Chirua Milan — 2013

Topo Singha 

Is it necessary, in this cyber age, for one to guard against any qualitative fall of one’s‘impressive pedigree’ going back to centuries? This question, if put up for a debate, is juicy enough to make a hot topic for a never-ending discussion. On certain counts, some people believe, one has every right reason to be jealous of one’s own pedigree, if that is an impressive one. But to keep a status up or to scale even fresh heights, one needs to work hard in all humanely possible ways as that helps a clan, a community and the nation as a whole stay aloft. This is nothing but striving for the best, the maxim of all success. This, as I assessed during a brief chat, is what the striving mind of Professor KM Sinha is impregnated with for the development of his clan and the community as a whole. Success, according to him, never comes from nowhere, and that one has to do his best to make that happen. 

Prof. Sinha, while spelling out the objectives of holding the Chirua Milan - 2013 in Guwahati on January 27, 2013, said that development of children to the fullest of their innate potentialities is a must for scaling new heights. He, however, is of the firm view that the quality of gene pool has much to do in this area, and one has to strive for developing ones genetic traits. This, according to him, is not at all impossible. There are, according to him, many ways to develop ones genetic traits through conscious physical and mental activities like conscious breathing and various types of pranayam. Throwing light on the power of pranayams in making ones brain sharper as the activity opens maximum cells in the brain, he says that one can give a desired direction to his/her progeny by making reproduction an outcome of a conscious activity instead of making it the result of satisfying his/her sheer carnal appetite. 

He, however, is liberal enough when he says that even if that is not possible for certain reasons, one can strive for the best by providing an environment conducive for education. “We need to provide the requisite environment for the education to our wards so as to make them able to compete in competitive examinations like IAS, IPS, IFS and the like. This is the surest route for the development of a family, a clan, a community and the nation as a whole,” he said. What he meant to say is that success is the outcome of right efforts, and that there’s no short-cut to success. 

Is there any reason behind holding get-togethers of clans at an age when people have to race against the clock? The response to this question from professor Sinha is in the affirmative. He is even in favour of holding such get-togethers by inviting people from other clans of the community so that they all can share their experience and knowledge in achieving their common goal for social development. “This is why we have invited prominent people of other clans residing in Guwahati. As a community, we have some common goals to score,” he said, and added that all Bishnupriya Manipuri clans should have held such meets. Development of all clans, he said, is development of the community. 

While former deputy secretary, Government of Assam, Sri Birendra Sinha gave a detailed account of the bravery of the likes of Golapgiri, Chandrakirti and other Chiruas with his mesmerising story-telling art, Bishnupriya Manipuri Writers’ Forum (BMWF) president Dils Lakshmindra Sinha made a fervent appeal to the community as a whole not to forget the contribution of historian Mohendra Sinha, late Falguni Sinha, Martyr Raja Babu Sinha and others. Along with Gokulananda Gitiswami, they should get their equitable recognition from the community. 

Late Falguni Sinha was a Chirua hailing from Berabak in Katakhal. He had risked his life and visited Manipur incognito for gleaning information and historical facts relating to the Bishnupriya Manipuris. He was a gleaner (hijalokorekura), and this writer would like to ask his two sons – Sri Birendra Sinha, now staying at Kalinjar at Silchar, and Sri Harendra Sinha, now staying at Baromuni – about the fate of the heap of information (hijar fosol) gleaned by the gleaner. If there is any still left with them, they should publish them or give them to reliable organisations of the community dealing with such matters. Rajkumar Chandra Dhvaja Sinha, a person belonging to the Lempa clan, a cousin clan of the Chiruas, also spoke on the occasion. Chirua development body president Angshuman Singha, vice-president Krishnadhan Singha, general secretary Ananda Singha and adviser Dhabalgiri Singha were the men behind holding the function.

In his presidential address, Col (retd) Bijay Sinha identified language as the only variable for the identity of a community. He said that it was only for their respective mother tongues that the two Manipuri communities parted their ways, and as such it was our prime duty to develop the language and literature.