Imphal

Imphal lies in the Manipur valley, a broad basin enclosed by wooded hills. At its heart stands Kangla, the old royal seat and sacred centre of the Meitei kings. The palace and its enclosures were both a place of government and a focus of the traditions of the kingdom, whose power extended across the valley and into the surrounding hills. The Imphal River flows beside the historic royal enclosure, through the cultivated land of the basin.

King Khagemba strengthened Kangla in the early seventeenth century, while his successors maintained the court’s authority amid struggles with neighbouring powers. In the eighteenth century Pamheiba, also known as Garib Niwaz, led expeditions into Burma and brought Vaishnava Hinduism to prominence at court. Bhagyachandra later became associated with the worship of Govindaji and the development of Manipuri dance, music and Vaishnava devotion.

In 1819 a Burmese invasion drove King Marjit Singh from Manipur and began the period remembered as the Seven Years’ Devastation. Warfare and occupation caused widespread suffering and flight from the valley. Gambhir Singh reorganized Manipuri forces with British assistance and drove out the Burmese; the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826 followed the end of the First Anglo-Burmese War. The return of the court brought recovery to a kingdom deeply altered by the conflict.