Unsung Heroes | History Corner | Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Ministry of Culture, Government of India

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Paying tribute to India’s freedom fighters

Jamthang Haokip

Kamjong, Manipur

September 18, 2023 to September 18, 2024

Jamthang Haokip was one of the brave freedom fighters in northeastern India. He was born in 1916 at Maokot Village, Kamjong (formerly Ukhrul) District, Manipur. He was the youngest son of Pu Nangngam and Pi Mang Hoi.

Jamthang became a contractor as Kuki Union Contractor under British Royal Engineering in 1943. After his service, he joined the INA at Jele Camp in Burma in the same year. He joined the INA and the Japanese forces as an intelligence officer. He received his basic training in Burma (Myanmar). After the completion of his training, "he returned to Manipur and collected information and gave reports and maps to the INA HeadQuarters at Jele camp". His operational areas were Burma, Manipur, and Nagaland. He was instrumental in sending "many Kuki youths to join the INA, who were very helpful when the INA army landed in Manipur". MPCCI states that "the Japanese officer gave him three copies of the certificate to prove his sincerity and faithful labour. When his secret service was on the books of the British, he was arrested and jailed for six months. One of his daughters said that he was kept in Kohima jail. After the completion of his jail tenure, he was set free and walked home as a hero. In 1944, he took 25 men who were under his leadership to drop off the Japanese in Burma. As a lover of freedom, "the central government had granted him a pension in 1973 and awarded him Tamrapatra in 1975 from our beloved Prime Minister, late Indira Gandhi". In 1971, he was given a pension of Rs. 300 per month along with a citation plate known as Tamrapatra. He contested the first ever Manipur election in 1948 on a Kuki National Assembly (KNA) ticket. His attachment to the INA was so strong that in 1984, Jamthang published a book in vernacular called "Manipur a Gospel leh Kuki ho Thusim. He dedicated one chapter in the book to the INA. He was also an active member of Congress until his last breath in 1998 at his residence in Hill Town, Churachandpur.

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