The Man who

 

The Man who took AZ. Phizo to East Pakistan

In the picture:

L-R (standing): Mowu, Y.M. Kong, A.Z. Phizo, Kaito
L-R (sitting): Tadingpou Gangmei, Hokeya, Khadao Yanthan

IN early 1956, A.Z. Phizo reached Binakandi in Cachar, Assam, seeking a way to East Pakistan. Tadingpou Gangmei, 26 at the time, was practicing medicine at the Burrows Memorial Christian Hospital. Having met Phizo, he wasted no time in joining the ‘Naga national political movement’ in March that year. There on, he was at the forefront in establishing routes that would lead Phizo to East Pakistan (by December 1956, Phizo was already there), and the eventual internationalization of the Naga word.

In an effort to bring out narratives from the Naga movement of the old, the Naga National Archive and Research Centre (NNARC) Dimapur has published its first book titled ‘Tadingpou Gangmei: The Man with A.Z. Phizo in Pakistan’, put together by Gwangphun Gangmei. It documents the narrative of Tadingpou Gangmei who assisted A.Z. Phizo to his destination and led hundreds of their men through the war. The book was released on December 3 along with the opening of the OM Book Fair at the Indigenous Cultural Centre in Dimapur.

“The Naga people of this generation have failed those who fought for the Naga cause. They have forgotten the difficult time Naga people went through,” said Rev. Dr. V.K. Nuh, Chairman of NNARC at the book release. “This book is a way to honour the few Naga national workers from those early years who are still alive. It is the responsibility of a nation to acknowledge its history; this is a gift to the Naga nation."

Speaking on the occasion, interestingly, was Tadingpou himself. Going by his humble demeanor, it was difficult to tell who he was till he stood up to talk in his soft but firm voice. He spoke in Nagamese. “Phizo told us that we, in the Southern most part of the Nagas’ land, are 45-50 Kms from East Pakistan. We had to assist in clearing thick jungles and crossing rivers till there, from where Phizo would go to England,” he explained, sometimes with hand gestures.

Tadingpou, having collected donations from neighbouring villages, went straight into the job. He moved slowly up the ranks, to become Border Intelligence Inspector in the first and second Alee Command to East Pakistan in 1958, and ‘Executive Officer’ to the first Brigade in the Federal Government of Nagaland in 1967.

“We launched two attacks on the Indian army in 1967; Tadingpou was our Brigade Major then and led 100 of us each of those times to success,” said G. Gaingam, former vice president of Naga Hoho, who also fought in the Naga Army. T.A. Rongmei, a retired captain of the Naga Army who worked with Tadingpou since 1957, was elated at the release of Tadingpou’s biography and thanked the NNARC for its “collection and preservation” efforts.

Releasing this book of Tadingpou’s recollections of Phizo’s dialogues and his experience of working with the likes of late Mowu (former C-in-C Naga Army), Savi Liegise, President of Naga Council Dimapur said, “Good history will be written if good history is made. History is a process that should flow in the correct direction, young Nagas should live by the just history created by the Nagas of yore.”

Priced at Rs. 100, the book describes, among other things, Phizo’s desire to bring Gaidinliu (and a range of tribes like Hmar, Paite etc.) into the Naga movement’s folds, a quick recollection of Jadonang’s Naga Raj, photos from various points of the war and annexures to supplement Tadingpou’s being within the army.

Courtesy - Devout Naga Apprise