A Saga of the Valorous Wanchos

Mady Menon

INDI A

SINGAPORE

M A L AY S I A

Notion Press No.8, 3rd Cross Street, CIT Colony, Mylapore, Chennai, Tamil Nadu – 600004 First Published by Notion Press 2020 Copyright © Parappil Madhavan 2020 All Rights Reserved. ISBN 978-1-64919-931-7 This book has been published with all efforts taken to make the material error-free after the consent of the author. However, the author and the publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. While every effort has been made to avoid any mistake or omission, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that neither the author nor the publishers or printers would be liable in any manner to any person by reason of any mistake or omission in this publication or for any action taken or omitted to be taken or advice rendered or accepted on the basis of this work. For any defect in printing or binding the publishers will be liable only to replace the defective copy by another copy of this work then available. Cover Design: Rashi Raizada

Dedicated To The Erstwhile Headhunters, The Wanchos The Wanchos are a proud Naga tribe residing in the Southern most Longding District of Arunachal Pradesh. The district nestles in the environs of the Patkai Mountains in one of the most difficult mountainous terrains of India. It was kept isolated completely till India achieved its Independence, but it shot to prominence and modernity in a very short time. This they did without succumbing to pressures to join the Naga Insurgency. This is their story. To tell this story the author has turned to fictitious inhabitants of a large and important village of Ninu. All characters are fictitious and bear no resemblance to any person, alive or dead. Historical figures in the book are used to add realism. No attempt has been made to denigrate anybody.

Map of assam

Contents

Gratitude7 Foreword9 Pre-publication Comments 12 1. Senua15 2. 201727 3. Early History of Assam 45 4. The Rise of the Ahoms  55 5. Golden Era of Assam  72 6. Downfall of the Ahom Kingdom 85 7. Family Tree (Fictitious)  101 8. The Early Days 102 9. Boarding School Beckons 119 10. Middle School Begins 138 11. The Middle Years 153 12. Final Years at Goalpara 173 13. Transition to Adulthood 183 199 14. The Naga Attack on Kunsa 15. Circle Officer at Nampong 210 16. Tenure Amongst the Noctes 225 5

Contents

17. A Wancho Wedding 18. Increased Responsibility 19. The Children Spread Their Wings 20. Higher Learning 21. An Indian Holiday  22. Revenge of the Head Hunters

235 252 269 283 293 305

Epilogue323 Vocabulary325 About the author 349

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Gratitude

I am grateful to my friends who vetted my book and provided valuable advice:Lt Gen C Anantha Krishnan, GI Balakrishnan, NP Muralidharan, Rajiv and Ramesh Vasudevan, Sandeep Kumar, KG Nair and Maj Gen Krishna Menon. I am particularly grateful to Mr. R S Mooshahary, Hon’ble Ex-Governor of Meghalaya who belongs to Assam and knows the North East India intimately. His encouragement was priceless! I am extremely indebted to His Excellency Brig (Dr) BD Mishra(Retd), Honorable Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, for penning a lovely Foreword for this book. A big thank you to my family, only with whose support has this book seen the light of the day My gratitude to Notion Press for publishing this book.

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Gratitude

My gratitude to the following publications, writers and search engines whose material has been vital in maintaining accuracy while writing my story:Gazetteers of Arunachal Pradesh and its Districts A History of Assam by Sir Edward Albert Gait. Encyclopedia of the NorthEast India by Col Ved Prakash The Wanchos by Parul Datta Indias NorthEast Frontier in the Nineteenth Century Edited by Verrier Elwin Myths of the NorthEast of India by Verrier Elwin Wikipedia

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Foreword

His Excellency Brig (Dr) BD Mishra(Retd), Honorable Governor of Arunachal Pradesh It gives me immense pleasure to write these lines of FOREWORD for “Ninu- A Saga of the Valorous Wanchos” the book written by Colonel P. Madhavan (Retd.), aka Mady Menon. This unique book covers the History, Geography, Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, Politics and Defence aspects of North Eastern India in general and Arunachal Pradesh in particular. The story of the imaginary Wanchos family of Ninu village, cast in the book, is set out in the present day Longding District of Arunachal Pradesh. It is a role model description of tribal martial traits and traditional tribe centric vitriolic proclivity. The combat prowess of the Wanchos and their bold temperamental sensitivity is extremely well recorded here. Wanchos revolted against the British Rule in India in the year 1875. This happened when a British Survey Party of 80 men, with their conceited Commander Lt. Holcombe occasioned a perceived insult to Wanchos dead Chief. The whole Survey party fell prey to the spears and short swords of Wancho villagers of Ninu. This killing 9

Foreword

of the Britishers severely vexed the British rulers who forced total isolation on the Wanchos till the Colonial Rule lasted in India. After the Independence of India, it took many long years for the Wanchos of Longding to integrate with the National mainstream. While the central theme of this book revolves around the Wanchos, the author has well covered the history of the Danavas, the Bodos, the Baro Bhuyans, the Chutiyas, the Dimasas and of course the Ahoms Kings who ruled the Region for 600 years, and the short interlude of the Burmese rule over Assam. The write up herein, includes interesting descriptions of Jhum cultivation, Bamboo flowering, Assam Rifles, Burmese Army, the thorny insurgency menace, the Indian Frontier Administrative Service and the sagacious liberation of Tawang from the high handed Tibetan feudals and its integration with the people of India by Major Bob Khathing in 1951 on the orders of the then towering Governor of Assam Late Jairam Das Daulat Ram. “Ninu a Saga of the Valorous Wanchos” is an extremely well researched Book, and evinces the exceptional knowledge, empathy and ratiocination of the writer about the people and the domain of the remote North Eastern part of our country. I am sure this Book, as a source of information and reference, will make a good reading for the Students of Anthropology, Researchers of India’s North Eastern land, 10

Foreword

Teachers and Students of History, Members of Armed Forces, Politicians and the Administrators alike. I compliment Colonel P. Madhavan (Retd.) for writing this interesting Book. I am sure the Book will find a wide readership. Brig. (Dr.) B.D. Mishra (Retd.)

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Pre-publishing Comments

His Excellency Mr RS Mooshahary IPS, Honorable Governor of Meghalaya (2008-13) and erstwhile DGP, NSG and BSF and CIC Assam ……..it’s an absorbing narrative; the bits and pieces of everyday life, of faith and practices of a primitive tribe living in the remote frontier of north eastern India, with whom the author could establish personal rapport while working in their midst, are presented here convincingly. It is obvious that the author is quite familiar with the topography of Arunachal Pradesh, parts of Assam and Nagaland hemming about these areas. ..... .....despite some inaccuracies in factual details and interpretations, the story-line presents a bird’s-eye view of the region and provides an insight in to the dynamics of a tribe’s life and its dilemmas of traditional and transactional values. Mady has portrayed these trending issues well in the book. The author has mentioned Sir Edward Gait›s book: The History of Assam with some skepticism, I must clarify that it is a seminal tome on the subject and it 12

Pre-publishing Comments

enjoys a great reputation; it is a reference material for the historians of NE. Gait›s first appointment as ICS officer was SDO, Mangaldoi in central Assam more than a hundred years ago. That position offered him rare opportunities for research and fact-checking from archives and consultations with the people connected with historical events of the state. He could edit and revise his book much later after retirement and correct factual discrepancies. It is a matter of concern that there are, in circulation, some duplicate copies of this book in the market with tendentious interpolations, one needs to be wary of it. While I was the Governor Meghalaya, luckily, I could find an original copy of this book, it is preserved safely in the library there. Mady deals with the Ahom history at some length. They ruled Assam for 600 years; even after independence they have ruled and are likely to continue to rule. Keshab Gogoi, Hiteswar Saikia, Tarun Gogoi who were Chief Ministers were Ahoms. They are however not the autochthons. Before they came there were many tribes of which the Kacharis were predominant aboriginals of the region. The Kachari word for river/water is di/dwi, so you have BuriDihing, Dibang, Disang, Dimapur, Dikrong, PaglaDia, Teesta, KaraTaya. SaDiya is a Kachari word. The mighty Luhit (Brahmaputra) river there flows with such rapidity and force that it is called soso dwiya which became Sadiya. The Ahoms word for river/water is Nam, we have very few rivers/places associated with it like Namrup, Namdang, Namsung, etc. This shows 13

Pre-publishing Comments

that the rule by the Kacharis predates the Ahom rule by several centuries, and at that time the Kamrupa kingdom stretched from Patkai in the east and to the west right up to Siliguri. ...Mady do publish the book .... it will be a nice addition to the library on the north east....... Lt Gen CA Krishnan, Ex Corps Cdr Upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh An outstanding work. Anyone who follows North East India, and Nagas and the people of Arunachal in particular, are going to love it. The real life characters created by you makes it absolutely captivating. It is a best seller, Mady. The book will be of immense use for Army Units and the Civilian Administration Staff posted in the North East. It is invaluable for school students and students of History. Your book is a first in its genre. Congratulations.

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SENUA

“T

hump, thump, thump…” began the soulful drum beats from Senua. Senua, in the Tirap Frontier Tract, was a Wancho tribal Village. Senua had lookouts posted at the far end of the ridge. They had seen a party of armed plainsmen starting their climb along the beaten path towards the Village. Two smaller parties had also begun to climb cross country. They moved towards the ridgeline to the East and West of the Village. This is what created the alarm. Their aim seemed to be to cut the Village off from the East and the West. The Wangham’s (Chiefs) Morung had immediately apprised the Chief of the danger noticed by the lookouts. The Chief asked the Morung leader to inform everyone. The Morung Chief quickly sent a messenger each to the twenty other Morungs. They carried the message of the lookouts. The Chief had ordered the beating of the Khams to spread the news. The beats began from the Kham or Drum out-side the Chief ’s Morung. A Morung is a bachelors’ dormitory. It was just after midnight. The beats soon reverberated through the Patkai Hills. The Wancho drums, called ‘Kham’, are 12 to 30 feet long and three feet across, made 15

Price 350