Manipur Rajbari in Shillong before demolition.
Credit: Meitei Heritage Society, Manipur.
Guwahati: The government under President's Rule in conflict-torn Manipur has come under fire, mainly in the valley, for demolishing a historic structure in Shillong, where king of erstwhile Manipur kingdom had signed the merger agreement in 1949.
Manipur Rajbari, known as Redlands Building, situated at Laitumkhrah in Meghalaya capital Shillong was demolished on October 8 by the Planning and Development Authority (PDA) as part of a "reconstruction" project.
A day after the demolition, Meghalaya CM Conrad K. Sangma clarified that his government was not involved in the demolition order as it was the property of Manipur government.
From former CM N. Biren Singh to BJP MLAs, civil society organisations and students' bodies in the Valley questioned why the structure was dismantled without public consultation and no effort was made to restore it.
"Very unfortunate and personally I'm very sad. When we first formed the government in 2017, the structure was not owned by the government and later efforts were made for its preservation," Biren Singh told reporters in Imphal on Tuesday soon after he returned from New Delhi.
Protest in Imphal
Students of Dhanamanjuri University at Imphal on Tuesday locked the PDA office while staging a protest against demolition of the structure.
Manipur consider the house as a heritage structure as Maharaja Bodhachandra Singh had signed the Merger Agreement with the Centre in the house in 1949. Manipur had still remained under the king even as other states merged with the Government of India soon after the Independence.
"The Rajbari at Shillong is not merely a structure; it is a living testament to Manipur’s sovereign past and its unholy journey into modern India. Its destruction under the pretext of reconstruction is an act of historical insensitivity that has deeply wounded the collective sentiment of the people of Manipur," Coordination Committee on Manipur Unity (COCOI), a forum of civil society organizations in Manipur, said in a statement on Tuesday.
As the government came under fire, the PDA issued a statement clarifying that the structure was demolished as it was in "dilapidated condition" due to weathering and termite infestation.
It said it was dismantled as part of a "reconstruction and restoration" project sanctioned by the government in 2022. The project contract was awarded to M/S Meitei Construction Ltd, a private firm, in 2023 and first component of the work started in April 2024.
It said a monitoring committee has been formed to supervise the work to ensure that heritage structure is "reconstructed" while adhering to the original architectural design, historical features, dimensions, as per the historical records and photographs of the original structure.
Condemning the PDA's statement, Meitei Heritage Society said, "This makes it clear that reconstruction was always the plan. It is appalling to see not a single word of remorse or apology for the demolition or action for this blunder, despite fully knowing the public sentiments in the issue. Rather it appears that the government is justifying the demolition of the historic Manipur Rajbari, instead of fixing accountability for the historic blunder."
Former Union Minister of state for external affairs from Manipur, Raj Kumar Ranjan Singh and RK Imo Singh, a BJP MLA, also wrote to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla condemning demolition of the heritage structure. Manipur has remained under President's Rule since February this year.