Lamyanba Hijam Irawat’s Political Activities as Recorded by Colonial Intelligence Bureau

By – Yumnam Rajeshwor
The activities of Lamyanba Hijam Irawat Singh, as documented by the Colonial Intelligence Bureau as of August 27, 1943, provide insight into his political engagement and contributions.
Lamyanba Hijam Irawat Singh, an ex-member of the Sadar Panchayat Court of Manipur State, resigned his membership in April 1939 to actively pursue the agitation for Responsible Government in the State as the President of the Nikhil Manipur Mahasabha. He attended the All Assam Political Conference held in Golaghat around March 1939, where he connected with Congress leaders of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (A.P.C.C.) and secured their assurance of support in the struggle for obtaining democratic reforms in the State. In October 1939, he was reported to have met with the President of the A.P.C.C. in Gauhati to discuss the appropriate attitude for the Manipuris regarding the ongoing Second World War. Early in December 1939, Hijam Irawat Singh visited Silchar and addressed meetings encouraging Manipuris to join the Congress and support his Mahasabha in achieving its objectives.
He was called back to Manipur by the Secretary of the Nikhil Manipuri Mahasabha following disturbances created by Manipuri women protesting the export of rice from Manipur. On January 7, 1940, he was prosecuted for making a seditious speech after the conviction of some Manipuri women for obstructing traffic, resulting in a three-year imprisonment sentence. He alleges that he absorbed Communist ideas from fellow Communist convicts during his time in Sylhet jail. After being banned from entering the State of Manipur, Hijam Irawat Singh joined a Communist organization in the Surma Valley upon his release in April 1943, focusing on the agrarian front.
He visited Bombay and attended the First Congress of the Communist Party of India, along with Communist representatives from both valleys of Assam, where he applied for revolutionary party membership. On June 24, 1943, he presided over a Communist meeting on the theme “Grow More Food” at Patharkaundi, Sylhet. In early July 1943, his belongings were searched in Cachar while he was working as a Kishan (farmer) worker, but no incriminating evidence was found. He participated in the third annual session of the Nikhil Manipuri Juba Sangha held at Krishnanagar under Ratabari P.S. on July 10 and 11, 1943, delivering a speech related to the social and religious aspects of the Manipuri community. Hijam Irawat Singh has been elected Secretary of the Cachar Kishan Sabha and is also involved in advancing the activities of the Mazdur Union in the tea gardens of Cachar. In August 1943, he was reported to have received membership in the Communist Party.