Ajay Kumar at 21:01, 30 August 2023

2023-08-30T21:01:22Z

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{{Short description|1851 Indian colonial conflict}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Battle of Kikrüma
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| date = 1851
{{Location map|India Nagaland
|width = 250
|float = right
|label =
|position = none
|mark = Red pog.svg 
|lat_deg = 25.579772363966597 
|lon_deg = 94.21857831072082 
}}
| place = Kikrüma ''{{small|(now in [[Phek District]], Nagaland)}}''
| map_type =
| map_relief =
| coordinates =
| map_size =
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| map_caption =
| map_label =
| territory =
| result = British East India Company victory<br>
* British initiate a policy of non-interference in the hills.
| combatants_header =
| combatant1 = British East India Company
| combatant2 = [[Chakhesang Naga]]
| commander1 =
| commander2 =
| strength1 =
| strength2 =
| casualties1 =
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| notes =
| campaignbox =
}}

The '''Battle of Kikrüma''' was a battle fought on 11 and 12 February 1851 in [[Northeast India]] between the warriors of Kikrüma village (of present-day [[Nagaland]]) and the forces of the British [[East India Company]]. The battle, in which [[Naga people|Naga]] warriors of the [[Chakhesang Naga]]s armed with only spears and [[bows and arrows]] fought against British soldiers armed with rifles, was one of the bloodiest battles fought in the hills of [[Northeast India]]. While the battle is not very well-known in other parts of [[India]] or the world, the battle is remembered through oral stories of the local people and has been written about by a British officer Major John Butler.<ref name="Namrata Goswami">{{cite book|author=Namrata Goswami|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NS8DEAAAQBAJ|title=The Naga Ethnic Movement for a Separate Homeland: Stories from the Field|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780190990220|year=2020|pages=284}}</ref>

==Background and the battle==
After the [[First Anglo-Burmese War]], and the [[Treaty of Yandabo]], the British took control of [[Assam]] and [[Manipur]].<ref name="TOI"/> The battle occurred thereafter when the British started expanding into the Naga hills in order to create a road to [[Assam]], drawn by the prospect of profitable [[Tea#Cultivation_and_harvesting|tea plantations]] and trade.<ref name="Namrata Goswami"/>

The Nagas, who viewed the British as trespassers on their soil and a threat to their people started raiding the British from time to time. Even after launching nearly ten expeditions to subdue the Nagas, the British faced defeat and humiliation repeatedly.<ref name="Richard"/>

Finally, the British regrouped and launched a last and final offensive to subjugate the Nagas, resulting in the Battle of Kikrüma. Both sides suffered heavy casualties in the battle, but the Nagas once again proved to be too powerful to be subdued and subjugated.<ref name="Richard">{{cite book|author=Johnston Richard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3VtwDwAAQBAJ|title=As Honest as the Day is long|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=9781643243542|year=2018|pages=222}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
Though the Kikrüma lost the battle, it resulted in the British initiating a policy of non-interference in the hills. The Nagas persisted with their raids into British-held plains areas.<ref name="TOI">{{cite news |last= Kalita|first=Jayanta |date=12 August 2022|title=How India's North East rebelled against the British|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/how-indias-northeast-rebelled-against-the-british/articleshow/93479614.cms|newspaper=Times of India}}</ref><ref name="Reddy">{{cite book|author=G. B. Reddy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=chjpAAAAIAAJ|title=Nation in crisis|publisher=Authors Press|isbn=|year=2001|pages=284}}</ref>

==Memorial==
In May 2022, a [[monolith]] memorial was erected in the village of Kikrüma to commemorate the battle and to serve as a reminder to the current generation of the values that its forefathers cultivated and practised: bravery, courage, valour, and unity among its people.<ref name="Nagaland Post">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=11 May 2022|title=Monolith in memory of 1851 battle erected at Kikrüma|url=https://www.nagalandpost.com/index.php/monolith-in-memory-of-1851-battle-erected-at-Kikrüma/|newspaper=Nagaland Post}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Battle-stub}}
[[Category:Nagaland| ]]
[[Category:Northeast India]]
[[Category:Resistance to the British Empire]]
[[Category:Indian independence movement]]
[[Category:History of Nagaland]]

Battle of Kikrüma - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 21:01, 30 August 2023