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U Giri Daloi

(★ – 1862) – (Meghalaya)

U Giri Daloi, a Daloi (head of an Elaka) in Shangpung, the Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya, India, played a leading role in resisting the British armed forces led by Lt. Col. Richardson, who were attempting to occupy Shangpung village.

He opposed the British imposition of house tax in 1860, income tax in 1861, and their mistreatment of the Jaintia people. When Lt. Col. Richardson asked Giri Daloi and other local warriors on the Shangphung battlefield to surrender, they refused and fought valiantly until Giri Daloi was shot and killed by the enemy on 5 February 1862. Along with Giri Daloi, eleven Jaintias also lost their lives in this encounter.