Manipur CM unveils statue in Imphal

Our Correspondent
Imphal, March 7 (EMN): Manipur Chief Minister, N Biren Singh, unveiled a statue of Saheed Subedar Niranjan Singh Chhetri, one of the heroes of Anglo-Manipur War 1891, at Kanglatongbi in Imphal West District on Sunday.

Subedar Niranjan was hanged to death by Britishers for his role in the war on June 8, 1891. He was initially a sepoy in the 34th Native Infantry of the British army. However, he left the Britishers to join the army of Manipur kingdom. He was appointed as a Subedar by Bir Tikendrajit.

Speaking on the occasion, Singh urged the Gorkha community to never get discouraged with the notion that they belonged to a minority community in Manipur, stating that the present government would never tolerate suppression of smaller groups by bigger communities.

“The story of Subedar Niranjan Singh Chhetri is the testimony that Gorkhas also contributed their mite in safeguarding the freedom of Manipur,” Singh stated and admitted that construction of statues of patriots, who had had laid down their lives for the sake of motherland are going on at different places. Some of them included Thangal General, Chirai Naga, Maharaj Gambhir Singh, Maharaj Narsingh etc.

As requested by the Gorkha community of Manipur, another statue of Subedar Niranjan Singh Chhetri would be erected at a proper place soon, he announced.

He further stated that a memorial stone engraved with the names of those, who were exiled to Kalapani after Anglo-Manipur War, would also be erected soon near Saheed Minar so that people could pay homage on Patriots’ Day.

A book titled “Saheed Niranjan Singh Chhetri: The unsung hero of Anglo-Manipur (Khongjom) War, 1891,” authored by Ghanashyam Acharya and a booklet titled “Sahid Subedar Niranjan Chhetry, Bharat Emagi Athouba Mapari” authored by Ajit Das were also released during the programme.