Manipur Chief Minister on Wednesday pointed out that a vast portion of the history of Manipur is still concealed, and urged the researchers of the state to thoroughly dig the history of Manipur.
The chief minister also announced that the state government is ready to bear all the expenses of the research work even if the person needs to visit foreign countries like Britain and France.
Biren was speaking as chief guest during the observance of “Shaheed Diwas,” a tribute to revolutionaries and martyrs as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav at Maharaja Chandrakirti Auditorium in Imphal East.
The programme was organised by the department of Arts and Culture under the initiatives of the Ministry of Culture.
As Manipur is poor in terms of research work, thr present generation seems to lack knowledge about the history of the state, especially about the freedom movement and the freedom fighters..
Citing Maharaja Kulachandra, who was one of the 23 unsung heroes of Manipur who was imprisoned by the British at Andaman and Nicobar Island, he said the present generation might know Maharaja Kulachandra but not his story.
Biren elaborated that as per documented history which was acquired by Union Home minister Amit Shah, the Maharaja was given the opportunity to be set-free by the British governor if he was ready to sign an MoU, however he refused to sign the MoU and chose to remain imprisoned with his fellows.
The MoU which he refused to sign mentioned “seeking apology to the then Queen Elizabeth and to stop the rebellion against the British emperor,” he added.
Contending that Netaja Subhas Chandra Bose was never honoured with dignity in the past, the BJP led government never left any freedom fighters behind in honouring them, he said, adding that the government had started renovating the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose park at Moirang with modern architectures and is also ready to hoist the 165 feet high Indian National Flag.
The chief minister also recalled the recognition of the 23 unsung heroes of the Anglo-Manipur War, 1891 (Khongjom Lal) by engraving their names in the monolith erected along side of Saheed Minar at BT Park, Imphal and renaming of Mt Harriet into Mt Manipur in honour of the unsung war heroes by the double engine BJP government.
Pointing out that the present generation lacks morality and decency, Biren appealed to the people of Manipur to maintain decency and morality as has been maintained since the time of fore-fathers.
Promising that the new government will never break the trust of the public, the chief minister said, “We will give our maximum effort to fulfil the people’s mandate. We will never retreat.”
The function was also attended by the the newly sworn in five ministers (Th Biswajit, Y Khemchand, Govindas Konthoujam, Nemcha Kipgen and Awangbow Newmai), high ranking officials among others.