Ralengnao Bob Khathing

About Ralengnao Bob Khathing:

• Ranenglao ‘Bob’ Khathing was born on February 28, 1912, in Manipur’s Ukhrul district. He was a Tangkhul Naga.
• During World War II he became the first Manipuri to get the King’s Commission.
• Bob Khathing’s Army service
  • He was given the coveted award of Member of British Empire (MBE) for his role in galvanising Naga support against the Japanese in Burma and India and also the Military Cross (MC) for his acts of bravery above and beyond the call of duty.
  • Bob was commissioned into the 9/11 Hyderabad Regiment (now Kumaon Regiment). In 1942, he was transferred to the Assam Regiment in Shillong.
  • During the Second World War, he was part of a guerrilla outfit called Victor Force, raised by the British to combat the Japanese on the Burma-India road.
  • He was appointed as advisor to a force known as SANCOL, comprising 153 Gurkha Parachute Battalion which was formed in June 1944 under the command of Major John Saunders, to this force.
• He led the expedition to peacefully integrate Tawang into India.
• He was also instrumental in establishing essential military and security frameworks, such as the Sashastra Seema Bal, Nagaland Armed Police, and the Naga Regiment.
• He was the first person of tribal origin to serve as an ambassador for India in then Burma, now Myanmar.