Maharaja Budhachandra

Maharaja Budhachandra (died 1955) was king of Manipur, India from 1941 to 1955.^[1]

He became King of Manipur in September 1941. He married the Nepali princess Ishori Devi. On 10 May 1944, Japan occupied Manipur. World War II bankrupted Manipur.

In October 1946, the king created the Manipur state congress to strengthen the economy. In January 1947, the king decided the country should become a constitutional monarchy.^[2] He designated a committee to plan this process.

On 15 August 1947, British India (which did not include Manipur) became independent. On 11 August 1947, Manipur signed an instrument of accession to the new Union of India. On 21 September 1949, the king went to Shillong to discuss constitutional matters with the state of India.

In 1949 India formally integrated Manipur,^[3] but Maharaja Budhachandra remained as the constitutional head of the state government until his death in 1955. He was the last king of Manipur.

References

1. Tensuba, Keerti Chand (1993). Genesis of Indian Tribes: An Approach to the History of Meiteis and Thais. Inter-India Publications. pp. 301–303. ISBN 978-81-210-0308-7.
2. Singh, Ujjwal Kumar (6 January 2009). Human Rights and Peace: Ideas, Laws, Institutions and Movements. SAGE Publications. p. 134. ISBN 978-81-7829-884-9.
3. "Manipur Merger Agreement, 1949". Satp.org. Retrieved 6 April 2014.