(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons) Rani Gaidinliu
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Tikendrajit was arrested and after a farcical trial by a general court-martial, he was publicly hanged on 13th August 1891,” notes the archivesof the Manipur government. On 27th April, 1891 the British occupied Manipur.
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But it was all in vain against the superior mite and arms of the British.
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“To save their motherland, the Manipuris fought very bravely under the direction of Tikendrajit. It was this incident that triggered what was later called the Anglo-Manipur war of 1891. Angered, King Kulachandra ordered the beheading of the five British officers on March 24, 1891. But their plan was quickly foiled by Manipuri soldiers. When the Maharaja refused to abdicate or hand over the prince, the British tried to conduct a sudden midnight raid and capture Tikendrajit in 1891. A party of British officials and 400 Gurkhas arrived in Imphal to arrest the prince in revolt, Tikendrajit, and oust the current man on the throne – Maharaja Kulachandra Singh.
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Relations between the Manipur Kingdom and the British were peaceful until the death of Maharaja Chandrakiri in 1890 when a power struggle for the throne ignited a civil war.Ī series of coups, exiles and appeals for help eventually led to the British getting directly involved in Manipur once again. “Bir Tikendrajit Singh, the crown prince of Manipur, who laid down his life along with his General Thangal for protecting the territorial integrity of the state against British imperialist design, has gone down in the annals of history as a hero of supreme sacrifice and extraordinary valour,” says local academic Prof K Nayan Chanda Singha. Paona Brajabashi (Source: RKCS Museum of Arts And Crafts, Imphal) Bir Tikendrajit Singh Paona took off the cloth wrapped around his headgear and asked the British Officer to behead him,” says Kakchingtabam Hemchandra Sharma, Secretary of Association for Paona Memorial Arts and Rural Development Services. However, Paona reportedly replied that death was more welcome than treason. The British insisted that he could switch sides in exchange for a plum post. “A Manipuri British Army Officer asked Paona Brajabashi to switch sides and join the British army. Before he was killed, however, he was given a choice. One of the most revered figures of the Anglo-Manipur War in 1891 was Major Paona Brajabashi, a soldier of the Kangleipak kingdom (Kingdom of Manipur) under Maharaja Kulachandra.īattling the British undermanned and under-armed in the Battle of Khongjom, Paona valiantly led his soldiers in one of the fiercest battles in Indian history on 23 April 1891.Įngaged in a bloody clash, the Manipuri soldiers, including Paona, fought until the last man by some accounts.
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Consequently, the police opened fire and Barua was shot dead holding the flag, which was subsequently picked up by her compatriot Mukunda Kakoti, who was also killed. When Rebati Mahan Som, the officer in-charge of the police station, warned the procession of deadly consequences if they went ahead with their plan, Barua refused to slow down. On 20 September 1942, the revolutionary camp of Gohpur division of undivided Darrang district decided to hoist and unfurl the national flag at a local police station, and it was Barua who led a procession of unarmed villagers for the task. She had earlier applied to join the Azad Hind Fauj, but was rejected because she was a minor.
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Kanaklata Baruaīorn on 22 December 1924, in Borangabari village of the undivided Darrang district, Assam, Kanaklata Barua made a name for herself during the Quit India Movement, when she joined the Mrityu Bahini, a suicide squad, when she was only 17. In a bid to address this injustice, we have compiled a list of 10 legendary figures from the northeast you should learn about to better understand the scope of India’s freedom struggle. In documenting the struggle against the British, however, the contribution of freedom fighters from the northeast hasn’t found its due place in popular discourse. As India celebrates its 74th Independence Day, the country will pay homage to the many men and women who sacrificed their lives and paved the way forward.