EMINENT GORKHA VISIONARY
Kunjan Yonzohn,M.Sc
(Transalated from the article of Sharad Gewali)
Mani Singh Gurung was Born to Captain Abhiram Gurung and Basundhara Gurung on 25th April 1818 His father joined the army at a young age and when his battalion the 2/8 Gorkha RifleS shifted from Manipur to Shillong, he came here along with his family and settled down at Upper Mawprem, Mani Singh was around five years old when he first arrived in Shillong with his parents. Both Mani and his brother Dhruva were educated at home. Later on, they were enrolled at Government Boys' High School from where they passed their Matric examination in the year 1910 with Dhruva Singh Gurung securing distinction in Sanskrit.
Mani Singh Gurung was not fortunate enough to have his parents' care and love in his youth. His father had to answer the call of duty when the 2/8 Gorkha Rifles shifted base form Shillong to Landsdown. Abhiram left behind his two sons Mani and Dhruva under the care of his relatives so that their education would not be disrupted. At Landsdown, son Narayan and daughter Durga Devi were born to Abhiram, who were later sent to King George School to be educated under the British system of education. In Shillong, Mani ardently pursued his studies. He took keen interest in it and passed the I.A. Examination in 1912 and B. A. Examination in 1915.
Mani Singh Gurung affained the distinction of being the first Nepali from the northeastern region to pass the B. A. examination. He also gained mastery over languages like, Sanskrit, Persian, Latin, Greek, Hindi, Bengali and Assamese. Dr. Parasmani Pradhan, in his book on Nepali literature has written about the immeasurable contribution of Poet Bhanu Bhakta Acharya, Parasmani Babu and the others and equaled Mani Singh Gurung along with them to Nepali literature. Dr. Pradhan, in his book, calls this handful of determined and foresighted people 'The gems of Nepali community.'
Mani Singh took the first step to show the way to the people in the northeast. He provided hope and inspiration to all alike and especially to those who knew him closely. It is because of people like Mani Singh Gurung, the social worker and educationist with religious fervour that in the northeastern region of India, Nepali community is proud of their cultural bearings. Dr. Parasmani Pradhan, Pandit Dharandhir Koirala, dramatist Balkrishna Sam, Poet Shiromani Lekhnath Paudel, historian Surya Vikram Gewali have all showered their praise on Mani Babu, as he was fondly called then, for his work and achievement, but, unfortunately he is lesser known as educationist among the people.
Mani Singh worked relentlessly for the welfare of the students at Gorkha Pathshala and he tried his level best to inculcate the best in his students. It is for this very reason that he brought his brother Dhruva Singh Gurung to Gorkha Pathshala, who was then the tutor to the royal family of SikKim. At that time, Mani Babu worked singularly for improving the lot of his society and he was successful to a great extent because of his love and devotion to his cause. Under the tutelage of Mani Babu and his teachers like Dhruva Singh Gurung, Narayan Singh Gurung and Nandalal Rai, the school scaled new heights and efficiently served the needs of the people in many different ways
Today, the school is an example of efficient governance and management because of which it has been able to adapt with the times with the best. Moreover, whenever delegations from Sikkim, Dehradun and Darjeeling came to Shillong, they proudly go around the school premises of Gorkha Pathshala as a school run and maintained by the Nepali community of Meghalaya. The credit for the transformation of the school to its enviable position today goes to people like D. B. Gurung, the secretary of the school, (L) Hari Kumar Pradhan, the then principal and the president of the managing committee,D.N.Joshi and the School faculty
The contribution of Mani Babu to the cause of Nepali language and its development is immense and it is because of his hard work that Calcutta University and Gauhati University introduced Nepali as a subject to be pursued for higher education. Not only has Mani Babu provided avenues for the study and development of Nepali language but his influence also provided impetus for the publication of the first Nepali magazine the 'Gorkha Sewak' in 1936 from the northeastern region Mani Babu founded many social organizations like the 'Shillong Gorkha Thakurbari: 'Gorkha Public Panchayat' that fulfilled many social obligations of the people living in the northeast. Taking from the above, states of the northeast followed the examples set by Manu Babu and many well-known organizations were established which at present are fulfilling myriad social needs of the people all over the northeast.
It is not possible to write about the entire achievements and the influence of Man i Babu on the development of Nepali community in the northeast in this brief writeup. But it can be safely said that it pervades every social fabric of our community. His dreams and influence are knitted into our very existence and remains with us forever. He has given so much to the society that eminent writer late Krishna prasad Gewali says, "Mani Singh Gurung is the greatest of all the social workers from amongstthe Nepali community:'Well known novelist Professor Lil Bahadur Chettri mentioned that he is the Manishree of the northeast. Mani means 'gem' and he was truly the gem of the Nepali community and the society as a whole. Mani Babu lived a fulfilled and meaningful life and breathed his last on the 24th of April 1967 at his residence at Upper Mawprem, Shillong.