The current Manipuri script is a reconstruction of the ancient Manipuri script. In 1976 at a writers conference all the scholars agreed on a new version of the alphabet containing a number of additional letters to represent sounds not present in the language when the script was first developed.

During the 1940s and 50s, Manipuri scholars began campaigning to bring back the old Manipuri script. It origins are uncertain as many historical documents were destroyed at the beginning of the 18th century during the reign of King Pamheiba.īetween 1709 and the middle of the 20th century, the Manipuri language was written with the Bengali alphabet. The Old Manipuri script developed sometime during the 11th century and was used until the 18th century.

Manipuri has been written with the Old Manipuri script, the Bengali alphabet, the modern Manipuri / Meitei script, and with the Latin alphabet. It is also known as Meitei, Meitheir or Meetei. Manipuri is the official language of Manipur, where it used as a lingua franca, and one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. There are also Manipuri speakers in the states of Assam, Tripura and Nagaland, and in nearby parts of Myanmar and Bangladesh. It is spoken by about 1.8 million people, mainly in the state of Manipur in the northeast of India. Manipuri is a member of the of Kuki-Chin-Naga branch of the Tibeto-Burman language family.

Learning bengali alphabet writing