Analysis Of Yojana Magazine(August 2022): Freedom Songs From North-East

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Yojana Magazine is a very important and indispensable source for UPSC Civil Services Exam Preparation. Here, we come with ”Analysis Of Yojana Magazine” which covers the monthly Yojana Magazine keeping in mind the demand of UPSC, particularly from the topics of important government schemes.

In ‘‘Analysis Of Yojana Magazine,” we cover each and every topic of the Yojana edition of a particular month and provide an easy-to-understand gist.

This topic-wise analysis is prepared from the August 2022 edition of the monthly Yojana Magazine.

Freedom Songs From North-East: Introduction

Many warriors were born in this region and they laid down their lives for their motherland.
Heroes like Bir Tikendrajit Singh, Rani Gaindinliu, Haipou Jadunang, U Tirot Singh, etc., immediately come to mind.
The freedom movement for the Northeastern regions of India began when the British started occupying the area after the first Anglo-Burmese War in 1826.
The Burmese had invaded Assam and Manipur thrice, in 1817, 1819 and 1821, and occupied both of which were then independent countries.
The British, who had entered Assam with a promise of going back after expelling the Burmese, however, stayed on after discovering tea and petroleum.

Freedom Songs From North-East: Some Freedom Fighters from North-East

Veer Sambudhan Phonglo

Hailing from Assam, he inspired many youths of his community and formed anarmy of his own to wage war against the British. His is a story of how ethnic communities like the Dimasa Kacharisplayed a vital role in the independence movement.

Jaya Thaosen

He was another valorous freedom fighter from the Kachari community. The Kachari region was once the seat of the Cachar kingdom, a flourishing ‘rajvansh’ before the British destroyed it. Jaya had grown-up listening to the stories of the glorious past of her region. When she heard about the Indian National Army and its Rani Jhansi regiment, she could not wait to join the army. In 1944, Jaya formed an organisation of young patriots including Arjun Langthasa and Jowte Dao Kemprai. However, they encountered the British force at the Khiren Khowai Range (near Kohima). This encounter soon turned into a battle ground in which Jaya Thaosen and her compatriots fought valiantly and injured many of the Britishers. But Jaya Thaosen was martyred.

Rani Gaidinliu

The Ruzazho village of Nagaland was the first village administered by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in 1944. Netaji come to the village and established the Azad Hind Government with the active support of the Naga people. He appointed several Gaon Bura Dobashi and area administrator Gaindinliu, famously known as Rani Gaidinliu, joined the struggle against the British at the young age of 13. 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. She passed away on February 17, 1993 at her native village.

Maharaja Kulchandra Singh, Tikendrajit and General Thangal

The people of Manipur resisted the British as well. In 1891, Maharaja Kulchandra Singh refused to accept any form of British authority. This led to war. Singhs’s army was led by Tikendrajit and General Thangal. They drove the British out and the latter could never establish direct control over Manipur.

Tirot Sing

He is a celebrated freedom fighter of the Khasi Hills. The Tirot Sing Cave is an important memorial of this vivid, brutal, and often-ignored chapter of sub-continental history. An early 19th-century chief, Tirot Sing belonged to the faction of Khasi leaders who did not support the growing influence of the British in these eastern frontiers. The Anglo-Khasi war was fought and Tirot and his band of faithful followers used guerilla tactics to evade and strike the militarily superior colonial forces – a battle between guns on one side, and swords and arrows on the other. Patriots like Moje Riba,Matmur Jamoh, Lomlo Darang and Bapok Jerangare venerated to this day.

Kanaklata Barua

Kanaklata Barua was the youngest freedom fighter from Assam. Inspired by Gandhi’s Quit India Movement, the 17-year-old joined the struggle. A rebellious young Assamese girl, Kanaklata Barua, embraced death at the peak of the Quit India Movement in 1942.

Freedom Songs From North-East: Folk Songs and Freedom Movement

The spoken word- oral literature- was the only mode of transmitting social messages due to the low literacy rate across the North Eastern region. Most of the communities did not even have a script.
Folk songs of various genres spread the news far and wide, and freedom-loving and patriotic people began singing about their heroic deeds and sacrifice.
So many songs and poems were lost in time due to non-documentation when people who had composed and sung them were alive.

Freedom Songs From North-East: Various Types of North-Eastern Freedom Songs

People sang folk songs and ballads about the sacrifices of great freedom fighters such as Gomdhar Komar, leader of the first resistance movement in Assam (1828), Maniram Dewan, hero of the 1857 War of Independence and many more. These songs were inseparable from the freedom movement which grew intense with every passing year.
‘Phulaguri Dhewa’ in 1861 (dhewa in local parlance is a battle or war)—India’s first peasants’ uprising against the British rule in Assam inspired local villagers to compose oral songs. These songs described the protest which culminated in the death of several peasants in a police firing even as several others were transported to the Andamans.
A 132-line ballad called Doli Purana on the ‘Patharughat massacre’ of 1894 was sung during the subsequent phases of the freedom movement. It is considered an important ballad of Assam even today.

Freedom Songs From North-East: A rise in Literary Activities

The twentieth century saw an upsurge in literary activities related to the freedom movement in Assam.
Ambikagiri Raichoudhury (Assam Kesari) composed many songs and added momentum to the freedom movement.
Jyoti Prasad Agarwala (1903-1951) was a poet, lyricist, singer, musician, playwright and said to be the father of modern Assamese culture. He was a leader of the freedom movement who also held charge of the Congress volunteer force during the Quit India Movement.
Many of his poems related to the freedom movement were set in the rhythm of a typical military band so that young people could actually march in a disciplined manner.
In Manipur, the most important popular piece of literary work that continues to instil a sense of patriotism among the people is ‘Khongjom Parva’, a traditional ballad originally composed (orally) by Leinou written about the 1891 Anglo-Manipur war.