Nagas role in ww ii

Khrienuo Role of the Nagas [dropcap]N[/dropcap]agas role in the battle was of great importance. Their role in the battle cannot be Khrienuo 59 Journal of North East India Studies ignored, as it was one of the factors which contributed to the winning of the British in the battle. Nagas acted as guides, porters, spies, stretcher-bearers and even dug trenches for the British. They cheerfully gave their service to the British and some of them even gave their life fighting for the British in the battle. Arthur Swinson (1956) states that the Nagas every time did what was demanded by the British from them. He further says: “How many lives were owed to the courage and skill of these remarkable hillmen will never be known; but the figure must certainly run into thousands” (Swinson 1956: 213). Even before the battle began, the British Government sent most of the Naga government servants for intelligence purposes to their villages to report any information they found to the nearest military unit.For instance, at Phiphema, Nagas like Nikhalhu, Zhuikhu and Dr. Nandij acted as British informers by giving informations about the Japanese which were extremely useful. Reports of the Japanese were given to the British by not only the Nagas who worked for the government, but by even ordinary people who noted anything unusual. They even misled the Japanese by giving them wrong information much to the advantage of the British. Hence, the British used the valuable informations provided by the Nagas to the fullest. Many Nagas joined the British Army and fought against the Japanese bravely. They were recruited to Assam Rifles and the Assam Regiment along with the Assamese, Kuki and Lushai Hill men to fight the Japanese. Nagas like “Constable No 47 Razhuholie Angami was reported by the 2nd Division to have been very helpful during the operation which led to the recapture of Kezoma village and was thrice commended by the Army for good work” (Colvin 1994: 37). Constable No 29 Nigurohie and Constable No 18 Dolhucha did very good intelligence work, by keeping in touch with the Southern Angamis and the Patkai range when the Japanese were still in Kohima. Constable Khoyalese Angami, with the assistance of villagers captured three well-armed Japanese agents. Nagas such as Visopi Angami who fought along with the British was severely wounded by the sword of a Japanese officer in a hand to hand struggle, but he managed to get away in spite of great loss of blood. Veheyi, who worked for the British, was captured and shot by the Japanese while on intelligence duty. Saliezhu Angami also died fighting for the British on 17 April 1944 at the age of twenty-one (Iralu 2000: 48). Nagas were used as porters by the British and porters in hundreds helped the British 23rd Brigade. They carried things for 2nd Division in the attack on Aradura Spur and evacuated the wounded. Some of the Naga villagers were divided into carrying parties and they took heavier equipment for the British soldiers. According to Sergeant Fred Hazell, D. Coy 2nd Norfloks, “Nagas, two or three hundreds I should think. Men, women, young lads and even young girls carrying ammunition and water. There were young girls with box of ammunition on their head tripping along quite gaily. We were staggering along underneath our packs!” (Hart 1998:156). Bisheshwar Prasad also noted that, “Locally recruited Naga porters were outstandingly successful. They were willing, indefatigable, cheerful and amazingly gentle. They did not panic under fire, but it was necessary to keep them out of it because they discontinued their work to dispose of the dead and had a considerable mourning period” (Prasad 1964: 336-337). The Nagas thus carried ammunition, rations, medical supplies and basic necessities of war like rifle oil and flannelette for the British soldiers.Some of the Nagas acted as guide to the British Government like Constable No. 4 Kelhikhrie Angami. He acted as a guide throughout the battle. The Nagas guided the British patrols to ambush the Japanese. They also guided the wounded British soldiers on 6 April 1944. They guided 80 walking wounded and 100 non-combatants from the Jail Hill and this evacuation was made possible in seven hours because they were there to guide them. Nagas also acted as stretcher-bearers carrying the wounded British soldiers. Certain Naga villages provided labourers to the British. Mao village provided about 100 labourers, Khuzama 200 and Viswema 500. John Colvin mentions that, “Without Nagas help in the evacuation of the wounded British and the Indian troops up and down the sodden hills, the death rate among the Allied battalions would have been much higher” (Colvin 1994: 153-154). Nagas also rescued about twenty British soldiers of whom two were flying officers. They killed some of the Japanese soldiers and captured some and handed them over to the British soldiers. Sixty-five Japanese were killed by the Nagas one of whom was an officer and twenty-nine Japanese were also captured by them (File no. 497, 1944: Nagaland State Archive). They also captured “Fifty-seven I.N.A, Jiffs or enemy agent invariably referred to by the Nagas as Congress Wallahs” (ibid). They at one time had the distinction of having captured more Japanese prisoners than the whole of the Fourteenth British Army. They sometimes laid down ground signals which indicated to the Allied aircraft the presence of the Japanese, without being concerned about the British bombing that would burnt their villages to the ground and bring immense suffering to them. Nagas also acted as interpreters for the British. Mr. A. Kevichusa was one such interpreter for the British. He organised Naga labours for the British in order to carry their load. Apart from him, there were also other Naga interpreters who worked for the British. The Nagas also faced danger for their lives since they helped the British. Though the Nagas were willing to continue their intelligence activities, they were worried about the fate of their villages as well. Nagas who acted as guides to the British were shot down by the Japanese. “Three Naga porters, on the 4th Brigade supply route, were met by a Japanese patrol which was evidently lying up in waiting for them. Their loads were taken, they were beaten up, and left tied to the trees” (Swinson 1956: 174). The Japanese use force to get the help and support from the Nagas. According to the Japanese Divisional War Correspondent, Yukihiko Imai, “As soon as we reached a village we caught the women and children and locked them up. We then asked the menfolk to guides us to the next village, promising to release their families as soon as they had done so. This was the only way we could get to guides or labour to help with the transport” (ibid 56). Joshi pointed out that the Nagas “Cheerfully facing torture and death they organised an efficient intelligence system for the services of the allies; they operated tirelessly around, behind and across Japanese lines; they inflicted formidable casualties on the enemy…They cheerfully placed all they had, whether of men or material at the disposal of the British” (Joshi 2001: 58). Many of them died as a result of the battle and some of the Nagas were permanently disabled while some others were wounded. The above is an extract from Nagas Role in WW II that appeared in the Journal of North East India Studies Vol. 3(2), Jul.-Dec. 2013, pp. 57-69.Khrienuo is PhD candidate in the Department of History, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad.