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British attention drawn to Angami Nagas through their attacks on villages in North Cachar |
| text: |
The attention of the British Government was first directly drawn to the Angami Nagas in 1835, when certain inroads upon villages in North Cachar were traced to a warlike tribe so called, living beyond the Dansiri. So little was known of their position, that the first person we called upon to control them was Tuleram Senapati, who protested feebly that he was more afraid of them than we were. We then applied to Manipur, and the pony cavalry (Unfortunately the pony cavalry of Manipur no longer exists. See Appendix F.- Note on troops of the Manipur State.) of that State were only too ready to execute brilliant little sallies into the hills, and cut up villages here and there; but, unfortunately, the more the Manipuris worried the Nagas, the more the Nagas worried North Cachar. Three times in 1836, again in 1837, and yet again in 1838, the Angamis attacked us. An expedition was at length ordered to enter the hills and put a stop to these raids. But the imminence of war with Burma caused its postponement; and the only step taken was the transfer of North Cachar to Assam; the local authorities of which province were supposed to be better able to get at the Nagas than the Superintendent of Cachar." (Memorandum on the North-East Frontier of Bengal, by Alexander Mackenzie.) |
