ABSTRACT
Christian missionaries came to Manipur as the forbearers or agents of colonialism. The missionaries influenced native cultures in the hills and created the perception that identity was associated with territory. The natives of the hills, however, did not conflate the proselytising efforts of the Christian missionaries and the politics of British colonialism. Indeed, the distinction between the missionary and colonial enterprises shaped the hill people’s responses. In the light of this understanding, the chapter focuses not on what has led to the interface of the traditional cultures with the coming of the Christian missionaries, but rather seeks to analyse the different responses of cultures to the political agency of colonialism and the consequent influences in the making of contemporary Manipur.
