REWRITING IDENTITY AND DECOLONIZING THE SCRIPT: LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND THE RETURN OF MEITEI MAYEK

Abstract

This paper analyzes the revival of Meitei Mayek (Manipuri Script) as a critical decolonial intervention in postcolonial Manipur, framing it within the discourse on linguistic imperialism and identity reconstruction. While existing literature has traced the script’s mytho-historical evolution and epigraphic use, it often remains descriptive, with limited theoretical engagement. Addressing this gap, the study interprets the displacement of Meitei Mayek (Manipuri Script), particularly after the conflagration of Meitei books, or Puya Meithaba, and the imposition of the Bengali script, as an act of epistemic violence rooted in religious and colonial hegemonies. By contrast, the paper explores legislative and educational developments such as the inclusion of Manipuri in the Eighth Schedule, the Manipur Official Language (Amendment) Act, and the curricular incorporation of Meitei Mayek (Manipuri Script) as acts of linguistic reclamation. This paper argues that such developments transcend the mere revival of script, functioning as symbolic acts of reclaiming indigenous sovereignty, preserving cultural memory, and enacting decolonial resistance.

Keywords: Meitei Mayek, Postcolonial, Linguistic imperialism, Identity, Epistemic violence