Jadonang Malangmei, a young Rongmei Naga man was hanged on the banks of the Nambul River, behind the Imphal jail because of standing up against the British colonial regime.
Why a 26-year-old hanged by the British in Manipur still matters to Indigenous communities in India
Every August, India remembers the better-known figures of the freedom movement. But in the hills of Manipur, another important anniversary often receives little attention. On August 29, 1931, a young Rongmei Naga man was hanged on the banks of the Nambul River, behind the Imphal jail. He was only twenty-six years old when he was martyred. His name was Jadonang Malangmei. His story is important not only to the history of the Rongmei, Zeliangrong and Naga people, but also to the wider history of India’s struggle against British rule. He was an Indigenous tribesman who stood up to the British colonial regime and asserted the rights of his people over their land and way of life.
His Childhood
Jadonang was born in 1905 at Puiluanh, also known as Kambiron, in what was then the Manipur West District. He was the youngest of three sons of Thiudai and Tabonliu, who were farmers with limited means. His father died when Jadonang was about a year old, leaving his mother to raise the children. Jadonang did not receive formal education. He grew up in a society that was already facing changes brought by British rule, along with the violence and difficulties faced by his people during the Kuki Rebellion. Villages were required to pay house taxes, while men were forced to move from place to place to carry loads for the British administration, taking them away from their fields and families. These measures affected the everyday lives of people in the hills and contributed to growing resentment against colonial rule. By his late teens, Jadonang began speaking about visions and his encounters with God. He told his mother that he had been instructed to guide his people and to protect their land, customs and way of life. These religious experiences later became an important part of his leadership and the movement he developed.
His Ambition
Jadonang’s vision went beyond opposition to a particular tax or administrative practice. He wanted political, economic and religious change for his people. Politically, he wanted an end to British rule in the hills. Economically, he opposed house taxes and the system of forced labour that took men away from their work. He also wanted to protect Indigenous religious beliefs and practices at a time when colonial influence and Christian missionary activity were increasing in the region. Although he had no formal education, Jadonang understood the difficulties faced by the people around him. His movement gradually became a response to British control and the changes taking place in Naga society. It is also important to note that his tribesmen in Tamenglong had opposed the payment of annual taxes to the British colonial authority as early as 1891, when Manipur came under British control following the defeat of the Manipuri forces in the Anglo-Manipur War.
His Politico-Socio-Religious Reform
Jadonang developed the Heraka movement as a reform of traditional Zeliangrong Naga religion. He introduced changes to religious practices, established places of worship and worked to bring his people together. His religious ideas were closely connected with his political vision. He spoke of “Makaamv Gwangdih” and coined the motto “Makaamvmei rui Guangh Tu Pwni”, which is loosely translated as “The Indigenous people shall reign”. This slogan had a strong influence on his people. He also organised “Riphyan”, or warriors, mainly comprising young people. His growing movement alarmed the British administration. The British described his movement as “Naga Raj”, which represented his idea of a self- governing Naga kingdom free from British rule. On several occasions, Jadonang openly challenged British authority and was taken into custody. He travelled to different villages in Manipur, the Naga Hills and the North Cachar Hills to gain support for his movement. He reached out to Angami, Chakhesang, Mao and Maram communities. His efforts were among the early attempts to bring different Naga communities together around a common political and social cause. There are also accounts that he sought to meet Mahatma Gandhi in Silchar, where Gandhi was supposed to attend a Congress session. Whether or not that meeting took place, Jadonang’s activities had attracted the attention of the British administration. To the British authorities, his growing influence was a political concern. A religious leader who was also calling for self-rule could not easily be ignored.
His Sacrifice
Jadonang’s conflict with the British administration eventually led to his arrest. In February 1931, J.C. Higgins, the British Political Agent in Manipur, ordered his arrest. He was initially accused of sedition for spreading the belief that British rule would soon come to an end. A more serious accusation was later brought against him. He was accused of being responsible for the killing of four Manipuri traders in April 1930. He denied direct responsibility for the killings. It was later suggested that the killings may have been carried out by villagers themselves after the traders allegedly violated the village’s genna. Jadonang was reportedly elsewhere at the time. Despite his denial, Jadonang was convicted in June 1931. The trial and the role of J.C. Higgins in the case have remained subjects of public discussion, particularly regarding the way the colonial administration handled the case against him. He was subsequently hanged on August 29, 1931, on the banks of the Nambul River behind the Imphal jail. The circumstances of his trial and execution have remained a subject of intense historical discussion. His arrest had already taken place because of his political activities and opposition to British rule. The later murder charge resulted in his conviction and execution. Whatever the different interpretations of the case, the British administration clearly regarded Jadonang and his growing movement as a serious challenge to its authority in the hills. He was respected by his people and by those who came in contact with him. People held him in high esteem and gave him the honorific title “Haipou”, which has remained attached to his name — Haipou Jadonang.
His Legacy
Jadonang’s death did not bring the movement to an end. His young cousin, Gaidinliu, who was around sixteen at the time, continued the “Heraka movement” and resistance against British authority. Gaidinliu was arrested and spent more than a decade in prison. After India’s independence, she was honoured for her role in the freedom movement. Jawaharlal Nehru gave her the title “Rani”, and she later became one of the best-known Naga figures associated with India’s freedom struggle. Jadonang, however, remains much less known outside the Northeast, despite being one of the figures who influenced the movement that Gaidinliu later continued.
His Flame
The limited recognition given to Jadonang also raises a larger question about how India’s freedom struggle is remembered. The national history of the freedom movement has often focused on the major political movements led by the Congress and on well-known leaders from different parts of the country. The resistance of Indigenous communities in the Northeast has received much less attention. These movements had their own local circumstances, but many of them were responses to problems created by colonial rule, such as taxation, forced labour, interference in local affairs and the loss of control over traditional lands and institutions. Jadonang did not live long enough to see what might have happened to his vision of a self-governing Naga polity. He was convicted and executed at the age of twenty-six. But his ideas did not end with his death. They sowed the seeds of a wider Naga political aspiration and continued through generations of Naga people who have remembered him and his contribution. Remembering Jadonang is therefore more than a matter of regional pride. His story is part of the wider history of resistance to British rule in India. The freedom struggle was not fought only in the major cities and political centres. It also took place in the hills and villages of the Northeast, where people resisted colonial authority in their own ways. For that reason, Jadonang’s story deserves a more visible place in the history of India’s freedom movement, both from the larger national perspective and from the perspective of the Naga people.
Poujiabthai Gangmei (Zeppuh), Asst. Prof., Department of Law, Umshyrpi College,
Shillong
Ms. Meithaina Thaimei, DMU, Imphal