Hijam Irabot has been now considered as the pioneer leader of the Manipuri people by the people of the state irrespective of the differences in their ideology. Even the government of Manipur now recognised the sacrificed of the great leader and on the other hand those waging war against the state too still consider Hijam Irabot as the father of the revolution movement in the region. The multi faced leader is also the pioneer of journalism, literature, Sports and Arts and culture. Hijam Irabot is the leader of all people, he dreamt of a better Manipur society. A classless society with the proletariat on the forefront is what our leader wanted. For these causes the leader had waged a political war against the British colonial rule and then later against feudalistic nature of the Majarajah and the ruling capitalist class of Manipur and later against the Union of India as communist. What makes different from this pioneer leader and the so call leaders of our days is that he was not lured by the prospect of the royal prerogatives and official facilities including the prestigious post of membership to the Sardar Panchayat Court that was being offered to him for having married princess Khomdonsana. To Hijam Irabot, the war was not only against the external force which had colonized the nation state but it was rather against all forms of oppression and suppression committed under the feudalistic character of the system. He dreamt of a nation where every citizen has the right to live with dignity. His work for promotion of the culture, sports, literature and journalism is a reflection of his love towards this erstwhile nation state. All his life the great leader had work for the cause of the people sacrificing every comfort of live. To convert his dreamt into reality he spearheaded various political movement starting from the grass hood level. He was the man behind the formation of students’ federation, peasant union, women’s organization and progressive party. For his active role to bring about a reformed state, he was sent to prison many a times during the British colonial era. Later after the British left the nation state, Hijam Irabot was once again declared as a terrorist as his activities continued to be a threat to the Maharajah himself as well as the ruling capitalist. In recognition to the activities of this all time leader, people of the state observed September as a month dedicated to Hijam Irabot. State Unit of the Communist Party of India (CPI) is taking the main initiative in observing the month long observance in memory of the leader in September. September is important because he was born on September 30, 1896, declared underground by the Manipur State Council on September 21, 1948 and then he died on September 26, 1951. But one thing many often ask is – How many nights have we spent sleepless thinking about the fate of our nation. How many times had we shed tears for our motherland? We might not have time, but our great leader Hijam Irabot had many times cried and spent sleepless night thinking about the future of Manipur. A matter needs to ponder upon.
