It was as if we were struck by a thunderbolt with the state deciding to wind up schools of historic importance and demolish the historic Manipur Central Jail adjacent to the first Manipur Rifles battalion HQs. It is indeed sad that the political leaders of Manipur do not have a sense of history while they are consumed by power politics and the mad rush for business enterprises. First the state government decides to abolish the historic Tombisana High School located at the heart of the city for constructing a multi-level parking place. Then it decides to abolish the historic Raja Dhumbra School for constructing a shopping mall. One of the pioneers Pettigrew School located on the banks of Imphal River at Singjamei Thokchom Leikai had long been forgotten. Raja Dhumbra School located at Nongmeibung Purana Rajbari was named after the brother of Maharaj Bodhachandra was established in 1951. Following dissension among teachers and students at the Churachand High School, a breakway group of teachers had established another school named Public School at the present premises which were later named after the prince Raja Dhumbra. If our political leaders at the helm of affairs of the state had a sense of history, they would not have taken such a decision. Such historic schools should be treated as shrines of education where the history of formal education evolved. It is the gift of these schools that we are having a generation of educated persons in our midst and it is because of the legacy left by these schools and the pioneers of education that we are having a host of enlightened young persons today. And we leave it to the educated Education Minister to drill the sense of history and importance of such icons in the minds of his colleagues. And, we must resist the efforts of the state to abolish these historic schools. Instead of abolition, the state should thinking in terms of reviving the glory of these schools to lessen the pressure on the premier higher secondary schools of Imphal. Having said this, we would like to drag the attention of both the state government and the general public towards the decision to demolish the historic Manipur Central Jail for constructing a modern Police Headquarters. If the government could think of a Capitol complex in Chingmeirong why is it confining itself in the busy Imphal locality with regard to the location of the police headquarters? The Manipur Central Jail was established at its present location in 1890. Two of our foremost patriots Pukhramba Kajao and Jadonang was hanged to death at this very location. This jail had housed a host of political prisoners ranging from Hijam Irabot to Nameirakpam Bisheshwar through Laishram Achaw and Mairenbam Koireng. In 1942 taking advantage of the bomb raids during the World War II, a number of dangerous criminals had escaped from the Manipur Central Jail by jumping over the wall. The Army had to be used for rounding up the dacoits and the escaped prisoners. The surrounding wall was very low during those days. The infamous Cellular Jail, also known as Kâlâ Pani (Black Water), was a colonial prison situated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. The prison was used by the British especially to exile political prisoners to the remote archipelago. Many notable dissidents such as Batukeshwar Dutt and Veer Savarkar, among others, were imprisoned here during the struggle for India’s independence. Many Manipuris including princes were jailed at Kalapani by the British. Today, the complex serves as a national memorial monument. And here in Manipur instead of preserving the historic jail the state government is thinking of demolishing it. We must resist this and demand for turning it into a monument or museum of state importance.
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