CorCom pays homage to Jadonang
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 26 2017: The CorCom has paid rich tributes to Haipou Jadonang on the occasion of his 86th birth anniversary which falls on August 29 .

A statement issued by CorCom media coordinator Ksh Yoiheiba remarked that the Manipuri forefathers fought valiantly against all external aggressions, protected the culture and identity of Manipur and left behind a strong legacy of independence .

Haipou Jadonang was one among the many heroes of Manipur who was proud of the indigenous culture and identity of Manipur and had no hesitation to sacrifice their lives for freedom .

After the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891, Manipur ceased to survive as an independent kingdom in South East Asia.

Not long after, British colonial rulers unleashed all kinds of repressive measures with a sinister design to suppress the people of Manipur for good .

Manipur was divided into hills and valley and followed a policy of 'divide and rule' .

Manipur people who resisted the colonial divide and rule policy were either executed or exiled or imprisoned for good .

He was born in Kambiron village, Tamenglong district in 1905 at the height of British colonialism.

Jadonang was the third and youngest son of Thiudai Malangmei and Tabonliu .

By the time he matured as a man, he could understand very well the repressive and suppressive measures unleashed by British colonial rulers against the people of both the hills and valley of Manipur .

He could also see very well the colonial policy aimed at obliterating and destroying culture, traditions and customs of Zeliangrong community by using the cloak of Christian missionaries .

Having understood all these malicious colonial policies, Jadonang started mobilising people and launched a liberation movement .

But it is a common trait of all colonial rulers to nip any liberation or resistance movement in the bud by using all available resources .

The British colonial rulers started searching for Jadonang on the charge that he was inciting people not to pay tax and he was mobilising weapons and men to wage a war of liberation against them .

The news of Jadonang’s anti-colonial movement soon spread to other communities and British rulers were afraid that a strong liberation movement would be launched against them under the leadership of Jadonang .

Driven by this fear, British rulers arrested Jadonang from Cachar on February 19, 1931.Jadonang, then only 26 years old, was hung to death on the bank Nambul River near the old jail on August 29, 1931 on many false and fabricated charges .

Even though the British or western colonial era has ended, Manipur has fallen into the hands of Indian imperialism .

Apart from enduring all the repressive measures unleashed by the Government of India, all the indigenous people are facing a grave situation where all their identities may be lost in oblivion, CorCom said .

It then called upon all the people to fight against the alien rule collectively .

All the indigenous communities can protect their identities and live with dignity only when Manipur is independent, it added.

Comment