A Leader is Born

Meanwhile, Togan Sangma was closely monitoring the chain of events that were taking place in the region, all the while thinking of a way to safeguard the Garo villages. He was already aware of the gradual intrusions made by the Christian missionaries into the Garo Hills and the increasing popularity of their “charitable activities” among the Garos. He considered it to be detrimental to the indigenous religious beliefs and value systems of the natives who were looked down upon with contempt by the Christian missions as “uncivilised heathens” and “non-believers”. Sangma soon realised the threat posed by the collusion of the Christian missionaries with the colonial state, and thus took it upon himself to protect his people, their lands, culture and identity.

After the first Anglo-Burmese war (1824-1826), the British Government decided to occupy the Brahmaputra with the purpose of connecting the two valleys of the Brahmaputra and the Surma by an all-weather road through the Hima Nongkhlaw territory of the Khasis. This decision of the Government was opposed by both the Garos and the Jaintias alike. The permission was initially granted by U Tirot Sing, the Syiem of Nongkhlaw. But, very soon, the arbitrary actions of the British soldiers at Nongkhlaw made the Syiem realise that the British were there to stay, which provoked the Anglo-Khasi war of 1829-1833. The construction of this road to link the two important British headquarters – Kamrup (currently Guwahati) with Sylhet (present-day Bangladesh) – was of strategic importance for the British for ensuring the speedy and safe movement of their troops. In fact, the turmoil first began in the Jaintia Hills in the year 1827 and soon spread to the neighbouring Garo Hills. When the Garos, along with the Jaintias, went forth to stop the construction work, the British became alarmed and in an act of revenge, burnt down several Garo and Jaintia villages.

Togan Sangma led the young and able-bodied Garo warriors from the front, whereas the Jaintias were led by their charismatic leader U. Kiang Nangbah, who was later captured and publicly hanged. The hostilities further increased when the British introduced house tax and income tax sometimes in the middle of the 1860s.

In order to take advantage of the brewing political unrest, a decision was taken in the year 1866 to depute Lt. W.J. Williamson as Assistant Commissioner to the hills. Even though the action succeeded in bringing one half of the district under British control, some of the interior villages in the Garo Hills continued to remain entirely independent. Hence, in 1872, the British Government was finally compelled to take the extreme measure of occupying the entire Garo Hills. The preparations were already underway. A few contingents of the British troops left Tura and entered the present-day area of the East Garo Hills with the aim of completing the conquest of the entire Garo Hills region. Three expeditions from the south, east and west were conducted towards the end of the year 1872 to wrest control of the land from the Garos. It was during this time that Captain Dally reached Chisobibra well ahead of time and took personal stock of the situation that was beginning to unfold here.

The Khasis had been subjugated a little earlier. The uprising by the Jaintias (1862-1863) under the leadership of U Kiang Nangbah was crushed with a heavy hand. It was now time for the British to establish their hegemony and consolidate their rule in the Garo hills.

The Battle Begins

After days of siege by the British forces, Togan Sangma organised the people of his community from both the hills and the plains for direct confrontations with the British army. Sangma and his fellow warriors refused to bow down to the British forces as the latter vigorously tried to occupy each and every inch of the region. It was under his inspiration and command that a band of Garo warriors armed with traditional weapons such as bows, daggers, milam (a two-edged sword made from one piece of iron), selu (spears) and spi (shields), noiselessly marched forward towards Chisobibra. Extremely careful of any suspicious movements in the enemy camp, they launched an attack against the British troops at Rongrengiri, while the latter were in deep slumber at night. A guard noticed them and fearing that he will create a scene, they struck him hard to death. A high-pitched battle thus ensued.

Although the Garos lacked sophisticated arms and weapons in their possession, their traditional reputation as valorous headhunters was enough to strike fear among the British troops.

Roused from their sleep by the cries of their compatriots as the Garos struck their first blows, the remaining British soldiers retaliated and fired a barrage of bullets in turn. Chaos followed and the fight continued till the wee hours of the morning. It was a cold winter night and the local Garo warriors led by Togan Sangma gave a tough fight to the British. They filled the air with their enthusiastic battle-cries of Ka Chalang, Ka Sangma, Ka Marak and Hai…hai…kai…kai…re’tokbo, persuading each other to bravely march on. The locally available resources of the region were put to their best use by the Garo warriors in their fight against the British. Huge shields and panels made of plantain leaves and stems were utilised as a defence mechanism to stop the bullets. They thought that the metal in the slai (Garo term for the rifle) would cool down as soon as it hit the plantain shields which had more of water as a constituent element. As a matter of fact, Togan Sangma’s statue that has been erected at the Martyr’s Column in Shillong shows him holding one of these shields in his left hand.

Before the Garos launched their surprise attack on the British troops, Togan Sangma had convinced the people of his community about this idea. In one of the village meetings, he first took out a long stick, heated one of its ends in the fire and then shot it towards a banana tree. He pulled out the stick later and showed them that the heated end has cooled down. The elders were impressed and thus decided to follow in the footsteps of their young hero. Hundreds of banana trees were cut for constructing a layer-by-layer boundary wall as a measure of protection. Banana skin shields were made by the locals and the battle-ready men wore armour made of peeled banana skin. It turned out to be a not much well-thought-out plan of action in front of the technological prowess of the British; but, gives enough testimony of the fact of the sharp presence of mind and ingenuity of the Garo leader to try all possible means available at hand in eliminating the enemy. The Garos were strategically ill-equipped in terms of weaponry and physical readiness as compared to the well-oiled British army, which was much more disciplined and also had easy access to some of the most advanced means of modern warfare technology such as superior firepower, rifles and guns, mortars and armaments.

Since the Garos lacked proper planning, they were soon outnumbered and suffered grave losses in what eventually became a by and large unsurpassed, one-sided battle. The young Togan Sangma was hit right on the chest in the skirmish that followed. In his steadfast devotion to the cause of attaining freedom for his dear motherland and saving its people, Sangma succumbed to the bullet injuries and died on the spot of the river-bank. Many other brave and fearless Garo warriors such as Pa Gilsang Dalbot Sangma and Pa Gowal Nengminja Sangma fought hard till their last breath to put a halt upon the British incursions into the Garo Hills. They were also gunned down and killed by the British forces, their blood happily mingling with the waters of the river Simsang that flowed by. It was a battle in which simplicity and innocence came head-on with the high-handedness of the unsympathetic, cruel policies of the British.

Togan Sangma – The Immortal Hero

The British annexation of the Garo Hills was thereafter complete and the Garos were brought under the complete submission of the British dominion. Nevertheless, the Garos have managed to retain their institution of the A’King Nokmanship till this day, thanks to the untiring efforts of their ancestors to preserve their unique socio-cultural heritage. Although he lost the battle, Togan Sangma’s name became forever immortalised at the Martyr’s Column in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, where it is inscribed along with the names of U Tirot Sing Syiem and U Kiang Nangbah, the gallant heroes of the Khasis and the Jaintias respectively. They are amongst the three notable freedom fighters from Meghalaya whose illustrious battles in opposition to the British have never found a mention in the Indian history textbooks. Every year, December 12 is observed as ‘Togan Nengminja Day’ by the Government of Meghalaya with the aim of keeping alive the spirit of Togan Sangma for generations ahead. It is declared as a state holiday by the government in honour of this legendary warrior and freedom fighter, whose rightful place in the annals of Indian history has remained long overdue! It is indeed a memorable day for the people of the Garo Hills in particular.

A sprawling Pa Togan Nengminja Memorial Park and a cenotaph with a stone plaque at its base, have been set up at Chisobibra within Rongrengiri Reserve Forest to commemorate the unmatched heroism and valour of Togan Sangma. Supported by the district administration, the executive committee of the Pa Togan Sangma Memorial Association (PTSMA), the All Garo Hills Nengminja Mahari Association, and the Garo Students’ Union, organises a grand cultural event and a floral tribute paying ceremony with full state honours at the site of this memorial every year on the anniversary of his martyrdom. Chisobibra has now become an attractive tourist destination and picnic spot of Meghalaya well-known for trekking, river rafting and angling activities. A few important highlights of the celebrations are the screening of movies related to different themes of the Indian freedom struggle, functions that focus on the art, history and culture of the region organised by the Williamnagar Art and Culture Group, traditional games, musical evenings entertained by different rock bands, and patriotic songs and skits on the warrior’s life.

Besides eminent dignitaries of the state, people from different professional backgrounds such as government officials, teachers, members of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) and various social service organisations, village headmen (Nokmas), etc. are invited from Williamnagar and its adjoining areas to grace the solemn event. Local MPs and MLAs are extended special invitations to deliver speeches on the life and struggles of Nengminja Sangma. A parade by the district police together with a traditional gun salute are also presented in remembrance of this daring hero.

On the occasion of Meghalaya Day every year on January 21, the Pa Togan Nengminja Award is conferred upon a prominent personality from the state acknowledging his/her exemplary contributions in the field of social and community service.

A patriot and visionary by heart, Togan Sangma of Meghalaya sacrificed his life to end the aggressive policies of the British colonial rule and thus prevented the invaders from occupying his homeland. There is a famous play called A’chik A’song (The A’chik Land) based on the socio-political history of the Garo Hills during the period 1870-1872, with special reference to the glorious first and as well as the last armed struggle of the A’chiks against the British. The hero of the play is none other than Pa Togan Sangma, the first-ever Garo freedom fighter, who organised and trained a group of young A’chiks to launch a direct attack upon the British. The plot begins with portraying the traditional, cultural and social activities, rituals and belief systems of the remote and hilly A’chik villages. It then goes on to depict the British machinations of gradually entering into some of the most interior areas of these villages, compelling the Garo villagers to revolt against this uninvited entry.

The play was first conceived by the Purakhasia Development Committee of the West Garo Hills District under the leadership of its chairman Tarun Saikia, and jointly produced by Dapon (The Mirror) – an amateur theatre group based in Tangla, Assam. Its original script was written in Assamese and later translated by Saikia into the Garo dialects with the help of some members of the Committee. Covering a time period of one hour and twenty minutes, the play was staged for the first time in Babelapara village of Purakhasia on February 1-2, 2005. Since then, the A’chik theatre group of the Garos has staged the play in several places of India. In 2017, the Grants Division of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India had approved an amount of Rs. 250.00 lakhs for the construction of an Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Centre at a spot to be officially identified and allocated by the State Government of Meghalaya, in the memory of Pa Togan Sangma. Recently, on June 6, 2020, in a befitting tribute, the portrait of Pa Togan Sangma, along with those of U Tirot Sing Syiem and U Kiang Nangbah, were unveiled at the Raj Bhavan in the capital city of Shillong. Their portraits are also adorned inside the official complex of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.

The Garos still remember Togan Sangma as their first martyr and national hero, and recollect with great respect and gratitude his contributions to the service of his motherland. He represents the indomitable symbol of Garo resistance against the colonial masters. In fact, Meghalaya’s contribution to the freedom struggle began years before the First War of Indian Independence (1857), a century before Shaheed Bhagat Singh and his comrades were hanged, and much earlier than M.K. Gandhi had arrived on the scene. This was even mentioned by DoNER Minister Jitendra Singh a few years back during a countrywide celebration from August 9-23, 2016 of those unacknowledged and uncelebrated heroes and heroines of India’s freedom struggle such as Pa Togan Sangma, U. Tirot Sing, Rani Chennamma, Phan Nonglait, etc. Singh had also said that India’s cry for freedom from the British Empire in the Northeast began in Meghalaya and this happened long before people knew of any Gandhi or Nehru.

It is high time that we as true Indians, rightfully recognise and honour these unsung brave hearts and real assets of our freedom struggle, whose sacrifices and efforts conglomerated towards the ultimate goal of attaining freedom from the British yoke. Previous governments at the Centre never bothered to acknowledge the unparalleled contributions of these leaders towards this end and thus give them their much-deserved, proper place in history. The younger generations need to be educated about the lives of these forgotten historical figures. This is important in order to make them understand the importance of the sense of sacrifice and patriotism towards their people and community and also instil in them the courage and confidence to fight against forces that attempt to weaken their identity.

Let us all take out a moment of silence to salute the bravery of the firebrand leader from Meghalaya, Pa Togan Nengminja Sangma, and his men! They deserve the same amount of respect and recognition at both the national and international levels as any other freedom fighter of this country.

The End

References:

1. Barbara Sangma. (2013). From Rituals to Stage: The Journey of A’chik Folk Theatre. The NEHU Journal, Vol. XI, No. 2, pp. 55-72.
2. https://www.google.com/amp/s/garojournal.com/togan-nengminza-sangma/amp/
3. https://theshillongtimes.com/2020/12/06/rori-banana-skin-and-the-story-of-pa-togan-nengminja-sangma/
4. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thenortheasttoday.com/amp/story/5-things%252Ffive-facts-you-need-to-know-about-pa-togan-nengminja
5. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sentinelassam.com/amp/north-east-india-news/meghalaya-news/meghalaya-raj-bhavan-in-shillong-adorned-with-portraits-of-freedom-fighters-481153
6. https://www.easternpanorama.in/index.php/cover-story/343-pa-togan-nengminza
7. http://megartsculture.gov.in/herit_volIII-trad_insts.htm
8. https://www.google.com/amp/s/aidindia.org/anti-colonial-struggles-in-garo-hills-meghalaya/amp/

Image Credit: Office Holidays