Jadonang

Jadonang founded a religious movement to revive Naga tradition, then turned it toward a political vision of an independent Naga kingdom. The British hanged him for it at age 26, on a charge his own movement’s supporters say he had no real part in.

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Modern History · ModHist0160

Jadonang

The Naga spiritual leader hanged at 26 for a Naga Raj

30 Jul 1905

Born in Kambiron village, Rongmei Naga tribe, Manipur.

By age 10

Becomes known across the region for prophecies and healing.

1920s

Founds the Heraka movement; calls for an independent Naga kingdom.

29 Aug 1931

Hanged by the British at Imphal, aged 26.

A movement that outlived its founder

Jadonang’s cousin, Rani Gaidinliu, took charge of the Heraka movement at just 16, after his execution, and gave it a sharper political edge.

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Must Know

• Jadonang Malangmei was born on 30 July 1905, in Kambiron village, in what is now Manipur’s Tamenglong district.
• He belonged to the Rongmei Naga tribe, part of the wider Zeliangrong group of Naga peoples.
• By around age 10, he had become known across the region for his prophecies, dreams, and traditional healing.
• In the 1920s, he founded the Heraka movement, meaning “pure,” built on the ancestral Naga religion.
• Heraka emphasised worship of one supreme god, Tingkao Ragwang, and reduced many traditional ritual sacrifices.
• Jadonang saw the spread of Christianity in Naga areas as a threat to traditional Naga religion and society.
• He also called for an independent Naga kingdom, known as “Naga Raj,” which brought him into direct conflict with British colonial rule.
• The British arrested him, tried him, and hanged him at Imphal on 29 August 1931, at the age of 26.

Good to Know

• Jadonang was formally charged over the deaths of four Meitei traders killed at Longkao. Accounts of the movement say he had no direct role in the killings.
• British authorities in the Naga Hills also resented his growing political influence, separate from the specific charge used to convict him.
• His cousin, Rani Gaidinliu, had joined his movement at around age 13, and took over its leadership after his execution.
• Gaidinliu was just 16 when she assumed leadership, and went on to give the Heraka movement a sharper, more overtly political direction.
• The British administered Naga territories at the time through a network of political agents and district commissioners, leaving little room for independent local authority.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. What religious movement did Jadonang found in the 1920s, built on the ancestral Naga religion?

The Heraka movement

The Naga Baptist movement

The Ao revival movement

The Angami reform movement

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Great to Know

• Jadonang’s Heraka movement blended religious revival with early political nationalism. This combination was rare among Northeast Indian resistance movements of the period.
• His execution over a killing he was not directly responsible for is a recurring pattern in colonial-era political trials. Convictions often rested on association rather than direct evidence.
• The movement’s survival past his death, under Rani Gaidinliu’s leadership, shows how a single execution could fail to end a broader resistance movement.
• Jadonang and Gaidinliu together are remembered today as founding figures of the modern Zeliangrong Naga political and religious identity.
• Gaidinliu’s own story continues well beyond this article. See ModHist0297 — Rani Gaidinliu for her 15 years in prison, the title Nehru gave her, and the four decades she spent leading her community after independence.