The People's Chronicle

About The People's Chronicle

The People's Chronicle is an English-language daily newspaper published from Imphal, Manipur. It is the English version of Poknapham, the well-known Manipuri-language daily, and was launched at a function held at the Hotel Classic in Imphal in 2012. Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under number MANENG/2012/45461, its publisher is Gurumayum Shanti Kumari Devi and its editor is Wahengbam Tikendra Singh, as per RNI records. The paper is printed at Padma Printers on Governor Road, Paona Bazar, Imphal. The state Directorate of Information and Public Relations lists Sagolsem Imo Singh as editor — a discrepancy with the RNI record that this profile notes explicitly.

The English version of Poknapham

The People's Chronicle was launched as the English version of Poknapham, one of Manipur's leading Manipuri-language dailies. The strategy is familiar in Indian newspaper publishing: a successful vernacular paper launches an English sibling to serve the English-reading segment of its market — officials, professionals, academics and students — while leveraging the parent paper's newsroom, reporting network and brand equity. For Poknapham's management, The People's Chronicle extended the group's reach into the English public sphere of Manipur, where government business is conducted and where the state's affairs are presented to outside audiences.

Launched at Hotel Classic, Imphal

The People's Chronicle was launched at a function held at the Hotel Classic in Imphal in 2012, with the RNI registration MANENG/2012/45461 confirming the year. Hotel launches are the standard ceremonial for new Manipur dailies, gathering politicians, journalists, advertisers and well-wishers to bless the venture. The 2012 launch placed the paper in a Manipur press market that was already crowded with English dailies, requiring the new title to differentiate itself through the strength of its Manipuri parent's newsroom and the credibility of the Poknapham brand.

Registration, publisher and printer

According to Registrar of Newspapers for India records, The People's Chronicle is registered as a daily newspaper under number MANENG/2012/45461, with Imphal recorded as its place of publication and English as its language. The RNI record names Gurumayum Shanti Kumari Devi as publisher and Wahengbam Tikendra Singh as editor. The paper is printed at Padma Printers on Governor Road, Paona Bazar — in the commercial heart of Imphal, close to the markets and offices that form the city's daily life. Paona Bazar, named after the hero Paona Brajabashi, is Imphal's principal commercial district.

A note on the editorship

The Manipur Directorate of Information and Public Relations lists Sagolsem Imo Singh as the editor of The People's Chronicle, which differs from the RNI record naming Wahengbam Tikendra Singh. This profile follows the RNI record as the formal registration authority while noting the DIPR listing for the record. Such discrepancies between sources are not uncommon in the documentation of the Manipur press: editorial responsibilities change, RNI records are updated infrequently, and DIPR listings reflect the department's working contacts. Readers seeking the current editor should consult the paper's printed masthead.

Imphal's English daily market

Imphal supports several English dailies competing for the state's English-reading public — a market shaped by Manipur's high literacy, its English-medium educational system, and the use of English in administration. Papers compete on coverage of the state government, the Hill areas and their autonomous district councils, the courts, the university, and the security situation that has long dominated Manipur news. The People's Chronicle, backed by Poknapham's newsroom, entered this market with the advantage of an established reporting network across the valley and the hills — a newsgathering base that standalone launches must build from scratch.

Within this market, The People's Chronicle's Poknapham parentage gives it a distinctive editorial lineage. Readers familiar with Poknapham's Manipuri journalism know what to expect from its English sibling: the same reporting priorities, the same community connections, the same standards — rendered in English for the professional and official classes.

Reporting Manipur in English

As an English daily, The People's Chronicle reports Manipur for two audiences: the local English-reading public and the outside world. The second function is particularly significant for Manipur, a state whose complex realities — ethnic relations between the valley and the hills, the Naga and Kuki political questions, the security environment, the border with Myanmar — are frequently misrepresented in national media. An Imphal English daily provides the continuous, knowledgeable local record that corrects such misrepresentation, and its reporting is read in Delhi, in newsrooms across India, and by the Manipuri diaspora worldwide.

The Poknapham connection

Poknapham, the Manipuri parent of The People's Chronicle, is among the established dailies of the valley, and the relationship gives the English paper deep roots in Manipur journalism. Shared ownership means shared resources: correspondents across the districts, relationships with officials and community leaders, and the institutional memory of a newsroom that has covered Manipur for years. For readers, the connection signals that The People's Chronicle is not a fly-by-night launch but the English face of a serious Manipur publishing house — a paper with the newsgathering depth to report the state authoritatively in English.

The bilingual newsroom advantage

The People's Chronicle's relationship with Poknapham gives it a bilingual newsroom advantage that standalone English dailies cannot easily replicate. Reporters working in Manipuri gather news from sources most comfortable in the vernacular — village authorities, local politicians, community leaders — while the English desk renders the same reporting for the English edition. This dual pipeline means the paper can cover stories at greater depth than competitors relying on English sources alone, and it can serve both language publics with journalism rooted in the same reporting. In a state where the most important news often breaks in Manipuri, the bilingual newsroom is a structural competitive edge.

Governor Road, Paona Bazar: printing in the commercial heart

Padma Printers on Governor Road, Paona Bazar, places The People's Chronicle's production in Imphal's commercial heart. Paona Bazar — named for Paona Brajabashi, the hero of the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891 — is the city's principal market district, and Governor Road is among its main arteries. Printing here, amid the shops and offices of the city's commercial life, keeps the paper close to the advertisers and readers who sustain it. The location also reflects the practical geography of newspaper production: presses need space, power and access for newsprint delivery and edition despatch, all available in the commercial district.

English dailies and Manipur's image

Imphal's English dailies collectively shape how the rest of India understands Manipur, and The People's Chronicle participates in this representative function. When national editors need background on a Manipur development, they turn to the archives and current reporting of the Imphal English press; when researchers study the state, these papers are primary sources. The responsibility is considerable: careless reporting in English from Imphal can mislead national opinion, while careful reporting can correct the stereotypes that have long distorted mainland perceptions of the North-East. The People's Chronicle's journalism thus carries weight beyond its circulation.

The 2012 launch in context

The People's Chronicle's 2012 launch came at a significant moment for Manipur's media. The preceding decade had seen the gradual normalisation of the state's press environment, with the worst insurgency-era pressures easing and new publications launching with greater confidence. The media market was expanding: rising literacy, growing advertising, and increasing political competition all created demand for more journalism. Launching an English daily in 2012 — rather than in the more difficult 1990s or 2000s — reflected a judgment that the market could support another title. The paper's continued publication suggests the judgment was sound.