Portrait of Rani Gaidinliu, probably taken at the time of her arrest by British Colonial Officer Captain MacDonald in Pulomi Village on 17 October 1932.
Gaidinliu’s introduction to the revolutionary world was at the age of 13 when she joined the Heraka Movement. It was a socio-religious movement initiated under the leadership of Gaidinliu’s cousin, Haipou Jadonang. She urged the people of to unite against the British by refusing to pay taxes or cooperate with the latter, and stand together to protect the Naga culture. She was a proponent of the ancient religious practices of the Naga people. She also waged multiple attacks against the British using guerilla warfare in the Cachar Hills (16 February 1932) and in the Hangrum Village (18 March 1932).
Gaidinliu was finally captured on 17 October 1932 at the age of 16, from the Pulomi village where she and her associates were hiding. She was arrested and convicted of murder, abetment to murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment. She was in jail from 1933 to 1947 and served time in the Guwahati, Shillong, Aizwal, and Tura jails.
