Manipur in the context of "Indian National Army"

Christianity is India's third-most followed religion with 28 million adherents, who make up 2.3 percent of the population as of the 2011 census. Christianity is the largest religion in parts of Northeast India, specifically in Nagaland, Mizoram, and Meghalaya. It is also a significant religion in Manipur, which is 41 percent Christian.

Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of India's Christians are found in South India, Goa, & Mumbai (Bombay). The oldest known Christian group in North India are the Hindustani-speaking Bettiah Christians of Bihar, formed in the early 1700s through a Capuchin mission and under the patronage of Rajas (kings) in the Moghal Empire. The Church of North India and the Church of South India are a United Protestant denomination; which resulted from the evangelism/ ecumenism of Anglicans, Calvinists, Methodists and other Protestant groups who flourished in colonial India. Consequently, these churches are part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, World Communion of Reformed Churches, and World Methodist Council. Along with native Christians, small numbers of mixed Eurasian peoples such as Anglo-Indian, Luso-Indian, Franco-Indian and Armenian Indian Christians also existed in the subcontinent. Also, there is the Khrista Bhakta movement, who are unbaptised followers of Christ and St Mary, mainly among the Shudras and Dalits.

Assam is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of 78,438 km (30,285 sq mi). It is the second largest state in northeastern India by area and the largest in terms of population, with more than 31 million inhabitants. The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur to the east; Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and Bangladesh to the south; and West Bengal to the west via the Siliguri Corridor, a 22-kilometre-wide (14 mi) strip of land that connects the state to the rest of India. Assamese and Bodo are two of the official languages for the entire state and Meitei (Manipuri) is recognised as an additional official language in three districts of Barak Valley and Hojai district. in Hojai district and for the Barak Valley region, alongside Bengali, which is also an official language in the Barak Valley.

The state has 35 districts with 5 divisions. Guwahati (containing the state capital Dispur) is the largest city in northeastern India. Assam is known for Assam tea and Assam silk. The state was the first site for oil drilling in Asia. Assam is home to the one-horned Indian rhinoceros, along with the wild water buffalo, pygmy hog, tiger and various species of Asiatic birds, and provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant. The Assamese economy is aided by wildlife tourism to Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park, which are World Heritage Sites. Dibru-Saikhowa National Park is famed for its feral horses. Sal tree forests are found in the state which, as a result of abundant rainfall, look green all year round. Assam receives more rainfall than most parts of India; this rain feeds the Brahmaputra River, whose tributaries and oxbow lakes provide the region with a distinctive hydro-geomorphic environment.

Black rice, also known as purple rice or forbidden rice, is a range of rice types of the species Oryza sativa, some of which are glutinous rice.

There are several varieties of black rice available today. These include Indonesian black rice, Philippine heirloom balatinaw black rice and pirurutong black glutinous rice, and Thai jasmine black rice. It is also known as chak-hao in Manipur, India and as "kavuni arisi" or "kavuni rice" in Tamil Nadu, India.

Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political administrative division of the country. It comprises eight states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura (commonly known as the "Seven Sisters"), and the "Brother" state of Sikkim. North-east India is one of the most linguistically diverse regions in the world.

The region has India's international border of 5,182 kilometres (3,220 mi) with five neighbouring countries: China to the north, Myanmar to the east, Bangladesh to the southwest, Nepal to the west, and Bhutan to the northwest. It comprises an area of 262,184 square kilometres (101,230 sq mi), almost 8 per cent of that of India and has a population of 45,772,188, almost 4 per cent that of India. The Siliguri Corridor connects the region to other parts of India.

Nepali (नेपाली, Nepālī, [ˈnepali]), is an Indo-Aryan language, belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family, native to the Himalayan region of South Asia. It is the official and most-widely spoken language of Nepal, where it also serves as a lingua franca. Nepali has official status in the Indian state of Sikkim and in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration semi-autonomous region of West Bengal, where it is the majority language. It is also spoken by about a quarter of Bhutan's population. Nepali also has a significant number of speakers in the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Uttarakhand. In Myanmar it is spoken by the Burmese Gurkhas. The Nepali diaspora in the Middle East, Brunei, Australia and worldwide also use the language. Nepali is spoken by approximately 19 million native speakers and another 14 million as a second language.

Nepali is commonly classified within the Eastern Pahari group of the Northern zone of Indo-Aryan.The language originated from the Sinja Valley, Karnali Province then the capital city of the Khasa Kingdom around the 10th and 14th centuries. It developed proximity to a number of Indo-Aryan languages, most significantly to other Pahari languages. Nepali was originally spoken by the Khas people, an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Himalayan region of South Asia. The earliest inscription in the Nepali language is believed to be an inscription in Dullu, Dailekh District which was written around the reign of King Bhupal Damupal around the year 981. The institutionalisation of the Nepali language arose during the rule of the Kingdom of Gorkha (later became known as the Kingdom of Nepal) in the 16th century. Over the centuries, different dialects of the Nepali language with distinct influences from Sanskrit, Maithili, Hindi, and Bengali are believed to have emerged across different regions of the current-day Nepal and Uttarakhand, making Nepali the lingua franca.

Bengalis (Bengali: বাঙ্গালী, বাঙালি [baŋgali, baŋali] ), also rendered as endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divided between the sovereign country Bangladesh and the Indian regions of West Bengal, Tripura, Barak Valley of Assam, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and parts of Meghalaya, Manipur and Jharkhand. Most speak Bengali, a classical language from the Indo-Aryan language family.

Bengalis are the third-largest ethnic group in the world, after the Han Chinese and Arabs. They are the largest ethnic group within the Indo–European linguistic family and the largest ethnic group in South Asia. Apart from Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Manipur, and Assam's Barak Valley, Bengali-majority populations also reside in India's union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with significant populations in the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Nagaland and Uttarakhand as well as Nepal's Province No. 1. The global Bengali diaspora have well-established communities in the Middle East, Pakistan, Myanmar, the United Kingdom, the United States, Malaysia, Italy, Maldives, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore.

Barak Valley is the southernmost region and administrative division of the Indian state of Assam. It is named after the Barak River, whose watershed roughly forms its northern border. The Barak valley consists of three administrative districts of Assam: Cachar, Karimganj, and Hailakandi. The main and largest city is Silchar, which seats the headquarter of Cachar district and also serves as administrative divisional office of Barak valley division. The valley is bordered by Mizoram and Tripura to the south, Bangladesh and Meghalaya to the west and Manipur to the east respectively. Once North Cachar Hills was a part of Cachar district which became a subdivision in 1951 and eventually a separate district. On 1 July 1983, Karimganj district was curved out from the eponymous subdivision of Cachar district. In 1989, the subdivision of Hailakandi was upgraded into Hailakandi district.

Mizoram is a state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar to the east and south, with domestic borders with the Indian states of Assam, Manipur, and Tripura. It covers an area of 21,081 square kilometres (8,139 sq mi). Via satellite data forests cover 84.53% of Mizoram's area, making it the fourth most heavily forested state in India. With an estimated population of 1.26 million in 2023, it is the second least populated state in India. With an urbanisation rate of 51.5% it is the most urbanised state in northeast India, ranking fifth in urbanisation nationwide. One of the two official languages and most widely spoken tongue is Mizo, which serves as a lingua franca among various ethnic communities who speak a variety of other Tibeto-Burman or Indo-Aryan languages. Mizoram is home to the highest percentage of scheduled tribes in India, with the Mizo people forming the majority.

Early civilisations in Mizoram are believed to have thrived since around 600 BC, with significant archaeological evidence uncovered in the Vangchhia region. Following this, Tibeto-Burman-speaking peoples gradually migrated from the Chin Hills in present-day Myanmar. These groups formed organised chiefdoms and adopted jhum agricultural practices. By the 18th century, various clans in the region united to form the Mizo identity, becoming the dominant inhabitants of the area, introducing the Mizo language, culture, and the Sakhua religion. In the mid-19th century, the British conducted a series of military expeditions to assert control over the region, Mizoram was annexed by the British in 1895 and incorporated into the Assam Province. Under British rule, the introduction of administrative reforms and the spread of Christianity significantly impacted Mizo society.

Nagaland (/ˈnɑːɡəlænd/) is a state in the north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Self-Administered Zone of the Sagaing Region of Myanmar (Burma) to the east. Its capital city is Kohima and its largest city is the twin Chümoukedima–Dimapur. The state has an area of 16,579 square kilometres (6,401 sq mi) with a population of 1,980,602 as per the 2011 Census of India, making it one of the least populated states in India.

Nagaland consists of 17 administrative districts, inhabited by 17 major tribes along with other sub-tribes. Each tribe is distinct in character from the other in terms of customs, language and dress. It is a land of folklore passed down the generations through word of mouth. The earliest recorded history of the Nagas of the present-day Nagaland dates back to the 13th century.