Contents: Preface. 1. Mutiny period in north-east: an overview. 2. Mutiny period in Sylhet-Cachar: an historical approach. 3. Folk tradition and the Ballad: its source and origin. 4. The tale as it was told: Jangiyar Geet. 5. Mutiny: its impact and the people of Surma-Barak. 6. The socio-religious aspect of the Ballad. Appendices: i. The Ballad Jangiyar Geet in translation. ii. The sketch map showing the route. The mutineers followed. Bibliography. Index.

"An attempt is made in this volume to delineate how history is carefully blended with the oral tradition to construct a picture of the past.

The balled Jangiyar Geet, the 'Song of the warriors', is a very valuable source material in formulating the appropriate history of our glorious past--the War of independence, 1857.

The common people, primarily the fishermen community and the peasantry, till today, recite in mass gatherings commemorating the sacrifice of the patriotic soldiers of the 34 N.I. regiment, who embraced martyrdom to liberate the motherland from the British. The events and the reaction and the attitude of the people as reflected in these songs and folk-ballad help us reconstruct the so called history of the power and his allays, and can make the history of the voiceless, -- a popular history of our own." (jacket)