Re-visiting the Battle of 1879

The first contact of the British with the Nagas can be contained down to January 18, 1832, when Captain Jenkins and Pemberton with a force of 800 soldiers and 700 coolies on an exploratory expedition crossed the Naga Hills through Popolongmai (Poilwa) village, a big Zeme Naga village. Then in 1839, Mr. Grange with a force of Assam Rifles reached Henima (Tening). But the opening of this new route only allowed the Nagas to bring down their vengeful foray on the defenseless villages in the North Cachar Hills and the plains of Assam. In the period between 1839 and 1850, the British Government sent ten military expeditions to the hills to stop these attacks, which, however, only led to a series of further hostile confrontations with the Nagas. After these unsuccessful military expeditions, the British Government intended a policy of non-interference and a complete withdrawal from the Hills. This policy continued for twelve years but the Nagas were only emboldened by the passive policy and raided the border villages at will. By March 1851, no fewer than 22 Naga raids were reported, in which 55 persons were killed, 10 wounded and 113 taken captives by the Nagas.
By then, the turbulent Angami Nagas were far most the most powerful and most warlike of the Naga tribes. The biggest Angami Naga villages were Kohima with 865 houses, Khonoma with 545 houses, Viswema with 530 houses and Jotsoma with 434 respectively. Khonoma and Mezoma villages with their long experiences in war were a constant thorn in Assam flesh because of their repeated raids on Cachar and Nowgong districts.
In November 1878, Mr. Damant the newly appointed Deputy Commissioner of the Naga Hills District moved the headquarters from Samaguting (Chumukedima) to Kohima. In January 1879, the powerful Mezoma village was heavily punished because of her hostile attitude towards the British Government. Mr. Damant was more disturbed by the news that Khonoma was procuring arms and ammunitions that he proposed to organize a punitive expedition against the village. On the 14th October 1879, he arrived at Khonoma but on reaching the village gate; breaking the silence of the day a single shot fired by the Nagas hit his head killing him on the spot. The Nagas then swooped down killing 35 and seriously wounding 19 of the 85 police and military escort. Jotsoma village joined in the attack and Tsiitonomia Khel of Kohima cut off their retreat. The Kohima garrison was shortly attacked by men of Khonoma, Tsutuonomia clan of Kohima and warriors of Viswema, Chedema, Secuma, Jakhama, Jotsoma, Phiphema and Tsiepama. The garrison survived a long siege from 21st to 27th October through outside reinforcement and then finally prepared for another assault on Khonoma. As early as 1825, Khonoma had built the strongest stone fort in the hills with the help of the Rajah of Manipur who provided soldiers to guard the fort till its completion. By 1879, Khonoma warriors had in their possession a cannon and about 100 guns.
The expedition on Khonoma was planned in November, 1879. Due to the army’s inability to transport the mountain guns to Khonoma, combined with General Nation’s strict instructions of Colonel Johnstone not to begin the assault before his arrival, the attack on Khonoma was delayed to the 22nd November 1879. In what would be known as “the severest of fighting in the strongest fort with some of the fiercest warriors in the hills,” Brigadier General Nation Commandeered a thousand men added to which were Colonel Johnstone’s 2000 men from Manipur, 30 men of his own escort of the 44th Native Infantry and a small body of Cachar Police. From Dibrugarh, Major Evans came with a party of the 43rd Assam Light Infantry and two mountain guns under Lieutenant Mansel. Another batch of troops arrived from Sibsagarh under Colonel Campell. Fifty elephants were sent from Dhaka to Kohima with hundreds of ponies. Thus, from this, one can understand the gravity of the battle. Not only a general but a number of other officers with more than 3500 soldiers were involved in the bloody fight against the Khonoma Nagas whose houses numbered only just a little of more than 500.
Though greatly outnumbered, the Nagas fought with their greatest determination to free their Motherland of the Whites. Thinking of a free tomorrow for their children, for their wives; for their own honor and prestige, they fought refusing to retreat; refusing to surrender. Fathers refusing to leave their sons and sons refusing to leave their fathers, they fought till sunset dropping into the ground one after the other. Perhaps, this was the first time in the history of the Khonoma Nagas, all the three khels uniting together in fighting against their common enemy. In the battle, two British officers, Major Cock, The DAAG and Lieutenant Forbes were killed. The Subedar Major of the Native Infantry was also killed, along with 44 men of other ranks and the number of Nagas at double the number of the British army. Colonel Johnstone, who participated in the war records in his book, Manipur and the Naga Hills that “25% of the native ranks had fallen.” Oral sources of Khonoma put the number of deaths in the British army at 500.
However, this hard earned victory went almost unnoticed by the British Government. Colonel Johnstone in his dairy wrote, “It was the misfortune of those in the Naga Hills expedition, that they were overshadowed, and their gallant deeds almost ignored by the Afghan War then in progress…the force engaged, hoped that the capture of Khonoma which was achieved at so great a loss, would have been at least recognized by some special decoration, but this hope was disappointed, apparently for no other reason, than the troops engaged fought in the east and not in the west of India.” Kaye, the historian also commented, “the countries to the east of the Bay of Bengal were the ‘graves of fame.’ A Bronze Star was the reward of a bloodless march from Kabul to Kandahar, but not even a clasp they spared to commemorate the capture of Khonoma, and those who never saw a shot fired, shared the medal awarded equally with those who fought and bled in the bloody fight.”
Greatly outnumbered, the Nagas retreated to their impregnable mountain fort, and the battle turned into a siege of the little tough little Naga village for four months. Towards the end of January 1879, seeking revenge, a party of fifty-five warriors of the unconquered Khonoma Nagas with only seven firearms marched down the bed of Barak River through Manipur territory. They surprised the Baladhan Tea garden in Cachar at night, killed the manager, Mr. Blythe, and sixteen coolies, plundered what they could and burnt everything in the place. They marched back unmolested by the same route. The distance being a full 80 miles, as the crow flies from Khonoma. Only a treaty on the 27th March 1880, between the representatives of the British Government and the elders of Khonoma concluded the conflict.
The prolonged war of resistance that the little known village of Khonoma in Nagaland offered to the military might of the imperialist West has earned its people an enviable position to all freedom loving people; the blood, sweat and tears of the people of Khonoma, the martyrdom of those who laid down their lives, their sacrifices and suffering continue to inspire our present and future generations with the spirit of patriotism and love for freedom. A hundred and thirty years have passed by, yet their visions we still hold fast to, their names still remembered and cherished, their patriotism sung and their acts of self-less courage will continue to inspire many generations to follow.