Many of you have heard about the 300 brave Spartans, who under the leadership of King Leonidas fought bravely in the battlefield against thousands of Persians. But have you heard about the brave 300 Manipur army led by Paona Brajabashi who fought bravely in the battlefield against the British in 1891?

Historians describe this Anglo-Manipur Battle of Khongjom as one of the fiercest battles in the annals of Indian history. This was the last War of Independence of Manipur against the British.

There is another valorous instance from Indian History - of the 300 Maratha army led by Bajiprabhu Deshpande who fought bravely in the battlefield against a 12000 Adilshahi army led by Siddi Masood in 1660.

Indian History is full of such heroic exploits. The only pity is that we, as the citizens of the country, hardly know about our brave warriors who gave stiff resistance to Muslim rule and British supremacy. These brave warriors from east to the west, north to the south, hardly find a place in History textbooks.

When all of the 299 Manipuri soldiers were martyred in the battle of Khongjom in 1891, Paona Brajabashi singularly fought until he was caught by the British. Tribal weaponry used by the Manipuri warriors were no match to the advanced artillery used by the British. Paona Brajabashi was so skilled in the art of warfare that the British commander admired him. Here is a conversation between the British commander and Paona Brajabashi in the battlefield after he was caught.

British commander: We shall reward you with a big post if you join the British Army. And if you refuse, you will be executed.

Paona Brajabashi: Death is more welcome than treason.

Saying this, the brave Manipuri warrior took off his protective cloth wrapped as headgear and offered his head. “I refuse your offer. Behead me,” he said.

This is the saga of our brave freedom fighters, who fought until their last breath and embraced death rather than accept British supremacy. This is the historical chronicle that will inspire generations and will continue to inspire the sons and daughters of Bharat Mata till eternity.

The establishment of European colonizers is the start of India’s Modern History. The period from the 15th century to the 20^th century of Indian history is full of heroic resistance put up by the native Indians to stop the advancement of these European powers.   

These Europeans especially the East Indian Company of the British Empire initially presented themselves as traders and merchants to hide their evil motives of subjugating the vast wealth and resources of India. The British stealthily started their expansion in India with the primary aim of capturing the rich and fertile region of Bengal.

The major event which marked the rule of EIC in India was the battle of Buxar (in 1765 CE). It was after this battle the British were given the administrative and financial rights to control Bengal. Swiftly after it, the British started to exploit the peasants through their draconian laws and tax policies.

Kingdom after kingdom joined the suzerainty of this alien rule and those who refused were slaughtered in cold blood. While the expansion of the British Raj in India is well known but one fact that is missing or erased is the anecdotes of those heroes of this country who refused to surrender in front of the British Raj and put up a valiant resistance to protect their motherland.

When we talk about the personalities who led an armed insurrection against the British the first incident that strikes our mind is the sepoy mutiny of 1857. Some revolutionaries also put up gallant resistance against the British Raj but these names are very few and we are stuck in an unending cycle of finding the names of those who lay down their lives to free their country from alien rule.

As a citizen of this county whether from North, South, East of West we all are familiar with the names of Lakshmi Bai, Bhagat Singh, Netaji, Chandrashekhar Azad, etc who fought against the British Raj for the freedom of this country.

But what about Northeast India? Was there any freedom fighter? Or should we say that just like we had ignored our northeastern states and their people whether from our country’s map or from our society we had ignored those freedom fighters too who hailed from the northeast?

The names of Rani Gaidinliu, U Tirot Sing, and many more had been completely wiped out from textbooks. In this article, we will cover the story of the Manipur General and his army of 300 men who declare war against the British in 1891.

Khongjom, the place where the last Anglo-Manipuri war took place is located on the Indo-Myanmar road in the district of Thoubal, 36 km from Imphal. At the foot of this hill, Paona Brajabashi and the brave Manipuri warriors fought against the British until their martyrdom. A War Memorial has been built on the top of Kheba hill in Khongjom. 23rd April is celebrated as Khongjom day in Manipur every year in memory of the martyrs.

From ancient times the land of Manipur is the home of the Meitei people. It is believed that from the 1^st century BCE these people are living on these terrains having the ethnicity of East Asian and Indo-European.

Note: Manipuri text Cheitharol Kumbaba speaks of the 9 different clans of the Meitei, which later merged into 7.

King Loiyumba is the founder of the Meitei kingdom who is believed to have founded it around the 12th century CE. Furthermore, in the 15th century, these Meitei tribes came in contact with the Burma tribes and this led to marriage alliances between the two.

In the year 1714, the King of Manipur Meidingu Pamheiba adopted Hinduism and even declared it as the state religion and changed his own name to Gharib Nawaz.

Note: 1724 – The Sanskrit name “Manipur” (abode of jewels) was adopted as the name of the state.

At this time the relationship between the Burmese Empire and the Meitei became bitter and several conflicts took place between them. After the death of Gharib Nawaz, the Konbaug Burmese Empire invaded Manipur.

Due to this Meitei king Jai Singh (ChingThang Khomba) decided to take help from the East India Company to drive back the invaders. A treaty was signed between EIC and the Manipur king to drive the Burmese away.

Note: EIC troops later withdrew, leaving Manipur to defend itself on its own.

These incursions from the Burmese continued later in the 19^th century and in the year 1824 Gambhir Singh (Chinglen Nongdrenkhomba) again asked EIC for help against the Burmese. This led to the Anglo-Burmese War from 1824-1826 which ended in the Treaty of Yadambo and the establishment of Manipur as an independent state.

Colonial Era

Gambhir Singh signed the subsidiary alliance and accepted British suzerainty. Due to this EIC established its foothold in Manipur politics. But after the death of King Gambhir, there was political chaos in the Manipur Kingdom and for more than 50 years, this political struggle continued.

The British were closely observing these incidents and in 1835 they established British residency in Imphal to facilitate communication between the British and the rulers of Manipur. The influence of the British became out of control and due to this, a leader emerged in Manipur politics to stop the influence of the British. His name was Senapati Tikendrajit.

The British looked towards Tikendrajit as a threat to their plan and they took every step to stop him. With the death of Maharajah Chandrakirti in 1886, there was a struggle for the throne of Manipur.  He was succeeded by Maharaja Surchandra, though there were eight princes including step brothers as contenders to the throne.

Not much information is available about Paona Brajabashi, except his role in the 1891 Battle of Khongjom. He was the Major general of the Manipur army.

Due to internal conflicts between the princes of Manipur, the British grabbed an opportunity to cleverly interfere in the internal affairs in the name of ‘friendship relations’ and gradually established their supremacy by recruiting political agents in every region. The Manipuris revolted which resulted in the Anglo-Manipuri war in 1891. It started on the 31st of March and ended on the 27th of April.

Surchandra’s ineffectiveness in governance led to political instability in Manipur and the eight princes were divided into two groups. Each prince wished to be the king.

Maharaja Surchandra was a weak and ineffective ruler who sided with the British. Due to this Crown prince Kulachandra and his younger brothers, backed by the support of Tikendrajit, the Senapati revolted against Maharajah Surchandra on September 21st, 1890.  Maharajah Surchandra lodged a complaint to Lord Landsdown, the then Viceroy of India, against his stepbrothers. He also complained against Senapati Tikendrajit.

Landsdown sent Mr. JW Quinton, the Chief Commissioner of Assam with 400 soldiers under Colonel Skene to capture Tikendrajit. They reached Imphal on 22nd March 1891. They attacked Kangla, the palace of Manipur the next day. Many innocent civilians including women and children were killed in this attack by the British. The Manipuris retaliated, killing five British officers including Mr. JW Quinton, the Chief Commissioner of Assam, and wounded many.

On 31st March 1891, the British declared war against Manipur. They sent three huge forces of their army from three different directions. British troops that entered from the North were commandeered by Major General H. Collet, the west by Colonel RHF Rennick, and the south by Brigadier General T. Graham.

The west front took possession of Kangla on 27th April 1891 despite resistance from the Manipuri warriors, and so did the North. It was the south front led by Brigadier General T. Graham that witnessed the stiffest of resistance. And the battle in this southern part of Manipur was fought at Khongjom. One of the Manipur army units fighting against this front was led by Paona Brajabashi.

Before the declaration of war by the British, Paona Brajabashi was posted as a Subedar in the Manipur army. The Maharajah promoted him and Chongtha Mia Singh to the post of majors. Following the orders of the Maharajah, Paona Brajabashi and Chongtha Mia proceeded to Pallel through Burma road with 300 soldiers. They reached Thoubal and made their camp on the Western Side of the Khongjom River. They took the position in the trenches on 22nd April.

The enemy’s shell can land in our camp whereas ours cannot in theirs. My fellow countrymen! It is a disgrace to die fleeing. Death is now certain for us. But we will never retreat ~ Paona Brajabashi

The south British front had occupied Pallel, Kakching, and Langathel then and they camped at Langathel hill. Early morning on 23rd April, the British under Brigadier General T Graham fired guns from the top of the hill camp towards the Manipuri camps.

This was followed by the marching of the British army towards the base of the hill of Khongjom where the Manipuri forces under Paona Brajabashi and Chongtha Mia waited to attack. A fierce fight ensued between the two parties. The Manipuri warriors gave a stiff resistance until all of the Manipuri soldiers except Paona Brajabashi were martyred.

Though heavily wounded, Paona continued to fight unabatedly and with renewed zest. His enthusiasm in the battlefield drew admiration from the British forces.

At last the British were able to capture him. It was then that the conversation (mentioned at the beginning) took place between Brigadier General T. Graham and Paona Brajabashi.

As the brave Manipuri warrior refused the offer, he was beheaded in the battlefield.

Manipur fell into British hands on the 27th of April. The British pulled down the native royal flag and hoisted the British Union's Jack Flag. They appointed Churachand, a five-year-old as the King of Manipur and started direct rule.

H.St Maxwll, the Political Agent, was appointed as the Superintendent of Manipur.  On 13th August, the British hung Senapati Tikendrajit, the prince of Manipur, and General Thangal to death in broad daylight.

Salute to Paona Brajabashi and the brave Manipuri warriors.

Jai Hind!

References:

Saffron Swords: Centuries of Indic Resistance to Invaders - Manoshi Sinha Rawal, Yogaditya Singh Rawal