KEBANG, 18 Sep: The villagers of Kebang in Siang district on Saturday installed signboards, displaying the name ‘Kebang’, at various locations within the village jurisdiction.
The villagers have been demanding that the district administration consider replacing the name ‘Yembung’ with ‘Kebang’ for all official correspondence. They said that the name ‘Yembung’ has “inappropriately and wrongly” been recorded in all official records and inscribed on signboards of all government establishments located under the village jurisdiction.
The villagers, under the banner of the Paator Guumin Welfare Society (PGWS) and the Paator Guumin Heritage Preservation & Research Foundation (PGHP&RF), have installed the signboards at Gaaling stream (Kebang-Pangin boundary), Kebang Poglek, Kebang Sole, Kebang Dengki, Kebang Rebing, Kebang Radha, Hirpoh stream (Kebang-Babuk boundary) and Rebing Liireng.
Rebing Lireng is the proposed site for the establishment of the Anglo-Abor war memorial and museum, on land donated by village elder Tangiat Kanyi. The foundation stone of the war memorial was laid by then governor JJ Singh in December 2011.
PGWS general secretary Tadung Padung stated that “Kebang is a historically famous village and it was the nerve centre during the Anglo-Abor wars.
“Kebang was once the epicentre of the Anglo-Abor wars. The name of the village is wrongly mentioned as Yembung in all official correspondence, whereas Yembung is the name of the river that flows through the heart of Kebang village,” Padung said, and appealed to the government departments to write the name ‘Kebang’ in all official correspondence.
PGHP&RF president Taduram Darang said that the signboards installed would help researchers and tourists “know, study closely, and explore the historically important Kebang village.”
He added that “the signboards also indicate the historically important places like Gooying Liidung (Battle of Gooying, 1858), Bongar Laane (jackfruit tree used to hang British guns), and Bomu Camp (remnants of a British IB), etc.”
Signboard Installation Committee chairman Lomnong Darang said that “an attempt has been made through this programme to revive the lost glory of Kebang village, which is considered as the epicentre of the Anglo-Abor wars.”
Earlier, the panchayat leaders and gaon burahs had written to the district administration to rectify the name for all official correspondence.
