SHILLONG, Aug 30: India is celebrating its 75th year of Independence and the nationwide campaign to commemorate the occasion, Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, seems to have picked up pace.
As the entire nation remembers the sacrifices of noble souls and martyrs, let us recall the sacrifices of our very own bravehearts from Meghalaya, who laid down their lives like others while combating the British Raj.
U Tirot Sing Syiemlieh
Dating back to the 1800s, a native chief of Nongkhlaw had led the Khasis in the fight against the British rule. U Tirot Sing Syiemlieh valiantly took the lead in the 1829-1833 Anglo Khasi War. Following the acquisition of the Brahmaputra and Surma valleys, the British had sought permission from Tirot to construct a road cutting through the hills inhabited by the Khasis.
The British, represented by their political agent David Scott, told Tirot that if permission was granted, he would be given control of the Duars, the alluvial floodplains of Assam, and was promised favourable terms of trade.
However, the British reneged, and on April 4, 1829, Tirot Sing and his forces attacked the British garrison stationed at Nongkhlaw in which two officers were killed. The British retaliated with their superior modern firearms.
Tirot and his men battled the British for four years engaging in guerilla warfare. In 1833, while he was sheltering in the hills after sustaining a bullet injury, the British forces captured him and deported him to Dhaka. He died in captivity on July 17, 1835.
U Kaing Nangbah
During the1860s, U Kaing Nangbah led an uprising against the British. Although very little is known about his early life, historians claim that he was born before the British had annexed the Jaintia hills in 1835. When the colonial government sought to impose taxes and interfere with traditional customs, the tribes of the Jaintia Hills began harboring an anti-British sentiment.
In 1860, with the imposition of house tax on the tribes inhabiting the Jaintia hills, the villagers joined forces under the leadership of U Kiang Nangbah. His forces soon attacked a British police station and set fire to all its weapons. What followed was a series of guerilla attacks that paralysed the colonial administration.
In response, the British launched a full-scale military operation against Nangbah and his men. They captured him in December 1862 and he was hanged three days later.
Pa Togan Sangma
Born in the village of Samanda near Williamnagar, East Garo Hills, he was one of the bravest freedom fighters of Meghalaya. He was well-known for his muscular physique and physical combat capabilities.
In December 1872, the British sent out battalions to Garo Hills to establish their control in the region. The attack was conducted from three sides — south, east and west.
The Garo warriors led by Pa Togan Sangma confronted them at Rongrenggiri with their spears, swords and shields.
The battle was unmatched as the Garos did not have guns or mortars like the British Army. Pa Togan Sangma died fighting with unmatched heroism and courage. Sangma is immortalised at the martyr’s column in Shillong, where his name is enshrined along with U Tirot Sing and U Kiang Nongbah, the gallant heroes of the Khasis and Jaintias.
The Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is an intensive nationwide campaign with the focus on citizen participation. It is being converted into a ‘Jan Andolan’, where small changes, at the local level, add on to significant national gains.
Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, had recently launched a series of activities to mark the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, which accordingly continued under the ‘Iconic Week’ celebrations till August 29.