Birth anniversary of Rani Gaidinliu being observed in India

On India’s 74th Republic Day, India will also celebrate Nari Sakti Diwas to commemorate the 108th birth anniversary of the ‘Daughter of the Mountains’, Rani Gaidinliu. The story of Rani Gaidinliu – a fascinating journey from a spiritual leader to a freedom fighter – is very interesting. Gaidinliu was born on 26 January 1915 to parents of the Rongmei/Kaboui clan in Nungkoa village of Tousem Sub-division in Tamenglong district of Manipur (Kamei, 2014).
Rani, a strong, energetic, independent and courageous girl, was labeled by the famous British anthropologist JP Mills (Longkumer, 2018) as a sorceress, mystic, witch, demon, sorcerer, and cannibal. Stories of Rani’s courage, bravery and compassion are widely found in the folklore and legends of the local tribes. One such legend has it that one day he was asked to go to Bhubon Cave in Assam.She went to the cave with some village elders where she was given some bowls of healing water from the cave. He cured many people by using it and the water was sold to other Naga tribes. Gaidinliu was not only a freedom fighter and a socio-religious reformer, but also a physician and a midwife.
How Gaidinliu became part of the Hereka movement led by Haipou Jadonang is an interesting story. Jadonang started his movement as a social and religious reform movement. He focused on the liberation of his people and challenged the oppressive British government (Union, 1982). Gaidinliu learns about Jadonang through dreams that lead her to visit him in Kambiron, Assam.He belonged to the Pamei exogamous tribe. Their relationship as Guru and Shishya grew stronger between 1926 and 1927 and she became his trusted lieutenant. Jadonang and Gaidinliu were inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of non-violence (ahimsa).

Asoso Yonuo (1982) contends that Gaidinliu emerged as a spiritual and political leader after the British executed Jadonang on 29 August 1931 in Imphal, Manipur for treason against four Meitei (Manipuri) merchants who were were killed at Longkao (Nungkao). An important social taboo in which he had no role. During her childhood, Rani Gaidinliu did not attend a formal school like other girls because there was no school in her village. However, she was keen to write even though the British rulers later questioned her writing ability.
The inspiration to write the script came from his Guru Jadonang. 12 of Gaidinliu’s notebooks, still preserved in the Pitts Rivers Museum (PRM) at the University of Oxford, have English names and some have Bengali writing.
He openly rebelled against British rule, exhorting the Zeliangrong people not to pay taxes. He received donations from the local Nagas, many of whom also joined him as volunteers. The British authorities started searching for him. She was finally arrested in 1932 at the age of 16 and sentenced to life imprisonment by the British rulers. After Jawaharlal Nehru met her in Shillong Jail in 1937, he wrote an article in Hindustan Times describing her bravery and bravery, and in the same article, he called her ‘Rani’ or Queen of her people. Addressed.
After India’s independence, when he was released from prison, his tribal followers started the Zeliangrong Movement under the banner of the Zeliangrong People’s Convention (ZPC). However, the Zeliangrong movement was not aligned with the Naga movement and the demand for Naga autonomy as envisioned by A. Z. Phizo.
The learned tribes were neither signatories to the memorandum submitted by the Naga Club to the Simon Commission nor participated in A. Z. Phizo’s 1951 plebiscite for the liberation of the Naga people. His nationalism was based on traditional culture while the Naga nationalism dominated by the NNC was based on Christianity and Western culture (Stracey, 1968). After surrendering to the Phizo group in 1966, she was able to present herself as a true Indian nationalist.

Thus, he developed a relationship with Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai and Rajiv Gandhi. Rani Gaidinliu also forged ties with the BJP and its allies Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to further her political goal of getting a homeland for her community (Niumai, 2018).  However, Rani Gaidinliu died in her village in Manipur in 1993 without realizing her vision.With no formal educational qualifications and no career planning goals, Rani Gaidinliu remains an icon in Northeast India. Thus, like Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, she is one of India’s bravest women freedom fighters and patriots.

The author is Assistant Professor, Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development, Guwahati. The views expressed are personal.