The Rebellion
- After the First Anglo Burmese War(1824-26), the British planned the construction of a road connecting Brahmaputra Valley (present day Assam) with Sylhet (present day Bangladesh).
- The Jaintias and the Garos in the North-Eastern part of India (present day Meghalaya), opposed the construction of this road which was of strategic importance to the British for the movement of troops.
- In 1827, the Jaintias tried to stop work and soon the unrest spread to the neighbouring Garo hills.
- Alarmed, the British burnt several Jaintias and Garo villages. The hostilities increased with the introduction of House Tax and Income Tax by the British in 1860’s.
- However, the Jaintias leader U Kiang Nongbah was captured and publicly hanged and the Garo leader Pa Togan Sangma was defeated by the British.
In news
- The Government of India has honored U Kiang Nangbah not just by declaring a holiday on the day that he was martyred, but also by opening a government college in the town of Jowai in his honor in 1967.
- Also, a postage stamp was also issued in his name in 2001.
