By HH Mohrmen
U Kiang Nangbah the freedom fighter of the Pnars of Jaintia hills is mostly remembered for his courage, and in the Khasi Pnar parlance he was honoured with the title of “u khla ka wait” the master of the sword or a man who move his sword with the stealth of the tiger. U Kiang was praised for his courage and his undaunted spirit, but apart from being fearless u Kiang possessed other noble qualities too. He was devoted and gave himself wholeheartedly to whatever he did and later to the cause that was dear to him- the freedom of the people of the Jaintia kingdom. He fought for justice and the values that are dear to him were truth, justice and freedom. Oral traditions are replete with stories which describe the fine qualities of u Kiang Nangbah. One particular story which best describes his passionate zeal to fight for truth, justice and freedom was the story of Ka Dorbar U Daloi Manik Pakyntein at Myngkoi Pyrdi, Loomppyrdi Iongpiah, Jowai.
Legend has it that on receiving the order from the British government which instructed that the natives of the land had to pay tax to the government, the Daloi who had become a mere puppet of the government immediately convened Ka Dorbar Elaka at Myngkoi Pyrdi, Iawiongpiah. The sole objective of the Dorbar was to make people aware of the government order and ensure that everyone complied with the order. As luck would have it u Kiang who was on his way to his paddy field in the Pynthor wah of the Myntdu valley, on reaching half way at Khliehriat, remembered about the Dorbar when it had become too late. He immediately returned and headed for Myngkoi Pyrdi and reached the place just in time to attend the Dorbar. After the Daloi read out the order, u Kiang was infuriated by the Daloi’s action (or rather inaction) as he did not even consider bringing the matter to the Dorbar for discussion. By tradition any matter pertaining to the elaka is to be discussed in the Dorbar, but the Daloi violated the sacred convention and read out the government’s order without placing it for discussion. U Kiang confronted the Daloi and called on the Dorbar to protest against the illegitimate order which did not have the sanction of the Dorbar Elaka. The Daloi insisted that the government order should be respected and that tax should be paid and anyone who failed to do so would be dealt with severely by the government.
Legend says that u Kiang not only protested, he even snatched the order from the Daloi and tore it into pieces. He declared before the Daloi and the Dorbar that come what may he would not pay any tax to a foreign government and that no power in the world could make him do so. U Kiang stood for truth, justice and freedom as he understood these values and this was evident from the manner in which he protested against the order. He displayed exemplary courage by confronting the Daloi even when everybody in the Dorbar kept silent. He felt that injustice has been done on the people as they were not even consulted or made aware about the order to levy tax on them. This is against the Khasi Pnar democratic tradition. Obviously u Kiang also refused to recognize and honour the British power and its control over the Jaintia Kingdom because of the way the kingdom was deceitfully acceded to the empire and the King was unceremoniously removed from his throne by the British.
There are many opinions on u Kiang Nangbah’s world views, the most popular one was that u Kiang did not know much about the world except the immediate neighbours of the Ahom Kingdom, the Bengalis and maybe to some extent the Burmese but not beyond that. But whatever his world view, it takes courage to stand against any foreign power. His life also embodied his love for freedom and justice and that is what drove him to take on the British notwithstanding the dangers he had to face.
U Kiang was also a noble souls; he fought for the poor, the downtrodden, those neglected by the society and those who had no one to protect them. Again this quality of u Kiang Nangbah was demonstrated in the oral tradition in the story, “Ka Lakhi Pyrdiang.” Ka Lakhi Pyrdiang is from the Lanong clan and was what we would now call from a single parent family; she lived alone and lived from hand to mouth with her only child. She had no close maternal uncle to protect her so she was an easy target for the Daloi to enforce the government’s order. Being a poor woman with nobody to defend her, the Daloi was sure that Lakhi would succumb to his pressure tactics and yield to his demand. On reaching Lakhi Pyrdiang’s hut in Chilliangraij, Jowai the Daloi entered her house and insisted that she pay the tax as ordered by the government. Poor Lakhi pleaded with the Daloi and told him with folded hands that she could barely feed her only child. Lakhi requested that she be exempted from paying the tax, but the Daloi turned his deaf ears to her pleas and began to manhandle her. U Kiang arrived at Lakhi’s house just in time to witness how the Daloi mistreated her. U Kiang confronted the Daloi and called him shameless for targeting a poor destitute woman of his Elaka and for exploiting her vulnerability for his own vested interests.
U Kiang stood for the weaker sections of society and particularly for women and that is his rare quality which makes him a good leader or a noble human being. One can’t help but wonder what kind of education goes into shaping the fine personality of u Kiang Nangbah. During u Kiang Nangbah’s time modern education as we know it was at a nascent stage, so he was not educated in any school or educational institution. Oral tradition also has it that he was very close to his mother so he received most of his education from his mother. One cannot also rule out the role of his father in u Kiang’s upbringing. He too must have been a good role model for u Kiang.
In a country where crime against women is at its zenith and respect for women folks is at its lowest ebb, u Kiang’s case of standing against the powers that be to defend a poor and needy woman is a shining example of his attitude towards women. When the stronger and those in power always seek to exploit the poor and the weaker sections of the society u Kiang epitomized the best that a man can be.
It also makes one wonder the kind of society was prevalent during his life time. Perhaps the Khasi Pnar society then was close-knit and there was a sense of camaraderie. There was the feeling of one for all and all for one in the community. Even if there were no schools in the villages there was no dearth of community education by way of each elder taking upon himself the responsibility to inculcate good moral values on the young ones. This also embodies the saying that ‘it takes the whole village to raise a child.’ The education then happened around the hearth of a hut or a community social gathering. Such opportunities are made use of to teach the young ones to behave with decorum before the elders of the society.
U Kiang had no formal education but that did not make him uncultured and an unprincipled human being. The education he received from his parents, the community and even the nature around him went on to make him a gentleman that he was. In the society where the value of wealth and prestige (ka spah bad ka burom) take precedence over good moral values, when the sole aim of parents in educating a child is to enable him/her to get good job and earn a lot of money, the story of u Kiang Nangbah is a clarion call to every parent to introspect and decide the kind of education they want to give their kids.