Chinglen Nongdrenkhomba (1788–1834), also known as Raja Gambhir Singh, was a ruler of the

Manipur Kingdom The Manipur Kingdom, also known as Meckley, was an ancient kingdom at the India–Burma frontier. Historically, Manipur was an independent kingdom ruled by a Ningthouja dynasty, Meitei dynasty. But it was also invaded and ruled over ...

Biography

He was a son of Chingthang Khomba. He succeeded his nephew Yumjaotaba in April 1821 during the seven years devastation. He abdicated the throne with the arrival of a Burmese force under his cousin Prince Jai Singh, the first puppet king of Manipur under Burmese suzerainty, in October 1821. Gambhir Singh fled to

Cachar Cachar district is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. After independence, the pre-existing undivided Cachar district was split into four districts: Dima Hasao (formerly North Cachar Hills), Hailakandi, Karimganj, and the ...

. In

, Gambhir Singh with the help of his elder brothers Chourjit and Marjit dethroned Govinda Chandra, the king of

. Govinda Chandra applied for the protection of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

. His request was refused. In consequence of which he applied to the King of

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

to reinstate him. Accordingly, in 1823 the king of

send a large army into Cachar from to arrest Chourjit, Marjit and Gambhir Singh. The Burmese forces proceeded up to the territory of British

. In March 1824, Lord Amherst, the then Governor General of British

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

declared war against Burma. In 1823, the British Government opened communications with Gambhir Singh; upon which 500 Meiteis under his command were taken into pay of the British Government, and co-operated with the British troops in driving out the Burmese out of

. This force of 500 men was known as Gambhir Singh Levy (later Manipur Levy). The Manipur Levy under Gambhir Singh and his second cousin Nara Singh, later Maharaja Nara Singh, played a key role in driving out the Burmese from cachar and Manipur. The First Anglo-Burmese War was ended with the defeat of the Burmese. A peace treaty was signed between the Burmese and the British on 24 February 1826 known as the Treaty of Yandaboo. According to the article no.2 of the Treaty Gambhir Singh was declared the independent ruler of Manipur. Gambhir Singh reigned until his death on 9 January 1834. He was succeeded by his infant son Chandra Kirti with Maharaja Nara Singh as regent. The ''Khaki Ngamba'' mentions that on a Monday in either April or May 1829, Singh was passing through

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

whilst on a British expedition against the Khasis. Two processions were being prepared by Sylhet's

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

communities respectively. The Islamic month of

Muharram Al-Muharram () is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is banned. It precedes the month of Safar. The tenth of Muharram is known as Ashura, an important day of commemoration in ...

in the

history of Sylhet The Greater Sylhet district region predominantly included the Sylhet Division in Bangladesh, and Karimganj district in Assam, India. The history of the Sylhet region begins with the existence of expanded commercial centres in the area that is ...

was a lively time during which tazia processions were common. This happened to fall on the same day as the Hindu festival of Rothjatra. Sensing possible communal violence, the Faujdar of Sylhet, Ganar Khan, ordered the Hindu community to delay their festival by one day. Contrary to the Nawab's order, a riot emerged between the two communities. As a

himself, Singh managed to defend the Hindus and disperse the Muslim rioters with his Manipuri troops. The Rothjatra was not delayed, and Singh stayed to take part in it. Revered by the Hindu community as a defender of their faith, he enjoyed the procession and initiated the practice of celebrating Rothjatra and worshipping

Jagannath Jagannath (; formerly ) is a Hindu deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India as part of a triad along with (Krishna's) brother Balabhadra, and sister, Subhadra. Jagannath, within Odia Hinduism, is the supreme god, '' Purushot ...

in his own homeland of

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

References

External links

Modern Era
- IIT Guwahati * Frontline - 9 September 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Gambhir Kings of Manipur Hindu monarchs 1788 births 1829 deaths

Biography

See also

References

External links