Manipur can be India's next sporting hub. Financial security need not depend on politics

The Print

14-05-2025

Kingdon-Ward had spent years traversing the frontier regions of the Northeast and had also been briefly arrested by the Tibetan government in 1935. His arrest led to British India reasserting its rights on areas demarcated by the McMahon Line that had been signed in 1914 in Shimla (then called Simla). Kingdon-Ward named the flower after his wife, Lilium Macklin.
Situated at a height of 2,835 m above sea level in the predominantly Tangkhul Naga district of Ukhrul, the hamlet is 18 km from the district headquarters and 97 km from the state capital of Imphal. When the three-feet-tall, bluish-pink bell-shaped lily was first displayed at the Royal Horticultural Society exhibition at Chelsea, UK, by the world-famous botanist Frank Kingdon-Ward in 1948, it was described as a 'botanical marvel'.
The Shirui Lily or Lilium mackliniae, the state flower of Manipur, grows best in its natural habitat – the hills of Shirui Kashung. The hills are also the source of the Maklang river system and its tributaries, important both for irrigating the rice fields and for the plentiful harvest of fish.
The oral tradition about Kashong Timrawon
In the Tangkhul oral tradition, the lily 'Kashong Timrawon', was named after Timrawon, the daughter of mythical goddess Philava, the protector of the hills. And then the story takes three different turns.
In the first, Timrawon was also a goddess who blessed her devotees with prosperity, beauty, kindness, and fulfilment. In the second, she lived on the hill with her lover Shirui, and after her death, he appears every year to mark his presence on the soil where she lies buried. The third story is that as she was divine, but he was mortal, their love could never be consummated, and so the two lovers jumped off the cliff. The flower represents sacrifice and eternal love in the state of Manipur.
The beauty of the oral tradition is that new stories are made and passed down over generations – but all tales hold the lily with wondersome awe, reverence, love, affections, and a sense of personal belongingness. When the flower blooms—from mid-May to the first week of June— the community holds an annual Shirui Lily festival. Over the years, the festival has received the support of the state government and now attracts thousands of music, art, and horticulture aficionados from across the country and abroad.
As the 2023 and 2024 editions of the festival could not be held on account of the challenging law and order situation in the state, the interest and expectation for this year's conclave is quite high. The district administration of Ukhrul has now confirmed the participation of several bands from across the country. Inner Sanctum from Bengaluru, Arogya from Sikkim/Guwahati, Magdalene from Mizoram, Divine Connection from Nagaland and Gingerfeet from Kolkata. Then there is Alive from Meghalaya and High Volt from the state itself. The Israeli band Orphaned Land has also sent in its confirmation.
Home Minister Amit Shah has been invited to the Shirui festival by Manipur Governor A.K. Bhalla and Ukhrul legislator Ram Muivah, a Tangkhul Naga and former IAS officer.
Now that the ceasefire with Pakistan has been announced, it is highly likely that he will visit Ukhrul. As things stand today, representatives of all three major communities – the Meiteis, the Nagas, and the Kukis—have confirmed their participation in which a free, frank, and fair exchange of views, including their apprehensions about each other, can be discussed. The issues remain contentious: the Meiteis are concerned about the growing population of Kukis-Zos, especially in the three subdivisions of Senapati district, and both Nagas and Kukis are concerned about the extension of ST status to the Meiteis. They worry that if the extension is provided, it will reduce employment opportunities for the highlanders.
When it comes to political representation, the Meiteis—who constitute 54 per cent of Manipur's population—hold 40 out of the 60 seats in the state assembly, giving them complete control over the state's financial resources. The highlanders who make up 43 per cent get only 20 seats. Manipur is not covered either under the Fifth or Sixth schedule, which deals with the administration of tribal dominated areas in the Northeast.
Also read: U-16 football captain dreamt of 'hero's welcome' in Manipur after SAFF win. Stuck in relief camp instead
Steps toward reconciliation
This longstanding demand to include Manipur in the Fifth or Sixth schedule has merit, and can probably be the first step in the reconciliation process. This must be supplemented with a forceful crackdown on unauthorised cultivation of poppy. And replacing it with a financial and technical assistance package to promote remunerative high-value agriculture—replete with new market-friendly cultivars, high-density plantations, and micro irrigation.
Additionally, the scope of discussion could include granting temporary refugee status to those displaced by political violence in Myanmar. Regardless of the nature of the regime in the neighbouring country, our engagement with it—for the swift completion of the 1,736 km-long Stilwell Road and to curb cross-border narcotics trade—is imperative for our own security needs.
If required, India could offer a financial package for the return of refugees to their villages in Myanmar. We cannot look at the intersection of ethnicity and frontiers through the rigid Westphalian lens of the nation state. Arjuna Awardee, Padma Vibhushan, former (nominated) Rajya Sabha member, Mary Kom, best described the significance of tribal identity over all affiliations. 'One of the greatest motivating forces for me has been my desire to assert the identity of my tribe, Kom. Within my country, and world over,' she had said. Incidentally, Kom is neither Meitei nor Kuki-Zo – yet today she is the most recognised face of Manipur.
Beyond political template
More Manipuris deserve to become icons in the fields of sports and music. Legend has it that modern polo's origin story is linked to the state. Ashish Kundra wrote in his book, A Resurgent Northeast: Narratives of Change, that there are over 1,000 community-run sports clubs, with football being a big draw in Manipur. The state can become the hub of a new sporting culture with academies for polo, boxing, archery, football, rugby, and wrestling coming up in the different districts.
How about schools of music and academies devoted to the classical Manipuri dance form? The government can establish learning and capability centres for taking up top emerging positions in the world of IT, pharma, and biotechnology.
Recognition, fame, and financial security—for both individuals and communities—need not be linked only to political representation or government jobs. These are important, yes. But they are not the be-all and end-all of life. There is a world beyond the political template.
Sanjeev Chopra is a former IAS officer and Festival Director of Valley of Words. Until recently, he was director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. He tweets @ChopraSanjeev. Views are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)