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Union Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah laid the foundation stone for setting up of the Rani Gaidinliu Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum at Luangkao village in Manipur’s Tamenglong district.

Details

• The museum is to be constructed at a cost of Rs 15 crore sanctioned by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India.
• The museum would help preserve and exhibit artefacts related to the tribal freedom fighters, involved in different stages of the fight against the British colonial rule like the Anglo-Manipuri War, Kuki-Rebellion, Naga-Raj movements, among others.
• The proposed museum will be set up in Rani Gaidinliu’s birthplace, Luangkao Village in the Tamenglong district.

About Rani Gaidinliu

• Rani Gaidinliu was born on January 26, 1915, in Luangkao Village now in Manipur, belongs to the
  Rongmei tribe.
• She met Jadonang at the age of 13 and became his lieutenant in his social, religious, and political movement.
• Following Jadonang’s death, Gaidinliu assumed leadership of the movement.
• After the martyrdom of Jadonang, Gaidinliu launched a strong insurrection against the British, for which she was imprisoned by the British for 14 years until being freed in 1947.
• Recognizing her role in the fight against the British, she was referred to as “Rani “.

Heraka movement

• Jadonang, who was also a Rongmei, started the ‘Heraka movement’, based on ancestral Naga religion, and envisioned an independent Naga kingdom (or Naga-Raja).
• Heraka, which means “pure,” is a monotheistic religion whose adherents worshipped TingkaoRagwang.
• It was founded by Jadonang to oppose the entrance of Christian missionaries as well as the British government’s reforms.
• He observed the persecution by British officials, who forced tribals to work in difficult conditions
  and levied a large monthly revenue levy on every home.