Dehradun, Jan. 19 -- Among the many insidious memories of the British Raj, the one that perhaps walks away with the cake in the nineteenth century was the notorious practice of 'begar' - coerced or forced labour involving tough and hard work with road building and porterage. Conscripting hundreds of peasants at a time, the Raj opened up new roads without any payment to them.

They were expected to take care of their own food and shelter. At times, it worked, but most of the time it did not. It was while trying to find free labour, the not-so- honourable John Company found itself face to face with the invincible warriors of a Naga village called Khonoma - a name that would in the years to come strike terror into the hearts of the flashy R...