Puya Meithaba

rdf:langString Puya Meithaba

rdf:langString Puya Meithaba (Burning of the puya) refers to the annual commemoration of a legendary 18th-century scripture burning in post-colonial Manipur or to the original libricide in itself. Organised by the Meitei National Front (and others) since 1979, the event has been a critical tool in the spread of Meitei nationalism and has mainstreamed a particular reconstruction of history, which has come to be uncritically reproduced even in academic publications. According to local narratives, King Pamheiba (var. Garib Niwaz), after his conversion to Vashnavism went to extraordinary lengths to wipe out the local religion of Meiteis. Of his multifaceted oppressions, the most significant was the mass-incineration of traditional texts written in the Meitei script — Puyas. Highlighting the rupture of their transcendental way of life under Garib Niwaz, the commemorative event began in 1979 with burning of books that portrayed Meiteis as Hindus, but over the years converged onto more peaceful forms of cultural expression, encouraging the revival of the Meitei script.