvi Basiruddin Ahmed was included. According to the Manipur State Constitution Act of 1947, the State Assembly Reserved three seats for the Muslims. In the elections to the State Assembly in 1948, five Meitei Pangals were elected. And their population according to Census 1951 was only 37,197. So, one can easily calculate the percentage of Muslims in the State Assembly. Was this a measure of their complete assimilation into Meitei society, for it was a remarkable feat that this miniscule population of Muslims had 5 representatives in the first State Assembly of Manipur. Two decades later when Manipur attained Statehood in 1972, the Muslim population had almost doubled to 70,960 (Census 1971). The total population of the state was then 1,072,753 (Census 1971). The figure speaks for themselves.
Ever since, a Muslim has always held one or more Cabinet rank in the Council of Ministers. Undoubtedly this was a great achievement for a minority community who prided themselves on being called ‘Meitei Pangal’. Despite the fact that by the turn of the 21st century the vast majority of the Muslims of Manipur reside in villages, according to Socio-Economic Survey 2004, 92.9 percent of them posses or own land. Land in India has always been associated with status, and today, the area of land that the Muslims occupy in Imphal Valley has grown exponentially, in addition there has emerged an affluent middle class in Meitei Pangal society. Is there a sequence to these events commencing with the largesse of King Khagemba. It appears that the Meitei and the Meitei Pangal are a lodestar not only for different communities in Manipur but more for Hindus and Muslims in Manipur. In the Anglo-Manipur war in 1891, at least 30 Pangals fought on the side of the Meitei King against the British. R. Brown (1975) calculated that there were about 900 families or 4,500 men, women and children in the 1870s. Interestingly, the growth rate of the Meitei Pangal from 1961 onwards, was higher than the national average. It stood at 134 in 2001 as against 116 for India as a whole. Today the population of Muslims in Manipur is 2,39,836. (census 2011)
The Muslims advent into Manipur from 1606 AD is remarkable for the degree of assimilation and acculturation on the part of the Meiteis Pangals, and the adoption of Meiteilon as their lingua franca. One other remarkable feature of the uniqueness of the Meitei Pangals is the influence exerted by the Meitei wives of the Pangal men. Women have always held a high position in Manipur and Meitei women have been close to the centre of power. This is why when these Meitei women married Muslims and converted to Islam (mandatory), colonial ethnographers and anthropologists were taken aback by the freedom of these women who did not hide their faces before strangers, or remain confined in zenanas, and who proudly wore and still do the traditional Meitei dress – the inaphi and phanek. Moreover, Meitei Pangal women like Meitei women work both at home and in the public domain. Some of them even participated in the Second Nupilan of 1939 (women’s war) against the British colonialist. There can be no doubt that in the 17th and 18th centuries, Meitei Pangal women had an overriding influence over their husbands, except in the matter of religion. Society and Polity in Manipur was organized through the concept of blood relationship and kinship.
(The Author is a retired Professor of History. For further details refer to “The Muslims of Manipur” by Salam Irene - available on Amazon. Author could be reached on drsalamirene@rediffmail.com)
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