Historical Account of British Legacy in the Naga Hills (1881- 1947) A thesis submitted to the Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune For the degree of Vidyawachaspati (Ph.D) Department of History Under Faculty of Social Sciences Researcher Joseph Longkumer Research Supervisor: Dr. Shraddha Kumbhojkar March, 2011 1 Certificate I certify that the work presented here by Mr. Joseph Longkumer represents his original work that was carried out by him at Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune under my guidance during the period 2007 to 2011. Work done by other scholars has been duly cited and acknowledged by him. I further certify that he has not submitted the same work to this or any other University for any research degree. Place: Signature of Research Supervisor 2 Declaration I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person nor material which has been accepted for the award of any degree or diploma of the University or other institute of higher learning, except where due acknowledgment has been made in the text. Signature Name Date 3 CONTENTS Page No. Acknowledgement CHAPTER – 1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………5 CHAPTER – II British Policy towards the Naga Hills with an Account of Tour in the Naga Hills………….54 CHAPTER – III State Of Affairs from 1910-1933…………………………………………………………...142 CHAPTER – IV Advent of Christianity and Modern Education……………………………………………..206 CHAPTER – V Nagas and the World War II………………………………………………………………...249 CHAPTER – VI Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………..300 Bibliography….....................................................................................................................308 Appendices..........................................................................................................................327 4 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION There is a saying among the Nagas that, at one point of time the Nagas wrote and maintained their history, written in some animal skin. However, unfortunately, a dog ate the record wherein history began to be preserved in the form of folklore and folksongs in precaution of being eaten by the dogs again. This story highlights the importance of oral sources for reconstructing any history. Some of the important notes and documents on the Nagas were also lost and damaged in 1879 insurrections (Battle of Khonoma). Damant who was the political agent at Kohima had Manipur Dictionary and a paper on the Angami Nagas, but this was destroyed in the Kohima stockade, during the fighting. The pioneer ethnologists tried their best to accumulate the information on Nagas but they have inadequate knowledge and information about Nagas, perhaps due to communication gap (interpreter) and no written history. There are different perspectives on the Nagas by outside and inside writers, but the works of pioneer authorities on the Nagas have been acknowledged and appreciated, regardless of their incomplete knowledge. As far as the history of colonisation of Nagaland is concerned, it begins with the forced contact of the Nagas with the British in the early eighteenth century. The British first came in to contact with the Nagas of Nagaland during the strategic 5 survey of road communication between Assam and Manipur.1 In January 1832, Captain Jenkins and Pamberton led 700 Manipur troops with 800 coolies from the Manipur valley via Popolongmei, Samoogudting and the Dhunsiri to Mohung Djiooa on the Jumoona River. They literally fought their way through the whole Kutcha and Angami Naga country. 2 The present research is concerned with the history of colonisation of Naga territory in the second half of the 19th century, which begins, with the establishment of the Naga Hill District or British district on March 27, 1881 to the transfer of Power in 1947. Reasons for Study: The aim of this study is to bring in to limelight the last period (1881-1947), which is also known as the period of Naga national awakening. The study hopes that besides throwing light on the early modern history of Nagaland, it will help scholars to investigate further into the details of the Legacy left behind by the British. The main aims and objectives of this research work are: i) To sensitize readers towards the history of Naga Nationalism. ii) To study the nature and methods of British imperial rule in colonial Nagaland. iii) To Study the political interactions between the Naga Representatives and the British Indian government. 1 Foreign Department political – March 1832, Records and Indices of the Nagaland State Archives, 2nd Edition (Published by Directorate of Arts and Culture, Government of Nagaland 1991), Sl. No. 70. 2 Alexander Mackenzie, The Northeast Frontier of India, Reprinted in India by (Mittal Publications, New Delhi, 1979), 69. 6 iv) To study British administrative policies & judicial procedures implemented during the period under study v) To study the roots of Naga Nationalism & Nagas’ right to self-determination. vi) To study the socio-religious and economic impact of British colonialism. Methodology and Sources: The present study has made use of extensive primary and secondary sources. The historical method of data collection, analysis and research formulation with special emphasis on internal and external criticism and evaluation of data has been employed for the present research. As varied techniques of data collection and analysis were used, no single method of research has been adhered to. Synthetic method of combining various sources and techniques has been used for the present study. The sources used for the study come from a varied range. The study primarily draws upon archival sources. The Tour Diaries and British Indian Government Records are available in the Archive of Kohima State Museum maintained by the Nagaland Department of Art and Culture. Some Private papers of British Officials have also been used from the collections of the Kohima Museum Archive Section. Old Records regarding the coming of the Missionaries available in the Clerk Memorial Higher Secondary School at Impur and Mopungchuket village library and museum under Mokokchung District were of immense help. Rare copies of following sources published in the nineteenth and early twentieth century are used. 7 1) R. G. Woodthrope; The Naga Hills Expedition, London, 1877. 2) W.W. Hunter; Statistical Account of Assam, Vols II, London 1879. 3) G.M. Godden; Nagas and other Frontier Tribes of North East India; Published by Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute XXVI 1896. 4) Mrs. P. H Moore; Twenty years in Assam; Published by Western book Depot Assam 1901. 5) W.H. Furnes; The Ethnology of the Nagas of East Assam; Published by Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute XXXII 1902. 6) M. M. Clark; A Corner in India, Philadelphia, 1907. 7) T.C. Hudson; The Naga Tribes of Manipur; Published by B.R. Publishing Cooperation Delhi 1911 8) Augus Hamilton; In Abor Jungles: Being an account of the Abor expedition, the Mishmi and Miri Mission, London 1912. 9) J. H. Hutton; The Sema Nagas; Published by Macmillan and Co Limited, London 1921. 10) J. H. Hutton; The Angami Nagas; Published by Macmillan and Co Limited, London 1921. 11) J.P. Mills; The Lotha Nagas; Published by Macmillan and Co Limited 1922. 12) J.P. Mills; The Ao Nagas; Published by Macmillan and Co Limited 1922. 13) J.P. Mills; The Rengam Nagas; Published by Macmillan and Co Limited 1937. 14) William Carlson Smith; The Ao Naga Tribe of Assam; Macmillan and Co. Limited, London 1925. 15) A.C. Bower; Under Head-hunter’s Eyes; Published by Judson Press, Philadelphia 1929. 8 These books available in the State Library of Nagaland and library of Directorate of Information and Public Relation Kohima Nagaland have immensely contributed in bringing about a comprehensive view towards this research work. The researcher has also visited historical places relevant with his work. This field study contributed towards adding weightage to the authenticity of bringing out the truth for this present research work. Field visits undertaken by the researcher are as follows: 1. Field study to Molungyimsen village in the year 2008 where the First Christian missionaries came to the Ao region, which later on spread to other region in the Naga Hills. Also visited Impur Mission School, this mission school was later named as Clerk Memorial High School and Mopungchuket village library and museum. 2. Field study to Kohima Second World War cemetery in 2008. 3. Visited Kezakhonoma village in the year February 09, where a legend is belief that the whole Naga tribes originated from there. 4. Visited Khonoma village in the year 2009, the most powerful village in the Naga Hills that resisted the British rule. 5. Visited Kohima State museum and Kohima State Archive maintained by Directorate of Art and Culture Kohima Nagaland State Government for data collection in 2009. 6. Went to Assam State Archive and Shillong State Archive in 2009. 7. Went for field trip to Dimapur, Wokha, Phek, Mon, Mokokchung, Dimapur, Arunachal Pradesh, Calcutta, Delhi that are relevant with the research work. 9 Rare records of Audio-visual documentaries made by the Directorate of Art and Culture Kohima Nagaland State Government were used in working out the fifth chapter. Personal interviews with the village elders of the Khonoma village regarding the battle of Khonoma (1879), published folklores in Ao language from the village library of Mopungchuket and various literary legendary stories about the