Rani Ma Gaidinliu Statue to be Set up at Assam University

Special Correspondent

Silchar: As proposed and planned by National Freedom Fighter Haipou Jadonang and Rani Ma Gaidinliu Commemoration Committee in coordination with Assam University, a grand statue of Rani Gaidinliu would be set up at the campus of Assam University here. In order to make it a reality as dreamt of by the people of Rongmei tribe and the freedom fighters in general, Bhoomi pujan or land worshipping ceremony was held in the AU campus on Friday. At this solemn function were present Dilip Chandra Nath, Vice-Chancellor, Sanjib Bhattacharjee, Registrar, Pou K. Lungthaurei, chief coordinator, Gaulim Kamaei among others.

The installation of the statue is supported by Research Scholars Forum and Zeliangrong Students’ Union. It would cost Rs 15 lakh to be provided by organizers. The 15 ft high fiber made memorial statue would be prepared by the Department of Fine Arts of the University.

It would be ready within a year and inaugurated on January 21, 2020.

Gaulim Kamei giving a brief introduction said Rani Gaidinliu was a Naga spiritual and political leader who led a revolt against British rule in India. At the age of 13, she joined the Hereka religious movement of her cousin Haipou Jadonang. The movement later turned into a political movement seeking to drive out the British from Manipur and the surrounding Naga areas. Within the Heraka faith, she came to be considered as an incarnation of the Goddess Cherachamdinliu.

Gaidinliu was arrested in 1932 at the age of 16 and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the British rulers. Jawaharlal Nehru met her at shilling jail in 1937 and promised to pursue her release. It was Nehru who adorned her with the title of Rani Ma Gaidinliu and she became popular as

Rani Gaidinliu. She was released in 1947 after India’s independence and continued to work for the uplift of her people. An advocate of the ancestral Naga religious practices, she staunchly resisted the conversion of Nagas to Christianity. She was honored as a freedom fighter and was awarded a Padma Bhushan by the government of India.

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