Mount Harriet in Andaman to be named Mount Manipur

Context

  • As a tribute to the freedom fighters of Manipur, the Union government has decided to rename Mount Harriet, an island peak in Andaman and Nicobar islands.

  • It will now be known as Mount Manipur.

What is Manipur’s connection to Mount Harriet?

  • After the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891, several Manipuris who had fought the British in the war, including Maharaja Kulachandra Dhwaja Singh, were exiled to the British penal colony in the Andaman Islands.
  • Since the cellular jail (Kalapani) was yet to be built, Kulachandra and the prisoners were kept on Mount Harriet, a hillock in what is now the Ferragunj tehsil of South Andaman district.

What set off the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891; why is it significant?

  • Considered an epoch in the history of Manipur, the Anglo-Manipur War was fought between the kingdom of Manipur and the British over a month in 1891.
  • The battle was triggered by a coup in the palace of Manipur, which had been marked by internal factionalism in the years leading up 1891.
  • According to the Manipur State Archives website, the British government took advantage of the “internal dissension” among the princes of the royal family. Mount Harriet
  • In the first phase of the war, the British surrendered and their officers — including Quinton — were executed in public.
  • In the second phase, the British attacked Manipur from three sides, and finally capture the Kangla Fort in Imphal. Prince Tikendrajit and four others were hanged by the British, while Kulachandra, along with 22 others, were banished to the Andaman Islands.
  • Many say the war was described as a “blow to British prestige”. Despite their victory, it had led to the death of five important officers. In India, it was viewed as being part of the general uprising against British rule in the country, soon after after the Revolt of 1857.
  • The war led to Manipur officially becoming a princely state under the indirect rule of the British crown.

But who was Mount Harriet originally named after?

  • Mount Harriet is the third highest peak in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and served as the summer headquarters of the Chief Commissioner during British Raj.
  • Mount Harriet may refer to:
    • A hill on the Andaman Islands which gave name to the Mount Harriet National Park
    • A hill on the Falkland islands at the centre of the Battle of Mount Harriet

Mount Harriet National Park

  • Mount Manipur National Park is a national park located in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory of India.
  • The park, established in 1969.
  • Mount Harriet, which is part of the park, is the third-highest peak in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago next to Saddle Peak in North Andaman and Mount Thullier in Great Nicobar.
  • The park’s well-known faunal species are Andaman wild pigs (an endangered species), saltwater crocodiles, turtles and robber crabs.
  • The park is also a butterfly hotspot.

Source: Indian Express

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