FACIAL    MORPHOLOGY    AND    FACIAL    INDEX:    A    STUDY    ON    SECULAR    TREND    OF    MEITEI    MALE    POPULATION    OF BISHNUPUR DISTRICT, MANIPUR, INDIA Thoudam Bedita Devi 1 , Th. Naranbabu Singh 2 , S. Jibonkumar Singh * 3 , Binod Kumar Tamang 4 . 1  Tutor, Department of Anatomy, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences, Tadong, Sikkim, India. 2  Professor, Department of Anatomy, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal, Manipur, India. *3  Professor, Department of Anthropology- Manipur University, Canchipur, Imphal, Manipur, India. 4  Professor, Department of Anatomy Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences, Tadong, Sikkim, India. Address for Correspondence: Prof. S. Jibonkumar Singh, Department of Anthropology, Manipur University, Canchipur, Imphal. Manipur, India. E-Mail:  drjibonkumar@yahoo.com ABSTRACT Knowledge   of   facial   dimensions   is   important   in   evaluation   of   age,   sex,   and   racial   differences,   in   clinical   application   and   in   forensic   applications.   Therefore facial   measurements   have   been   used   by   numerous   researchers   particularly   anatomists,   forensic   scientists,   plastic   surgeons,   physical   anthropologists   to establish   standardized   mean   values   for   skeletal,   dental   and   soft   tissue   structures   as   well   as   for   classification   of   facial   morphology   of   different   populations. So   the   present   study   aims   at   studying   the   morphology   of   face   and   its   indices   of   Meitei   Male   population   with   a   view   to   find   out   the   secular   trend   if   there   be any.   The   study   was   conducted   on   100   Meitei   Males   of   Bishnupur   District,   Manipur   whose   age   ranged   from   20-60years.   Overall   findings   of   the   present   study show   that   the   present   generation   is   experiencing   a   secular   trend   of   increasing   Morphological   Facial   Height   and   decreasing   Breadth   of   Bizygomatic   Arch.   As for   the   Facial   Index,   a   positive   secular   trend   is   observed   in   both   Morphological   Facial   Index   and   Morphological   Upper   Facial   Index,   thereby   showing   a significant   difference   infrequency   percent   distribution   of   facial   index   between   the   present   and   past   generation.   A   tendency   from   mesoprosopic   towards leptoprosopic   is   observed   in   the   present   generation.   This   study   has   established   the   mean   facial   dimensions   of   Meitei   male   adults   of   Bishnupur   District, Manipur. 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