Bishnupriya Manipuri Language - History and Development

History and Development

Bishnupriya Manipuri is spoken in parts of Assam and Tripura in India, in the Sylhet region of Bangladesh, Burma, and in several other countries. It is different from many Indo-Aryan languages like Bengali, Assamese, Oriya, etc. The language originated and developed in Manipur and was originally confined to the surroundings of the Loktak Lake. Other authorities such as An account of the valley of Manipore by Col. McCullock, Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal by E. T. Dalton and the Linguistic Survey of India by George Abraham Grierson mention that the language was in existence in Manipur before the 19th century. Dr. Grierson calls the language as "Bishnupuriya Manipuri", while some other writers call it simply "Bishnupriya". The principal localities where this language was spoken are now known as Heirok, Mayang Imphal, Bishnupur, Khunau, Ningthoukhong, Ngaikhong, Thamnapokpi.

A great majority of speakers of BPM fled from Manipur and took refuge in Assam, Tripura, Sylhet and Cachar during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries due to internal conflicts among the princes of Manipur and due to Burmese attack. Consequently, it was difficult for the small number of Bishnupriyas who remained in Manipur to retain their language in the face of the impact of Meitei, although in 1891 Dr. G.A. Grierson found the existence of a considerable number of speakers in two or three villages near Bishnupur, locally known as Lamangdong. The language slowly started losing its ground in Manipur against a vast majority of Meiteis and is slowly facing its decay in Cachar and Bangladesh against a vast majority of Bengali-speakers. This language is still being spoken in Jiribam (a sub-division of Manipur), Cachar (a district of Assam) and in some pockets in Bangladesh and Tripura.