Context: Centre has rechristened Mount Harriet, a historical tourist spot in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, as ‘Mount Manipur’.
What is Manipur’s connection to Mount Harriet?

• After the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891, several Manipuris who had fought the British in the war, including Maharaja Kulachandra Dhwaja Singh, were exiled to the British penal colony in the Andaman Islands.
• Since the cellular jail (Kalapani) was yet to be built, Kulachandra and the prisoners were kept on Mount Harriet, a hillock in what is now the Ferragunj tehsil of South Andaman district.

Anglo-Manipur War of 1891- Causes

• Considered an epoch in the history of Manipur, the Anglo-Manipur War was fought between the kingdom of Manipur and the British over a month in 1891.
• The battle was triggered by a coup in the palace of Manipur, which had been marked by internal factionalism in the years leading up 1891.
• The British government took advantage of the “internal dissension” among the princes of the royal family.

Significance of the war

• Many say the war was described as a “blow to British prestige”. Despite their victory, it had led to the death of five important officers.
• In India, it was viewed as being part of the general uprising against British rule in the country, soon after the Revolt of 1857.
• The war led to Manipur officially becoming a princely state under the indirect rule of the British crown.

About Mount Harriet

• It is the third highest peak in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and served as the summer headquarters of the Chief Commissioner during British Raj.
• It is believed to be named after British artist and photographer, Harriet Christina Tytler, who was the wife of Robert Christopher Tytler, a soldier who served in the British Indian Army.