No Hindi films have screened in Imphal since the late ’90s. Will the Manipur University’s move pave the way for cultural reintegration.
BY PC Bureau
September 3, 2025: For nearly a quarter of a century, Hindi has been virtually erased from Manipur’s public sphere. Militant outfits have enforced an informal but absolute ban on the language, warning institutions, businesses, and even cinema halls against its use. The result: no Hindi films have been screened in Manipur since the late 1990s, making it the only state in India where the language is not merely absent but prohibited under threat.
Against this backdrop, Manipur University’s recent decision to implement Hindi in its administrative functioning is being seen as a bold defiance of the diktats of insurgent groups. On August 8, the university’s Official Language Implementation Committee resolved that all sections and departments must use Hindi in official noting and drafting.
An order signed by Registrar Prof. M. Premjit Singh circulated the directive to the Vice-Chancellor’s office, Finance Officer, Controller of Examinations, all deans, directors, sectional heads, and other officials. The order further stated that quarterly inspections will be conducted to review compliance, signalling that the move is not merely symbolic but part of a sustained push.
While the university had an Official Language Cell since 2012, its role was mainly to translate key documents into Hindi (and Manipuri, as needed) and produce bilingual signage. However, administrative communication internally continued largely in English, given Manipur’s status as a non-Hindi-dominant state and the practical role of English as the lingua franca in official and academic matters. So, the August directive marks a substantial shift—moving from reliance on English to actively incorporating Hindi in formal university operations.
Incidentally, since the late 1990s, several valley-based insurgent groups banned Hindi films, Hindi newspapers, and discouraged its use in public life, calling it a tool of “Indian cultural domination.” While they did not officially ban its teaching in schools, the atmosphere of intimidation led to reduced emphasis on Hindi compared to English and Manipuri.
Militants vs. Language Policy
Manipur’s militant outfits have long argued that Hindi represents “cultural domination” by the Indian state. The ban, often enforced violently, extended beyond education into cinema and public life, with theatres refusing to screen Hindi films and schools avoiding Hindi instruction. Over time, Manipuri society adjusted to the absence, with local and English-language media filling the vacuum.
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Yet, unlike in other states where Hindi is resisted politically — for example, in Tamil Nadu or parts of the Northeast — in Manipur the prohibition has been militant-enforced. This makes Manipur University’s directive especially significant, as it challenges the chilling effect of a militant policy that has lasted 25 years.
For now, the directive applies only to administrative noting and drafting. But the question lingers: will it remain confined to bureaucracy, or will it ripple into public life — classrooms, media, and eventually cinema halls?
If Imphal were to host a maiden Hindi film screening after 25 years, especially during Modi’s visit, it would be a powerful symbol — not just of defiance against militancy, but of Manipur reimagining its place in India’s cultural mainstream.
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Until then, Manipur University’s order stands as a small but bold step — a test of whether institutions can break through the militant shadow and restore choice where fear has long dictated silence.
