Row in Manipur as NCERT textbook associates its traditional sport with Mizoram
Imphal, April 30 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) The Manipur government is likely to take up with the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) the issue of the popular Manipuri game of ‘Mukna-Kangjei’ being identified as that of Mizoram in one of its textbooks, officials said on Monday. A Manipur government official said that the state authority noticed this incorrect mentioning of the game as of Mizoram. Earlier terming it as “a gross error”, BJP legislator Rajkumar Imo Singh requested state Education Minister Basanta Kumar Singh to take up the matter with the Central government to resolve the issue. Singh, the son-in-law of Chief Minister N Biren Singh, said on X: “Mukna-Kangjei is a traditional sport of Manipur, a variant of hockey and involves wrestling too, thus known as Wrestling-Hockey. NCERT has made a gross error by publishing the association of this traditional sport with Mizoram”. “It is purely a traditional sport of the state of Manipur. NCERT needs to rectify this mistake immediately. Our state Education Minister Shri Th Basanta Singh should take this matter up with the Government of India to solve this issue and ensure that such errors are not repeated again by NCERT.” Citing the mistake, the Physical Education Teachers’ Association emphasised the importance of accuracy in educational curriculum, particularly those relating to cultural heritage and indigenous games, and urged the government authorities to take suitable steps to correct it.
