Use of irregular Force:
To protect the numerous tea gardens that came up from upper Assam to Naga foot hills and Cachar the British created levies or armed Militia, to protect the tea gardens from raids by the Nagas. Not that the Britishers were keen irregular “Warriors” were borne out by their use of regular Army battalions when they repulsed the Burmese in 1824. The troops were the Rangpur Light Infantry and Sylhet Light Infantry1. But embedded in them the regular Army Regiments came a band of 200 Sebundy corps as an escort of David Scott, the agent to the Governor General of India. The Sebundy Corps were “Irregulars” and not until 1835 that they were raised at Guwahati and then moved to Sadiya. The original role of the hundred sebundy raised prior to July 1824, Was maintaining peace in the Garo hills. But after eight years of watch and ward of Bhutias and Daflas the “Assam Sebundy Corps” was rechristened as 2ndALI (Assam Light Infantry). The Rangpur Light Infantry becoming the 1stALI.The raising of the Sebundry Corps at Guwahati in 1835 also saw another” irregular force styled “Cachar Levy” raised in the same year by Mr. Grange in Nowgong district. The hills to the south of Assam were excluded areas.Use of irregular Force:
To protect the numerous tea gardens that came up from upper Assam to Naga foothills and Cachar the British created levies or armed Militia, to protect the tea gardens from raids by the Nagas. Not that the Britishers were keen “ irregular Warriors” were borne out by their use of regular Army battalions when they repulsed the Burmese in 1824. The Troops were the Rangpur Light Infantry and Sylhet Light Infantry1. But embedded in then the regular Army Regiments came a band of 200 sebundy corps as an escort of David Scott, the agent to the Govt. General of India. The Sebundy Corps were “Irregulars” and not until 1835 that they were raised at Guwahati and then moved to Sadiya. The original role of the hundred Sebundy raised prior to July 1824, was maintaining peace in the Garo hills. But after eight years of watch and ward of Bhutias and Daflas the “Assam Sebundy Corps” was rechristened as 2ndALI (Assam Light Infantry). The Rangpur Light Infantry becoming the 1stALI.The raising of the Sebundry Corps at Guwahati in 1835 also saw another” irregular force styled “Cachar Levy” raised in the same year by Mr. Grange in Nowgong district. The hills to the south of Assam were excluded areas.The mutiny of 1857:
A dispatch from commissioner of Assam on 29th Aug 1857, alarmed Fort William, the British Army HQ at Calcutta. The independing revolution in Assam put Fort William into a huddle and in arrived a three 100 units strong British naval Brigade from Calcutta. The ALI Gorkha Sepoys and local tribal sepoys, remained loyal to the British, and the Sadiya, Sibsagar and Dibrugarh ALI mutinous garrisons could be brought under control. The Sadiya, Sibsagar and Dibrugarh garrisons were manned by Hindustani sepoys and they rebelled. Acting swiftly the British could quell these garrisons. This incident made the British realise that the regular Army units are ill-suited to govern the day to day affairs of the province. The day of reforms and new strategy was uppermost in the minds of Fort William military planners.Peel Commission2under Jonathan Peel on military reforms 1859 and Police Commission3 of Aug 1860 recommended the formation of Police Constabulary. It was not on the lines of British Police fondly called “Bobby” created by Sir Robert Peel regarded as Father of modern British Policing. Robert Peel was PM of UK (1834-35 and 1841- 46).Bengal Military Police Bn were inducted from Surma Valley, the new name of Cachar Levy, already keeping peace in the Lushai Hills, Cachar and Sylhet to control the Mutiny in Assam Valley. Just the same way Bengal Armed Civil Police assisted Captain Lister on the insurgency of 1829-33 waged by Tirot Singh ruler of Nongkhlow in Khasi Hills.The Police Act V of 1861 envisaged creation of District Police and in 1874 the first General Police Districts in eleven districts were created in Assam which in the same year became separate Province from Bengal.In 1878 Police Reorganization the force was divided into Civil Police and Armed Police. In 1881 the sanctioned strength of Civil Police stood at 1529 and Frontier police at 2483, created for watch and ward duties in the Frontier. Civil police that come into being in Assam from 1862 was altogether absent from the Naga Hills, Garo Hills. The Khasi & Jaintia Hills there were no armed police and the civil police had to perform both duties. In 1878 Civil Police become better organized by the addition of Armed Branch, and in 1881 Reorganization the force in Assam were clearly demarcated into Civil and Frontier Police. The police force in Assam was graced by the joining of T.J. Chichele- Plowden, C.S. who joined in Oct. 1876.The Bengal Municipal Improvement Act, 1864 saw the birth of Municipal Police in the towns of Guwahati and Silchar on 1st May 1865. In 1877 and 1878 it was extended to the towns of Dibrugarh and Shillong respectively. Later the municipal police were amalgamated to the District Police in 1882.The rural police evolved from the Bengal Regulation XIII of 1813 where for the sake of expediency ‘Chowkidars’ became an extended arm of Police. District Magistrate can constitute Panchayats who recruit Chowkidars and levy taxes for their upkeep. Act XX of 1856 tweaked the powers of the panchayats to appoint chowkiders, which now vests with the magistrate, although payment mode remains the same. In, 1888 regular Civil Police strength stood at 273 officers and 1412 men with Armed Civil police strength a meagre 46 officers and 303 men.The Lushai Expedition in 1891 entailed creation of “Extra Police” a force of 2 Head Constables and 30 Constables and the Manipur Expedition during the same year a number of Extra Police was entertained in Kamrup, Darrang, Nowgong, Sibsagar and Lakhimpur district, as extra hands from the Assam Valley.In 1883 when the District Armed Reserve was created the proposal was of 55 HC and 342 Constable to perform guard and escort duties in the districts.In line with the creation of the Frontier police Force, it was mandated in 1881 to withdraw the force from the districts and concentrate them on the four districts- Cachar, Naga Hills, Lakhimpur and Garo Hills.Colonial rule in Naga Hills:
The war that came to the green pastures of North East India, waged across the present day Indian states of Nagaland and Manipur were the result of hegemonic world view of the Allies led by Great Britain and aided by USA, against the Axis power led by Germany and aided by Japan amongst others.Great Britain got a toehold of the northeast India after she annexed Assam after the first Anglo-Burmese war of 1824. She quickly made inroads into the Naga Hills by waging a series of wars to subdue the warlike Naga Tribes.Ruling Assam was not an easy task as the people of Assam still looked upon the Britishers as an occupational force. Mr. Grange raised “Cachar Levy” in 1835 while serving as SP in Nowgong. The mandate of Cachar Levy is to hold a series of posts at Borpathar, Dimapur, Mohundijoa (30 miles SW of Dimapur), Mahurmukh, Maibong, Hosang, Guilon, Gumaigajoo, Hangrung, Baladan and Jirighat. The Headquarter of this force is at Asaloo (16 miles east of Haflong). This was 1845.Much earlier while the Britishers were still only holding Goalpara district (in Rangpur district of Bengal, now in Bangladesh) they raised 1st Assam Light Infantry and quickly increased its numbers to four battalions, successively from 1843- 2ndAssam Light Infantry HQ Sadiya, 1864- Sylhet Light Infantry, HQ Silchar. All these Light Infantry battalions later became regular Gorkha Battalions of British Army (India).Mr. Grange was a man in a hurry. His first expedition took him closer to the queen of the Naga Hills- Kohima. But he had met stiff resistance from Nagas and stopped short of Kohima at Berema. By the end of 1838, just after raising another expeditionary force Jorhat Militia- Grange become restless. Could he take the apple in the pie- Kohima itself, made him lay the next plan. In 1839 Grange got the orders to move and a bitter struggle raged in the hills. The Nagas valiant fighters as they were stopped the British promenade, which meant business. Newly raised Jorhat Militia became supporting troops of 1stAssam Light Infantry and the Cachar Levy. The Angami armies stretched the promenade, by cutting line of communication, surprise night assaults. The imperial designs had to been halted. And for the next nine years there was a lull. But the war machine that the Britishers had so assiduously built to subdue the Nagas, again saw a different character Captain Vincent, who took over the British Army after 9 years, since Grange quit the scene.Early winter of 1849-50 Captain Vincent excited as he was to complete the forward movement, fell ill suddenly, as he mounted the charge. That was 1850, and Captain Vincent took a year to recuperate and moved up to Samaguting in 1851. He could launch an attack at Mozema and Khonoma, and the war machine is inching forward to its prize- i.e. Kohima ridge.In Assam as the British gained possession of a large swathe of area, covering the Khasi and Jayanatia, Garo hills to the west, Naga hills to the south, Patkai to the east- it came in contact with recalcitrant tribes, each owing allegiance to its own king or chiefs. Conflict is just hours or months away. Typical to the British, it come with a militaristic response- create force and dominate. First of this dramatic reaction was the creation of civil police in 1874 in the province of Assam. What was civil to it, could not be more clear when the Chief Commissioner of the new province, created since 1874, carved out of Bengal made an Armed Police variant to it from 1878 onwards. The armed police will have to undergo another change of nomenclature in coming years. Shortly before this reorganization of police, Captain Butler succeeded Captain Vincent and in 1869 started operations against Khonoma. He added to his usual force disposition a new component called Frontier Police, formed in 1881, with the same watch and ward mandate of Cachar Levy and deployed in much the same places where the Levy were positioned.Captain Butler trumped Captain Vincent as he could achieve the distinction of forming a semblance of administration in Angami Country. By a quirk of fate as he moved north, to Wokha, in 1875 to set up a fortified position in assistance to civil works, he was ambused by the Lothas and died.
With Captain Butler exit from the Naga hills, the time was opportune for the Angamis to plan its next move. They attacked the British at Mozema in 1877. Unnerved by the turn of events, and the political vacuum, the British political agent at Kohima, Mr. Damant tried to ascertain a Intelligence report coming to him about clandestine weapons being procured by the Angamis. The year was 1878 and the British position could not have reached its most critical position.The year 1879 was crucial as the military conflict, looming since 1877 through 1878, will be forced upon the British. More troops in the form of 43rd Bengal Infantry were pouring in since early 1877 and Frontier Police holding the posts along the lower reaches of Kohima ridge, even upto Dimapur, in the Assam plains or Silchar in Barak valley.In October 1879, the word of Khonoma and Jotsoma stockades were still pouring in to Mr. Damant, to accentuate the uncase. Mr. Damant however, had so much of that, he abandoned the caution to the wind and took a large body of non-combatants, the entourage included Mr. Damant and Mrs. Cawley at total of two hundred forty upwards, on a visit to Jotsoma and Khonoma on 13th October 1879. It was a disguised peace mission supported by insufficient arms and actually provoked the Angamis for a more conventional response. The result was Mr. Damant was killed, and Angamis wrath fell on 25 (twenty five) F.P. and 10 (ten) troopers of 43rd Bengal Infantry. The British Viceroy in India, had a real problem as news of the siege of the British non-combatants and the news of the terrible catastrophe reached Delhi.Chief Commissioner of Assam immediately on the Viceroy’s orders sent Major Johnstone who saved Mrs. Damant and Mrs. Cawley’s lives and also the rest of the non combatants. The outrage set the prelude to a massive British riposte with Major Johnstone and IGP Williamson of Assam led troops commanded by General Nation.A sanguinary battle where twentyfive percent of General Nations troops perished alongwith four British officers among the dead, gave the British the twin villages of Jotsoma and Khonoma. To police the new Naga Hills occupied areas Naga Hills police was formed in 1879 but that did not prevent the Angamis to return with impurity after raiding Baladan TE in 1880. Mr. Blyth, the manger and several coolies lay among the dead in the raid.Soon after 1880 Baladan raid by Angamis, a wary British brass settled a Naga Hills Military Police Battalion at Kohima, and detachments attached to various OP’s of Naga Hills. The day of the frontier engagement is over, as British rule consolidates itself in Naga Hills. The Deputy Commissioner could plan his next steps in quelling various trans-Dikhu Nagas right after 1890, as the Military Police Battalion entrenched itself and started patrolling towards its base at Nichugard near Dimapur from Kohima headquarters.
From 1917 designation of Military Police is changed to Assam Rifles and in its first year of existence, four Assam Rifles Batallions came up, each at Lushai Hills, i.e. 1st Lushai Hills Bn, Lakhimpur- 2nd Lakhimpur Bn, Kohima- 3rd Naga Hills Bn and Darrang- 4th Darrang Bn.