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Recently, Arunachal Pradesh Deputy CM said that the 1839 struggle by Tai Khamti is India’s first war of independence.
About Tai Khamti Mutiny of 1839
- Tai Khamti took place in 1839 between the Tai Khamti people and the British. The theatre of this war was some 2,400 km east of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh where the mutiny began.
- Tai Khamtis resisted colonisation by the British. Some 80 British soldiers, including Col. Adam White, were killed in the resultant conflict.
Credit: Wikipedia - The Deputy Chief Minister also batted for recognition of battles between other communities of Arunachal Pradesh and the British.
- They include a series of Anglo-Abor wars from 1858 to 1911 and the Wancho-British war in Tirap district’s Ninu in 1875.
- The Abors, now called Adis, inhabit central Arunachal Pradesh, while the Wanchos live in the southern part of the State.
About Tai Khamti
- The Khamti people, who follow Theravada Buddhism, number a little more than 1,00,000 today and live in areas straddling Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
- They inhabit the region around the Tengapani basin were descendants of migrants who came during the century from the Hkamti long region, the mountainous valley of the Irrawaddy.
- They have their own script for their language, known as ‘Lik Tai’, which originated from the Shan (Tai) script of Myanmar.
- Sangken is the main festival of the Khamti.
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