| Staff REPORTER |
ITANAGAR, Feb 13: The week-long theatre festival on Unsung Heroes of Arunachal Pradesh got underway on Monday with the play ‘Chowpha-Plang-lu’ being premiered at the DK Convention Hall here.
The close to two hours play told the brave story of Chowpha Planglu who had led the Tai-Khamti revolution of 1839 against the British.
Chowpha Planglu, also known as Ronua Gohain, was the chief of the Khamti tribe. Since 1837 Ronua Gohain had been secretly planning to drive away the British from the Sadiya Province of Assam. In January 1839, Colonel Adam White, the Officer in Commanding at Sadiya, invited the Khamti chief and others to the ‘durbar’ organized by him at Sadiya.
Ronua took this as an opportunity to attack the British. On 28 January, 1839, Ronua with about 500 warriors armed with daos, spears, and muskets attacked the British Cantonment at Sadiya from all directions and fired the sepoy lines and killed everyone on the way.
Later, the British sent punitive retaliatory expeditions against the Khamtis, under the command of Lieutenant Marshall. During the fight, Ronua Gohain was made captive but he escaped and hid near the river bank. A group of fishermen revealed his hideout to the British army. The British army surrounded but Ronua affirmed himself to die honorably rather than be captured at the hands of the enemies. In the fight that ensued with Ronua not heeding to their demand of surrender, he was finally killed when the British fired at him.
With the captivating storyline and amazing performance by the actors, theatre lovers couldn’t stop roaring and clapping with enthusiasm throughout its duration.
Next in the series of plays is ‘War Cry of the Mountains’ - Matmur Jamoh, on the Anglo-Abor War of 1911-12 scheduled for February 16 and ‘Nyinu 80!’- the Anglo-Wancho War of 1875 to be played on February 19.