102-year old Pusochiba. (Morung Photo)
Morung Express News
Chungtia | February 14
Centenarian, Pusochiba Ajem grew up hearing stories about Rani Gaidinliu dissuading Naga people from paying any sort of tax levied by the Britishers and how the ‘white men’ searched for her from village to village in Mokokchung district. At that time, Pusochiba, now 102 years old, did not even imagine to meet her in the future.
“As a child, I heard stories about Naga Rani (Gaidinliu) urging people not to pay any tax to the British wherever she went,” Pusochiba told The Morung Express in Chungtia village under Mokokchung district. He recalled the Britishers coming to his native village, Chungtia one day in the wee hours in search of Gaidinliu following wrong information but the villagers denied having heard even her name.
After a week’s search in Chungtia, the soldiers went to Chungliyimsen in search of her but the information about her presence in that village too turned out false. Similarly, the search for Gaidinliu went on for six months in vain. He also heard the arrest of Gaidinliu along with her brother but her sibling was not jailed since he was below 20 years and was instead ordered to be kept at the residence of Head Dobashi (DB), Maku Chang who named him Merangchenba meaning “good escape” (to denote evading imprisonment even after arrest).
After the demise of Maku, the brother was shifted to the residence of a certain Imlong in Mokokchung. During that time, the brother used to work at SDO’s Bungalow as a government cook. By this time Pusochiba was already appointed a DB by DC Naga Hills, C R Pawsey.
After the release of Gaidinliu from prison post Indian independence, Pusochiba was assigned by the government to escort her from Mokokchung till Silchar. He recalls four persons carrying Gaidinliu on a bamboo cot and reaching Imlong’s residence in Mokokchung.
However, before the escort, Pusochiba said that Gaidinliu went to Yimrep village where her brother was, after marrying a girl from that village.
During the same time around Gaidinliu’s return to Mokokchung, the NNC led by A Z Phizo was already having a meeting for a week or so in Mokokchung. “During that time there was only one vehicle (Jeep) in Mokokchung and both Phizo and Gaidinliu were to be dropped by the same vehicle the next day,” he said.
During the journey, Pusochiba recalled having lunch at a riverside before reaching Mangkolemba where Phizo ate only half of his lunch preserving the other half for onward journey on train at night. He said Gaidinliu did not allow her brother to eat in the train but added that they quietly bought some food along the journey and gave it to him.
The two leaders went different ways from Nakachari Bungalow (Assam) for their respective journey. However, the two met again on a train at Mariani bound for Silchar. Narrating the train journey, Pusochiba described Phizo as a conversationalist while Gaindinliu was described as a woman of very little words responding only to questions. Most of the time throughout the journey listening to Phizo’s stories, they reached Dimapur around 2-3 am from where Phizo went a different way.
Meanwhile, Pusochiba continued to escort Gaidinliu by train and reached Lumding at 5:00 am.
After tea, they resumed journey at 6:00 am and reached Silchar at 7:00 pm. The next day they met DC Silchar to whom Gaidinliu narrated her passage of time in jail. Pusochiba said Gaidinliu left for Imphal by bus but not before he collected a note from her about his escort duty from Mokokchung to Silchar.
Pusochiba who is the first from his village to be appointed DB in 1942 retired in 1972 and spent half of his years in service working in office while the other half was spent travelling in and out of the village owing to various public issues.
The retired DB said that the most difficult part of his job was in 1942 when he was deputed along with 200 Britishers, 200 Assam Rifles personnel and 400 Naga porters to Lahe. He said it took two months to travel on foot to and from Mokokchung to Tuensang – Tsungmi – Noklak – Pangsha - Yampho - Lahe.
He said they constructed four huge houses on the top most location of Lahe from where the Irrawady River was visible like a “small piece of cloth.”
He also recalled staying four months in Khensa village when Nagaland was a district under Assam. While many villages paid house tax, land tax etc to Assam police, Khensa and Kubza villages refused to pay the tax owing to which their fields were destroyed and were not allowed to undertake farming activities by Assam Police.
Kangtsung village also faced the same situation and some villagers were imprisoned in Sibsagar jail. The Assam Police burned down houses and constructed their camps. “For two months, I along with another DB provided logistic protection to the Assam Police during midsummer of May and June,” he said.
The centenarian also recalled another challenging task when he was assigned to single-handedly bring detailed report of a conflict that arose between two sectors in Changki village resulting in the death of four persons from one side.
Pusochiba said he started journey on foot early next morning and reached Changki around 9:30 am to see that the meeting which began an evening before his arrival was still continuing and concluded only the next evening.
At one point of time he was also assigned by a British officer to hand over a letter to Mon on foot. With his pearly eyes focused as if he was in that particular moment, the old man described that journey as terrifying coming across wild elephants having to wait for hours to allow passage to the animals.
It was around World War II that Pusochiba recalls seeing a Japanese who escaped British ambush at Sukhai village in Zunheboto district but was later arrested and handed over to the Britishers. Following reports of two Japanese in Sukhai, the British fired gun shots and burned down the house where the duo was sheltered. In the incident, one Japanese was shot dead. The escapee sustained leg injury and was taken to Jorhat after being rearrested. “That was the first time I saw a Japanese,” he said.
Asked about his means of communication with the British, Pusochiba said they communicated in Assamese. “Before deployment to any area, the Birtishers were first taught and trained the basics of the local language so communication was not a big issue since the Britishers were able to speak the basic Assamese,” he said. The DB said the British treated him well adding, “they treated anyone who did good to them properly.”
Pusochiba said he received few medals and rewards including a watch but all the mementoes and huge amount of money were destroyed when the Indian Army set his village on fire in 1967.
Although 102 years old, Pusochiba still dons natural black lustre hair beautified by a small patch of grey hair at the forehead, eyes still sharp, most of his teeth still intact and a decent hearing ability. He still travels to Mokokchung on occasions to spend time with his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren in Mokokchung. The centenarian still speaks with agility similar to that of a youthful person. When he prefers solitary time, Pusochiba, the oldest person in Chungtia also tunes in to local radio stations to keep up with the times.
