Punishment of female criminals--A man saved from execution--A Kuki
executed--Old customs abolished--Anecdote of Ghumbeer Singh--The
Manipuri army--Effort to re-organise Manipur levy--System
of rewards--"Nothing for nothing"--An English school--Hindoo
festivals--Rainbows--View from Kang-joop-kool.
Manipur professed to follow the old Hindoo laws, and accordingly no
woman was ever put to death, or to very severe punishment. When one was
convicted of any heinous or disgraceful offence she was exposed on a
high platform in every bazaar in the country, stripped to the waist,
round which a rope, one end of which was held by her guard, was tied
and her breasts painted red. A crier at the same time proclaimed her
crime, and with a loud voice called out from time to time, "Come and
look at this naughty woman!"
Exposure on a platform was also a punishment inflicted occasionally
on male offenders. Sometimes it was followed by death. Once I saved a
man from this part of the sentence, his crime being one for which our
law would not have exacted so severe a penalty. Fortunately, I heard
in time, and a message to the Maharajah in courteous, but unmistakable
terms, brought about a remission of the capital portion. The ministers
generally consulted me before carrying out sentence of death. Once in
a case of murder by a Kuki they asked my opinion, so I requested them
to send the man to me that I might examine him myself. This was done,
and as he confessed openly to being guilty, I told them they might
execute him, and as an after-thought said "How shall you put him to
death?" Bularam Singh replied, "According to the custom of Manipur,
in the way in which he committed the murder. As he split his victim's
head open with an axe so will his head be split open." I said "I have
no objection in this case on the score of humanity, but it is not a
pretty mode of execution; some day there will be a case accompanied
by circumstances of cruelty, when I shall be obliged to interfere;
so take my advice, and on this occasion and all future ones, adopt
decapitation as the mode of carrying out a death sentence. You can
do it now with a good grace, and without any apparent interference
on my part to offend your dignity." Old Bularam Singh said, "Oh no,
the laws of Manipur are unalterable, we cannot change; we must do
as we have always done." I said, "Nonsense, my old friend, go with
Chumder Singh (my native secretary and interpreter) and give my kind
message to the Maharajah, and say what I advise, as his friend." In
half-an-hour Chumder Singh returned with an assurance that my advice
was accepted, and from that time decapitation was the form of capital
punishment adopted.
I never knew a case of torture being employed, but otherwise the laws
were carried out with severity. Ghumbeer Singh (reigned 1825-34)
occasionally tore out an offender's eyes, but such things had been
forgotten in the days of his son, and though the Government was
strong, probably there were fewer acts of cruelty than in most native
states. Once when Ghumbeer Singh had lately introduced tame geese
into the country; he gave two to a Brahmin to take care of. It was
reported that a goose was dead. "Tell the Brahmin to eat it," said
the indignant Rajah. The severity of such an order to a Hindoo will be
appreciated, by any one knowing what loss of caste entails. Ghumbeer
Singh's orders were always implicitly obeyed, so I am afraid that
the sentence was carried into effect.
The army consisted of about 5000 men at the outside, in eight regiments
of infantry and an artillery corps. The famous cavalry was a thing
of the past, and many of the infantry were quite unacquainted with
drill. There were eight three-pounder brass guns, and two seven-pounder
mountain guns given as a reward for services in the Naga Hills,
one of which did admirable service in the Burmese war. Most of the
infantry were armed with smooth-bore muskets, some being of the
Enfield pattern. Besides the above, there were about 1000 to 12,000
Kuki Irregulars. A Manipuri military expedition was a strange sight,
the men besides their arms and ammunition carrying their spare clothes,
cooking vessels, food, etc., on their backs. All the same, they could
make long and tiring marches day after day on poor fare and without
a complaint, and at the end of a hard day would hut themselves and
fortify their position with great skill, however great the fatigue
they had undergone. It was a standing rule that in an enemy's country
a small force should always stockade itself, and a Manipuri army well
commanded was then able to hold its own against a sudden attack. On
their return from a successful expedition the troops were greatly
honoured, and the general in command accorded a kind of triumph, and
it was an interesting sight to see the long thin line of picturesque
and often gaily-clad troops, regulars and irregulars winding their
way through the streets and groves of the capital bearing with them
spoils and trophies gained in war. Here a party headed by banners,
there some Kukis beating small gongs and chanting in a monotonous
tone. Finally, after marching round two sides of the palace, they
enter by the great gate, pass between the Chinese walls, and again
between the two lions (so called), and being received by the Maharajah
at the Gate of Triumph, their General throws himself at his feet and
receives his chief's benediction, the greatest reward that he can have.
I realised from the first that it would be an immense advantage
to reconstitute the Manipur Levy, and keep up a permanent force of
800 men under my direct orders, properly paid, armed, clothed and
disciplined. I foresaw that a war with Burmah was a mere question of
time, and wished to have a force ready, so as to enable the British
Government to act with effect at a moment's notice through Manipur,
on the outbreak of hostilities. Regular troops eat no more than
irregular, and are ten times as valuable. My plan was to have 800 men
enlisted, of whom 200 would have come on duty in rotation, according
to the Manipur system, all being liable to assemble at a moment's
notice. Thus a splendid battalion of hardy men could have been formed,
with which I could have marched to Mandalay. Such a force would have
been absolutely invaluable when the war broke out in 1885, men able to
stand the climate, march, fight, row boats, dig, build stockades, in
fact do all that the best men could be called upon to do. However, to
my great disappointment, the idea did not commend itself to Government,
and I never ceased to regret it. I often later on thought of the lives
and money that might have been saved in 1885-86 had we been better
prepared, the cost of the proposed levy would have been trifling.
One part of the Manipuri system ever struck me as very admirable,
and I tried always to encourage it; that was the system of rewarding
services by honorary distinctions. The permission to wear a peculiar
kind of turban, coat, or feather, or to assume a certain title was
more valued than any money reward, and men would exert themselves
for years for the coveted distinction. It is charming to see such
simple tastes and to aspire no higher than to do one's duty and earn
the approval of our fellow-creatures.
One day the two ministers Thangal Major and Bularam Singh came to
see me, accompanied by old Rooma Singh Major. They looked rather
uneasy, and I suspected something was coming out. Presently Thangal
rose and saluted me, and said, "The Maharajah has promoted us to
be generals." I received the intelligence without any enthusiasm,
feeling assured that the act had been dictated by a desire to give
them a more high-sounding title than my military one, I being then
only a lieut.-colonel. It was in fact a piece of self-assertion. Any
one understanding Asiatics will know what I mean, and that I knew
instinctively it was a move in the game against me which I ought to
check. I coldly replied that of course the Maharajah would please
himself, but that I loved old things, old names, and old faces, and
that I had so many pleasant associations with the old titles that I
could not bring myself to use the new ones, and should continue to
call them by the dear old name of Major. I then shook hands with them
most cordially and said good-bye, and they left rather crestfallen,
where they had hoped and intended to be triumphant. I may as well tell
the remainder of the story. Time after time was I begged to address
my three friends as "General," but I was inexorable, and the titles
almost fell into disuse among the Manipuris who had at first adopted
them. Old Thangal once had a long talk about it, and I said plainly,
"I give nothing for nothing: some day when you do something I shall
address you as General." Years passed. I went on leave, and my locum
tenens too good-naturedly gave in, and addressed them as General, and
even induced the Chief Commissioner of the day to do likewise. When
he wrote to me and told me of it, I was naturally not very pleased,
and mentioned it to an old Indian friend, who said, "Well, you will
have to do the same now that the Chief Commissioner has." However,
I was not going to swerve from my word. I returned to Manipur, and one
of the ministers met me on the boundary river. I again greeted him as
"Major Sahib," and immediately the new titles again began to fall into
disuse. I told the Chief Commissioner my views when I next met him,
and he approved, as I said I could not alter my word.
Some time after this I again renewed efforts that I had long been
making for the establishment of an English school in Manipur. The
Durbar naturally objected; wisely from their point of view, they knew
as well as I did that the fact of their subjects learning English would
eventually mean a better administration of justice, and a gradual
sweeping away of abuses. I felt, however, that the time was come,
and I urged the question with great force, and one day said to the
ministers, "You have long wanted to be addressed as 'General,' and I
told you that when you did something worthy of it I should do so. Now
the day that the Maharajah gives his consent to an English school being
established, I shall address you as General." A few days afterwards the
Maharajah's consent was brought. I immediately stood up and shook hands
most warmly with them, saying, "I thank you cordially, Generals." From
that day the question was finally set at rest, after years of longing
on the part of the old fellows. We had always understood each other,
and they felt and respected the part I had taken, and, I believe,
valued their titles all the more from my not having given in at once.
The Rath Jatra Festival, i.e., the drawing of the Car of Juggernaut,
is greatly honoured in Manipur, and every village has its Rath
(car). The Dewali, the feast of lights, is also faithfully kept. Also
the Rathwal, one of the feasts of Krishna, when there are many
dances, and an enormous bird is cleverly constructed of cloth with a
bamboo framework, and a man inside, who struts about to the delight
of the children. The Koli Saturnalia is also duly celebrated; the
red powder "Abeer," is thrown about amongst those who can get it,
and the burning of the temporary shrines lights up the sky at night,
and the holes where the poles stood, are a fertile source of danger to
ponies and pedestrians for weeks afterwards. The Durga Poojah is kept,
but is a feast of minor importance. At the Rath Jatra the number of
people drawn together was enormous, and the white mass could be very
distinctly seen from Kang-joop-kool with a telescope, when the weather
was clear. This view was sometimes obscured by clouds, and often when
staying there did I wake up to see the whole of the valley filled up
with fog, like a vast sea of cotton-wool, stretching across to the
Yoma range of hills many miles away.
Lunar rainbows were not uncommon in Manipur, and I often saw them from
Kang-joop-kool. Often, too, from thence have I seen a complete solar
rainbow, each end resting on the level surface of the valley. Once,
in riding to Sengmai on a misty morning, I saw a white rainbow rising
from the ground; a fine and weird sight it was.
The view over the valley at night from the surrounding hills was
sometimes wonderful. I never shall forget one night in the rainy
season, when the moon was shining brightly in the valley, but obscured
from my view by an intervening cloud; the bright reflection on the
watery plain sent out a long stream of light which brightened up
the glistening temples of the Capelat. This, and the dim hills in
the distance, and the whole amphitheatre enclosed by them lighted
up faintly, while the dark threatening cloud hanging in air between
me and the rising moon, that had not yet apparently reached my level
(I was 2500 feet above the valley, and seemed to be looking down on
the moon), made a picture never to be forgotten.