Notes on Manipur State, India

The collection comprises notes and narratives dated c.1838-1946, of political and social significance regarding the Manipur State, India by John Comyn Higgins. Also includes material previously accessioned under separate manuscript numbers, all of which concern the Manipur State. Includes: Notes on caste in Manipur, 1911, by John Shakespear (1861-1942); British army officer [formerly SOAS reference - MS 95070].

John Comyn Higgins was born on 21 May 1882. He was educated at Bradfield, and Brasenose College, Oxford. He entered the Indian Civil Service in 1905. From 1907-1908 he was Assistant Magistrate and Collector, Bakarganj, Bengal. He became Sub-Divisional Officer, firstly in Jahat, Assam, 1908-1909 and then at Madaripur, Bengal, 1909-1910. From 1910-1917 Higgins was Vice-President and then President of the Manipur State Darbar. He became a Political Agent for the Manipur State (1917-1933) and worked as a political officer on the Kuki Punitive Operation, 1917-1919. From 1920-1923 he was Deputy Commissioner for Nowgong, Assam, and in 1934 became Commissioner for the Assam valley. In 1939 he was a Member of the Assam Revenue Tribunal. He retired in 1942 from the Civil Service and took a Commission with the Indian Engineers. He resigned from the Commission in September 1942. From 1942-1944 he was a Civil Liaison Officer with the Army and subsequently joined the Assam Public Service Commission, 1944-1945. He died on 8 December 1952.

The material has been arranged chronologically.

Open

Donated in 1953.

Unpublished handlist