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What is the News?
Union Minister of Home Affairs has laid the foundation stone for setting up of the Rani Gaidinliu Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum at Luangkao village in Manipur’s Tamenglong district.
Who was Rani Gaidinliu?
Rani Gaidinliu was born on January 26, 1915, in the present-day Tamenglong district of Manipur. She belonged to the Rongmei Naga tribe.
Heraka Movement
At the age of 13, Rani Gaidinliu joined the Heraka Religious movement of her cousin Haipou Jadonang.
Heraka was a socio-religious movement that arose in the 1920s in the Zeliangrong territory. It was started by Jadonang to resist the infiltration of Christian missionaries as well as the reforms imposed by the British government.
However, in 1931, Jadonang was arrested by the British and was hanged for opposing colonial rule. To ensure the movement does not die down, Gaidinliu took up the movement.
She openly rebelled against British rule by telling the Zeliangrong people not to pay taxes. She also received donations from the local Nagas, many of whom also joined her as volunteers.
She was then arrested in 1932 and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the British rulers. Between 1932 and 1947, the Naga freedom fighter was kept at several prisons across the Northeast.
Acknowledging her role in the struggle against the British, Jawaharlal Nehru called her the “Daughter of the Hills” and gave her the title “Rani” or queen.
Post-independence
In independent India, Gaidinliu was against the Naga National Council(NNC) demand for sovereignty and independence of Naga territory from India. She, in fact, demanded a separate Zeliangrong area within the Union of India.
Since she faced opposition from other Naga leaders for her demand, she was forced to go underground in 1960. She later reached an understanding with the Government of India and dismantled the underground movement.
She was awarded with the Tamra Patra — an award bestowed upon distinguished individuals for their contribution to the Indian freedom struggle — in 1972 and the Padma Bhushan in 1982.
In 1993, Rani Gaidinliu passed away.The government of India issued a postal stamp in her honour in 1996, and a commemorative coin in 2015.
The Indian Coast Guard commissioned a Fast Patrol Vessel “ICGS Rani Gaidinliu” in 2016.
Source: This post is based on the following articles
- “Union Minister of Home Affairs performed Bhoomi Pujan of Rani Gaidinliu Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum in Manipur” published in PIB on 23rd November 2021.
- “Union Home Minister Amit Shah lays foundation stone for tribal freedom fighters museum in Manipur” published in PIB on 23rd Nov.2021.
