Daijiworld Media Network – Shillong

Shillong, Oct 10: The demolition of Shillong’s historic Redlands Building, where the Manipur Merger Agreement was signed in 1949, has triggered widespread shock and condemnation across Manipur and Meghalaya.

Constructed in the 1940s, the Redlands Building—also known as the Manipuri Rajbari—was the Shillong residence of Maharaja Bodhachandra Singh and the site where he signed the agreement that merged the erstwhile princely state of Manipur with the Indian Union on September 21, 1949.

The incident coincided with the visit of Meghalaya Chief Minister and NPP president Conrad K Sangma to Imphal. Denying any involvement of his government, Sangma said, “No permission was given by the Meghalaya government for the demolition. We have always stood for preserving heritage sites. I will definitely inquire into it since it happened in my state.”

Reports suggest the building was torn down to make way for a new Manipur Bhavan, despite repeated appeals from heritage groups and former Union Minister Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh to preserve it. The move has been condemned by historians, heritage activists, and organisations such as the Meitei Heritage Society, who called the demolition an “irreparable loss” to Manipur’s cultural and political history.

Congress MP A Bimol Akoijam termed the act “a direct assault on Manipur’s dignity and history,” adding that it appeared as though “someone is trying to erase a historical moment.” He urged the Centre to declare the site a National Heritage monument and reconstruct the Redlands Building in its original form.