Rani Gaidinliu

Rani Gaidinliu

News: Union Home Minister has laid the foundation for ‘Rani Gaidinliu Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum’ in Imphal, Manipur.

Rani Gaidinliu
• Gaidinliu (26 January 1915 – 17 February 1993) was a Naga spiritual and political leader who led a revolt against British rule in India.
• At the age of 13, she joined the Heraka religious movement of her cousin Haipou Jadonang.
• The movement later turned into a political movement seeking to drive out the British from Manipur and the surrounding Naga areas.
• Within the Heraka faith, she came to be considered an incarnation of the Goddess Cherachamdinliu.
• Gaidinliu was arrested in 1932 at the age of 16, and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the British rulers.
• Jawaharlal Nehru met her at Shillong Jail in 1937 and promised to pursue her release.Nehru gave her the title of “Rani” (“Queen”), and she gained local popularity as Rani Gaidinliu.
• She was released in 1947 after India’s independence and continued to work for the upliftment of her people.
• An advocate of the ancestral Naga religious practices, she staunchly resisted the conversion of Nagas to Christianity.She was honored as a freedom fighter and was awarded a Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.