A Tribute to a Winner - Activist Manikanta Sinha

 Activist Manikanta Sinha – a devoted social worker, a politician, a book
worm, and a spiritual mentor, all rolled into one – breathed his last at his Bhakatpur residence, Silchar, on July 28, 2025. He was 94. He leaves behind his wife, two sons and as many daughters-in-law, three daughters, and a host of grandchildren, besides thousands of admirers in the Barak Valley.

On August 3, 2025, IBM (Imaa Bishnupriya Manipuri) paid tributes to the departed soul on their social media page, with IBM adviser Umakanta Sinha anchoring the programme.

To begin with, journalist Ramlal Sinha termed Late Manikanta Sinha ‘a winner in the true sense of the term’, as his legal victory in the Gauhati High Court and the Supreme Court of India as the president of the Bishnupriya Manipuri Sahitya Sabha (BMSS) put an end to the long-drawn battle on the nomenclature of the Bishnupriya Manipuri. The journalist said that Late Sinha’s is the biggest battle that the community has ever won.

Besides mentioning Late Sinha’s lifelong political affiliation with the Indian National Congress, journalist Sinha admired the spiritual knowledge of the departed social worker that made him a spiritual mentor. Recalling the social worker’s explanation of a Padkirtan number of Alternative Media Maven Gokulananda Gitiswai at a function of the Gokulananda Gitiswami Trust in Guwahati, journalist Sinha said that the late Manikanta Sinha delved deep into the Natya Shastra of Bharat Muni and came out with jewels.

IBM adviser Umakanta Sinha, a disciple of the late Manikanta Sinha, recalled his days with his mentor as a social worker and a spiritual leader. Taking a trip down memory lane, Umakanta Sinha said that in the run-up to the legal battle in the Supreme Court seeking justice for the Bishnupriya Manipuri community, the late Manikanta Sinha had had to sell all the golden jewellery of his wife. Umakanta Sinha, as he said, heard it from none other than the horse’s mouth. His (Late Sinha) sacrifices did pay off despite his alienation from the BMSS that he had led from the front. The biggest achievement in the legal battle, as Umakanta Sinha pointed out, is that besides upholding the order of the Gauhati High Court on the OBC status and nomenclature of the Bishnupriya Manipuri community, the apex court ruled that all concerned authorities should punctually execute the order.

Umakanta Sinha also mentioned that he would ever remain indebted to the late Manikanta Sinha, who sacrificed six hours every day for injecting sterile saline solution when he (Umakanta) had been ailing during his entire degree examinations.

Playing the role of analyst, Ramakanta Sinha rued the fact that organizations in the Bishnupriya Manipuri community could not evaluate the quality that Late Mankanta Sinha was endowed with. Terming Late Sinha as a far-sighted social leader, Ramakanta Sinha said that ‘had not the BMSS sidelined Late Manikanta Sinha in the later part of the legal battle in the apex court, he (Late Sinha) could have delved deep into the far-reaching ramifications of the Supreme Court’s one-pill-cure-all order.’ With this, Ramakanta Sinha wanted to bring home that since the Supreme Court of India, in no uncertain terms, ruled that all concerned authorities should punctually execute the order, it is high time all problems confronting the Bishnupriya Manipuri, like the COBC, language head in the census, UDISE, etc., were solved.

The tribute concluded with a one-minute prayer for eternal peace of the departed soul.

Umakanta Sinha and others on behalf of IBM

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