Profile
Settings
Refer your friends
Sign out
Manipur, a picturesque northeastern State of India, has given birth to many inspirational personalities. Some of the famous personalities of Manipur have made the state, as well as the country, proud with their exceptional talent in various fields and their achievements on the global stage. Some of the famous personalities of Manipur are MC Mary Kom, Bijou Thaangjam, Dingko Singh, etc.
Some Famous Personalities of Manipur
MC Mary Kom
The full name of MC Mary Kom is Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom. She is a famous Indian boxer. Mary Kom was born in the Churachandpur district of Manipur and became a household name after she won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She was the first female boxer to reach such heights.
Mary Kom has also won many government awards like Padma Vibushan in 2020, Padma Bhushan in 2013, and Padma Shri in 2006. Her boxing career started in 2000 when she started training under her first coach K Kosana Meitei in Imphal. She initially hid her involvement in boxing from her family, but they learned about it when she won the state championship.
After winning the state championship, Mary Kom went on to win countless medals for India, including a gold medal at the Asian Games in 2014. Her only medal at the Olympics was a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics after failing to defeat Nicola Adams of the UK. Mary Kom married footballer Karung Onkholer in 2005, and they have four children. Kom is also an active animal rights activist and a supporter of PETA India.
Bijou Thaangjam
Bijou Thaangjam was initially named Thangjam Biju Singh. He is famous for his acting skills and roles in different films and television serials. Bijou Thaangjam made his first appearance on television as a contestant on Master Chef India 2. After this, Thaangjam made his first debut in Mary Kom’s biopic in 2014.
Thaangjam also appeared in many renowned films like Shivaay, Jagga Jasoos, Patlan, etc. He was almost nominated for the best art director for his film III Smoking Barrels at the Prag Cine Awards of Assam. Bijou Thaangjam has also acted in several web series like The Test Case, Typewriter, Kark Rogue, Flesh, etc. He is also known for his entrepreneur, lyricist, and chef skills.
Irom Chanu Sharmila
Irom Chanu Sharmila is also known as the “Iron Lady of Manipur”. Sharmila is an Indian social liberty activist, politician, poet and artist from Manipur. Sharmila became famous for her peaceful hunger strikes against the contentious Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA).
Sharmila started her hunger strike demanding the revocation of the AFSPA from Manipur on 5th November 2000. She declined food and water for over 500 weeks (she was nasally coercively fed in prison). This long hunger strike made her “the world’s longest hunger striker”. Sharmila later withdrew her movement and activism. She is also known for her poems like Unbind me, When the curtains go up, etc.
Dingko Singh
Dingko Singh, aka Ngangom Dingko Singh, was a famous Indian boxer who won a gold medal for India in the 1998 Asian Games held in Bangkok. Before this, Dingko Singh had won his first international boxing title in The King’s Cup of 1997, also held in Bangkok.
Singh had also represented India in the 2000 Summer Olympics. He was honoured by the Government with the Arjuna Award in 1998 and Padma Shri in 2013. He held a very reputed position in the Indian Navy and became a boxing coach later in his life. He died due to liver cancer on 10th June 2021.
M Kirti Singh
Moirangthem Kirti Singh is popularly known as M Kirti Singh. He is a famous writer and educationist from Manipur. Singh completed his schooling at Johnstone Higher Secondary School, Imphal, and DM School, Guwahati. He has written a few books on Meitei culture and history, particularly on Meiteilogy.
“Religious Developments in Manipur in the 18th and 19th Centuries”, “Religion and Culture of Manipur”, “The Folk Culture of Manipur”, “Recent Researches in Oriental and Indological Studies: Including Meiteilogy”, “The Philosophy of Religion”, and “The Philosophy of Organism” are some of his outstanding literary works.
M Kirti Singh has won many awards like the Padma Shri in 1992, Bharat Excellence Award in 1998, The Rising Personalities Award in 1999, Common India Harmony Award in 2002, and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose National Award in 2002, etc.
Conclusion
Manipur has given birth to a lot of talented and splendid personalities. Some of the famous personalities of Manipur of the present time are boxers Mary Kom and Dingko Singh, activist Irom Chanu Sharmila, actor Bijou Thaangjam and writer M Kirti Singh. Several other prominent personalities have brought laurels of fame to Manipur through their extraordinary contributions in their respective fields.
