Governor pays homage to Dimasa hero Phonglo

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, March 16: Assam Governor PB Acharya has paid tribute to great Dimasa freedom fighter Sambhudhan Phonglo on his 167th birth anniversary today.

In a message, the Governor said that Sambhudhan Phonglo was not happy with the divide-and-rule policy of the British, which weakened the tive people. He deliberated over the matter and soon decided to rebel.

Born in a small village of Longkhor at Maibang in the Dima Hasao district in 1850, Sambhudhan’s father was Deprondao Phonglo and mother was Khasaidi. The exact date of his birth is not known but it is believed that, he was born at dawn on the Falgun Purnima of Indian calendar.

He organized his own army through extensive travelling in the hills and jungle terrains. He was an expert in guerrilla warfare and was widely revered among the Dimasas and other tribes alike. The British headquarters in Gunjung was completely destroyed by him and he was known to be so strong that he slaughtered two horses of the British at one go. Consequently the news of his growing threat became a headache for the British Empire.

Phonglo was eventually hunted down by the British in the deep jungle. He was subsequently killed as a result of a wound inflicted upon him by a ‘khokri’ (a kind of sharp sword used by the Nepali people) thrown by a Nepali army man and died subsequently.