Interesting!!!
The news is a a bit confusing however. There are two languages in Manipur: The Bishnupuria-Manipuri language and the Meetei-Manipuri language. If I am correct in my understanding, the news does not speak of changing the script of the Bishnupuira-Manipuri language but only of Meetei-Manipuri language..If that is so, it is not a big news. It means the Meetei language is reverting back to their own Tibeto-Burman script after a gap of 200 years.
This Meetei-Manipuri language is comparable to our Bodo language. Bodos in Assam, like the Meetei in Manipur, are also a branch of the Tibeto Burman race. Naga, Kuki-chin and Bodo are the three main Tibeto Burman languages in North east India.
The Bishnupuria on the other hand is a Indo-European language like Assamese and Bengali. I think they still retain the Bengali script. While the Bishnupurias immigrated to Manipur quite early, it will be however difficult to prove that they came earlier than the Meetei. If we accept that, we will also have to accept the theory that the Kalitas came to Assam earlier than the Bodos. According to one estimate, all these people, Meetei, Bodos, Kalitas, Bishnupuirias all came to Assam-Maniupur around 2500 BC. That is to say, there had been a mixture of Tibeto-Burman and Indo-European language group in North East India.
The Bodos in Assam have adopted the Roman script I believe.
BTW these Tibeto Burmans, the Naga-Bodo-Meetei group of people were known as the Kiratas in Mahabharta who fought the Kuru-Pandava war alongside king Bhagadatta of Kamrup. The original home of these Tibeto-Burman people is said to be upper courses of the Yangtse-kinag and Hoang-Ho in the northwest China.
Rajen Barua
From: "Roy, Santanu" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2005 12:13 PM
Subject: [Assam] Manipur.
> http://www.arbornet.org/~prava/eeyek/
> The site claims that the script is ancient. If the claim is correct, then Its fascinating - because this may be one of the few available scripts of a Tibeto-Burman language - I wonder what influences it carries.
>
> The site also talks about the Bishnupriyas. It seems there is a major difference of opinion regarding the Bishnupriyas (originally called Khalachai) who actually see themselves as the original Indo-Aryan indegenous people of Manipur (not of the Kukui-Chin tribes), their language is closer to Kamrupi languages (and originally to some western Indian languages!), trace their origin to Bubhruvahan of Mahabharata .
> http://manipuri.8k.com/
> http://manipuri.freehomepage.com/religion.html
> They see the Meeteis as later immigrants (which seems to be correct). It seems the Meetei kings who converted to Vaishnavism in the 18th century under the influence of some Bengali vaishnavs prosecuted these "original Vaishnavs". There are other versions of their story. Almost all Bishnupriyas are now in Assam, Tripura and Bangladesh. They are agitating for the right to call their language Bishnupriya Manipuri.
> http://manipuri.org/ashim.html
> However, the Meeteis pooh pooh this story about Bishnupriyas being the indegenous people of Manipur and believe that the Bishnupriyas were recent immigrants into Manipur from somewhere else - possibly Bengal. I have known many Bishnupriyas in my life and had many Meetei friends. But I could never piece together the true history. Both sides are extremely passionate and it acquires quite a bit of political significance in the light of an amazing cultural and political renaissance & Manipuri nationalism that seems to have been taking place there. I wonder if anyone on the net knows more about this.
> Santanu.
>
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