ABSTRACT
The people of Manipur have witnessed many conquests of their society over time. Hinduism invaded Manipur around the 15th century but established a stronghold in the state only in the 18th century. Christianity which crept in with the British invasion, got firmly entrenched in the hills after displacing the traditional beliefs, rites, and rituals of the hill-people. The British had brought along with them their own administrators, who were unable to win people’s confidence. And this distrust of the alien did not change even with Indian independence, as the Indian Government too, failed in gaining the respect and confidence of these people.
This chapter will dwell on the past to understand the transformation from being a conflict zone for more than roughly four decades to the very recent post-conflict society, the notions of othering, and the recent indigenous assertions within the neo-liberal framework along with women centric institutions with the changing gender dynamics.
