Area formerly known as the Kingdom of Manipur (or Kangleipak Kingdom) established in 33 AD. The Kingdom became a princely state within the British Raj in 1824, until India was established in 1947.
After two years of independence, the last Maharaja of Manipur was coerced at gun point to merge his kingdom with the Indian Dominion by treaty on September 21, 1949. Popular bitterness over the circumstances of this 'merger' resulted in a 50+ year insurgency against Indian rule, which has continued unabated.
The largest tribal group is the Meitei (also called the Manipuri), descendants of the Tai people who have historically populated this far-northeastern area of India bordering Burma.
The official language is Meiteilon and the capital is Imphal.
