Manipur Kingdom

The Manipur Kingdom, also known as Kangleipak or Meckley, was an ancient state on the frontier between India and Burma. Its early history is preserved largely in dynastic chronicles and foundation myths centred on Kangla Fort beside the Imphal River. A written constitution, the Loyumba Shinyen, was compiled under King Loiyumba in the early twelfth century, and later rulers expanded the kingdom into the surrounding hills and the Kabaw Valley. In 1714 King Pamheiba adopted Gaudiya Vaishnavism as the state religion and promoted Bengali script for the Meitei language. The kingdom became a British protectorate in 1824 after the First Anglo-Burmese War, and a princely state under the British Raj in 1891 following the Anglo-Manipur War. Imphal remained the capital and the only significant town; a British residency was established there in 1835. During the Second World War the capital was shelled and the surrounding region saw the battles of Imphal and Kohima. The maharaja acceded to India in 1949, ending the kingdom's separate political existence.