Marjit Singh

Marjit Singh was a Meitei royal who ruled Manipur between 1812 and 1819 as a vassal of Burma, but was eventually expelled by the Burmese.[1][2] The Burmese devastated Manipur during a seven-year occupation that came to be known as Chahi-Taret Khuntakpa.

Kingdom of Manipur
Part of History of Manipur
Kings of Manipur
Loiyumba 1074-1112
Senbi Kiyamba 1467-1508
Koirengba 1508-1512
Khagemba 1597-1652
Pitambar Charairongba 1697–1709
Pamheiba 1720–1751
Gaurisiam 1752–1754
Chitsai 1754–1756
Ching-Thang Khomba 1769–1798
Rohinchandra 1798–1801
Maduchandra Singh 1801–1806
Chourjit Singh 1806–1812
Marjit Singh 1812–1819
Gambhir Singh 1825–1834
Raja Nara Singh 1844–1850
Debindro Singh 1850–1850
Chandrakirti Singh 1850–1886
Raja Surchandra 1886–1890
Kulachandra Singh 1890–1891
Churachandra Singh 1891–1941
Bodhchandra Singh 1941–1949
Manipur monarchy data

Family

Marjit Singh was a son of Raja Ching-Thang Khomba, the ruler up to 1798. Afterwards, his numerous sons fought for the throne.[3]

Madhuchandra succeeded his father first. He fled to Cachar when the Burmese threatened the kingdom. He tried to regain it with the help of the Cachar king Govinda Chandra. However, he was killed by the troops of his brother, Chourjit Singh. During Chourjit Singh's reign, Marjit Singh fled to Cachar and got into a serious dispute there. Then he went to Burma and received the help of King Bodawpaya and expelled Chourjit Singh.[4]

Rule

Marjit Singh ascended to the throne in 1812. Chourjit Singh, along with another brother Gambhir Singh, fled to Cachar. Govinda Chandra refused to help them against a brother, but Marjit Singh invaded Cachar anyway in 1817. Chourjit and Gambhir Singh helped Gonvda Chandra fend off Marjit Singh, but they in turn drove out Govinda Chandra, took over Cachar and plundered it.[5]

At this stage, Marjit Singh appears to have gotten into trouble with the Burmese, who invaded the kingdom and expelled him.

Aftermath

The Burmese occupation lasted until the First Anglo-Burmese War in 1824, and became locally known as Chahi-Taret Khuntakpa. It devastated Manipur. According Pemberto, Manipur was ‘doomed ... to the devastating visitation of Burmese armies which have nine or ten times swept the country from one extremity to the other, with the apparent determination of extirpating a race whom they found it impossible permanently to subdue.'[6]

Marjit Singh went to Cachar and joined his brothers. They divided Cachar among themselves, with Marjit occupying Hailakandi and Gambhir Singh took control of South Cachar. Chourjit took shelter in Sylhet.[7]

See also

References
  1. Princely States of India
  2. Banerjee, The Eastern Frontier of British India (1946), pp. 286–287: "Marjit ruled over Manipur for seven years (1812-1819) as a vassal of the Burmese King."
  3. Hodson, The Meitheis (1908), p. 81.
  4. Banerjee, The Eastern Frontier of British India (1946), p. 284.
  5. Banerjee, The Eastern Frontier of British India (1946), pp. 284–286.
  6. Banerjee, The Eastern Frontier of British India (1946), pp. 282–284.
  7. Banerjee, The Eastern Frontier of British India (1946), p. 286.

Bibliography
  • Banerjee, A. C. (1946) [1943], The Eastern Frontier of British India, 1784–1826 (Second ed.), Calcutta: A. Mukherjee – via archive.org
  • Hodson, Thomas Callan (1908), The Meitheis (PDF), Harvard University – via archive.org
Preceded by
Charajit Singh		 King of
Manipur
1812–1819		 Succeeded by
Shubol
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