ABSTRACT
This book explores the Kuki uprising against the British Empire during the First World War in Northeast frontier of India (then Assam-Burma frontier). It underlines how of the three-year war (1917–1919), spanning over 6,000 square miles, is crucial to understanding present-day Northeast India. The essays in the volume examine several aspects of the war, which had far-reaching consequences for the indigenous population as well as for British attitudes and policy towards the region – including military strategy and tactics, violence, politics, identity, institutions, gender, culture, and the frontier dimensions of the First World War itself. The volume also looks at how the conflict affected the larger dynamics of the region within Asia, and its relevance in world politics beyond the Great War.
Drawing on archival sources, extensive fieldwork and oral histories, the volume will be a significant contribution to comprehending the complex geopolitics of the region. It will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of South and Southeast Asian Studies, area studies, modern history, military and strategic studies, insurgency and counterinsurgency studies, tribal warfare and politics.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|56 pages
Understanding the Anglo-Kuki War
chapter 1|41 pages
‘Fighting the White Men till the Last Bullet’
part II|63 pages
Tactics, technology and symbols
chapter 3|25 pages
Breaking the spirit of the Kukis
part III|79 pages
Ideas, ideology and institutions
chapter 5|11 pages
Patriots and utilitarians in the Anglo-Kuki War
part IV|48 pages
Women and the war
part V|17 pages
Trial and tribulation