The Khasi uprising took place in 1833 in the territory between the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, in protest of a planned British road through the area. Tirot Sing Syiem was the uprising’s leader. In this fight, the Khasis were beaten, and the British took control of these highlands.
Background
- The East India Company sought to create a route connecting the Brahmaputra Valley and Sylhet after occupying the steep terrain between the Garo and Jaintia Hills.
- A considerable number of outsiders, including Englishmen, Bengalis, and plains labourers, were imported to these regions for this purpose.
- Under Tirot Sing’s leadership, the Khasis, Garos, Khamptis, and Singphos banded together to drive out the outsiders from the plains.
- The movement grew into a widespread uprising against British administration in the region.
- By 1833, the insurrection had been put down by the overwhelming English military force.
Khasi Uprising
- The Khasis, a primitive tribe living in Assam’s mountainous territory between the Jaintia and Garo hills, revolted against British rule.
- Tirot Sing led a coalition of chiefs from several Khasi hills kingdoms.
- The Khasi uprising occurred in 1833 in the areas between the Khasi hills and the Jaintia Hills.
- The British planned to build a route that would run across Khasi leaders’ territories. It irritated the Khasis.
- When the British began constructing the road and forced Khasis to serve as laborers, over thirty Khasi leaders planned to drive the British out of Assam’s hills and plains.
- The rebellion began with Tirot Sing’s attack on a British force that disregarded the Khasi king’s instructions to halt a road construction project through the Khasi Hills.
- The Khasis were beaten in this fight, and the British took control of these highlands.
- The head of the Molim tribe, Bar-Manik, became their leader. Other chiefs, notably the head of Nunklows, Tirot Sing, backed him up.
- The tribes revolted in May 1829 and fought for over four years against the British.
- The British mercilessly quashed the insurrection, imposed an economic embargo on Khasi land, and burned down Khasi villages.
Conclusion
The Khasis, a tribe inhabiting the hilly region in the northwest on the border of Assam revolted against the British. The Khasi rebellion occurred in 1833 in the land between the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, in protest of a planned British route across the area. The insurrection was led by Tirot Sing Syiem. The Khasis were defeated in this battle, and the British acquired control of the highlands.
SINGPHOS REBELLION
The rebellion of the Singphos in Assam in early 1830 was immediately quelled but they continued to organise revolts. An uprising in 1839 saw the death of the British political agent. Chief Nirang Phidu led an uprising in 1843, which involved an attack on the British garrison and the death of many soldiers.
Some of the smaller movements were those of the Mishmis (in 1836); the Khampti rebellion in Assam between 1839 and 1842; the Lushais’ revolt in 1842 and 1844, when they attacked villages in Manipur.
KUKIS
Manipur was a princely state before merging with the Indian Union on 15th October 1949. It has been inhabited by ethnic communities including Nagas, Kukis and Meiteis.
Merger of Manipur and the delay in the conferring of full fledged statehood (granted in 1972) to it was greatly resented by the people of Manipur.
Separate aspirations and perceived insecurity regarding overlapping claims over natural resources led various ethnic communities move apart.
Following ethnic clashes between the Nagas and Kukis in the early 1990s, a number of Kuki outfits were formed as a means to counter Naga hegemony and assertion. Consequently, Kuki National Front (KNF) was formed in 1998.
The areas in Manipur which National Socialist Council of Nagalim-Issac Muivah – NSCN – IM (formed in 1988) is demanding be merged with Nagaland as part of greater Nagalim included large areas of Kuki inhabitancy.
Meanwhile, Zomi Reunification Army (ZRA) was formed in 1997 whose objective is to protect the interests of the Paite community from the ‘onslaught of any community or group’.
However in 2008, 20 militant groups related to Kukis and Zomis under two umbrella organizations, Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People’s Front (UPF) signed Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with the Government of India and Government of Manipur. The agreement aims to discuss demands put forward by the extremist groups and bring peace in Manipur.
Ethnic Communities in Manipur
- The people of Manipur are grouped into three main ethnic communities – Meiteis those inhabiting the valley and 29 major tribes in the hills dividing into two main ethno-denominations, namely Nagas and Kuki-Chins.
- The Naga group consists of Zeliangrong, Tangkhul, Mao, Maram, Maring and Tarao.
- The Chin-Kuki group consists of Gangte, Hmar, Paite, Thadou, Vaiphei, Zou, Aimol, Chiru, Koireng, Kom, Anal, Chothe, Lamgang, Koirao, Thangal, Moyon and Monsang.
- The term Chin is used for the people in the neighboring Chin state of Myanmar whereas Chins are called Kukis in the Indian side. Other groups like Paite, Zou, Gangte, and Vaiphei identify themselves as Zomi and have distanced themselves from the name, Kuki.
- It should be noted that all the different ethnic groups are of the same Mongoloid group, and have very close similarities in their culture and traditional habits.
- However, Meiteis differ culturally from the surrounding hill tribes by following Hindu customs.
- The legend of all tribes including Meiteis claim that they originated somewhere in the north from a cave.
TRIPURA REVOLT
Raja Bir Bikram Manikya of Tripura was a believer in the modernity brought about by Westernisation and moulded the shape of his government along British lines. His government was a part of the British protectorate. In 1942-43, Tripura was shaken by an uprising of the Reang tribesmen under Ratan Muni. Exploitation and oppression by the middlemen and the persecution of the tribesmen during the Second World War were some of the causes of the rebellion.
The king was manipulated by the British and his pro-British councils about the nature of the war being anti-monarchical. This was because the leader, Ratan Muni was a staunch supporter of the struggle for independence against the British and was inspired by the Chittagong armoury raid. He also believed in the Swadeshi ideology and encouraged his disciples to follow the same. Soon a crackdown on the Reang people followed. An army aided by the British killed Reang rebels, pillaged villages and took them as prisoners. Ratan Muni was captured from Chittagong and sent to Agartala.
The uprising by the Reangs was an example of how British interference and appeasement of certain classes of rais and zamindars was responsible for the poor condition of the tribesmen. This was taken note of by Jawaharlal Nehru who insisted on the formation of a committee to look into the livelihoods of the Reang people.
NAGA MOVEMENT
Background
- In 1826, British annexed Assam and in 1881 Naga Hills too became part of British India. The Naga resistance started way back in 1918 when Naga club was formed. Since then Nagas have been asserting their distinct ethnic identity and demanding an independent homeland to preserve their culture.
- In 1946 the Naga National Council (NNC) was formed, which declared Nagaland an independent state on August 14, 1947. The NNC resolved to establish a sovereign Naga state and conducted a referendum in 1951, in which 99% of people supported an independent Nagaland.
- In March 1952, the underground Naga Federal Government (NFG) and the Naga Federal Army (NFA) was formed. The Government of India sent in the Army to crush the insurgency and, in 1958, enacted the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.
- In November 1975, the government got a section of NNC leaders to sign the Shillong Accord, under which the section of NNC and NFG agreed to give up arms.
- A group of NNC members led by Thuingaleng Muivah refused to accept the agreement and formed National Socialist Council of Nagaland in 1980 with S. S. Khaplang.
- In 1988, the NSCN split into NSCN (IM) and NSCN (K) after a violent clash.
- NSCN (IM) emerged as a major insurgent group often termed as the “mother of all insurgencies in the region”.
- NSCN (IM) agreed to a ceasefire in 1997 and peace talks were held leading eventually to Naga Peace Accord in 2015.
INSURGENCY
- Extortion by insurgent groups has been a way of life for people living in India’s north-eastern states, particularly in Nagaland.
- It is an open secret that all separatist outfits run their own parallel governments and collect extortion money (sometimes more than 20 per cent of the annual income) from individuals, businesses, government departments and employees.
- While non-Nagas are heavily taxed, the Nagas themselves are not spared.
- Payment of this so-called “tax” to armed Naga groups is the only way to ensure safety.
ISSUE
- NSCN (IM) demands a “Greater Nagalim”- that also includes parts of bordering states.
- The other states are wary of this and this makes the situation sensitive.
- There are groups within Nagaland that have demanded a state separate from that of NSCN (IM).
NAGALAND PEACE ACCORD
- In 2015, an agreement was signed between the Centre and the Naga groups led by the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) after the latter agreed to give up its long-standing demand for sovereignty.
- There was a broad understanding on a settlement within the Indian constitutional framework, with due regard to the uniqueness of Naga history and tradition.
- The Naga Movement is the oldest movement for self-determination in India and is also the longest surviving insurgency. The presence of multiple factions representing the Naga interests makes the process of self-determination complicated.
- The distribution of Naga population in various states of the North-East such as Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Assam, and Nagaland, as well as in adjoining Myanmar further trivializes the issue of carving the ‘Greater Nagalim’ or a separate state for all the Nagas in the region.
