Haipou Jadonang: The man who envisaged an independent ‘Naga Raj’

Not too many people from outside the region would know about Haipou Jadonang, the Rongmei Naga leader from present-day Manipur who fought valiantly against the British Raj in pre-Independence India.

The spiritual leader and political activist envisaged an independent Naga kingdom or ‘Naga Raj’ that brought him in direct conflict with the then British rulers of India. He was eventually hanged on August 29 in 1931.

The genesis of Jadonang movement in historical record and oral history is traced back to 1920s, after the formation of Naga Club in 1918, the First World War (1914-18) and the Anglo Kuki War (1917-19).