Gaidinliu was a Naga woman nationalist leader and a disciple of Jadonang, a Naga tribal who had launched a political movement to overthrow the British from Manipur. After the capture and execution of Jadonang, Gaidinliu led the movement and organised a popular tribal rebellion. She was arrested in 1932 and spent 14 years in jail. She was finally released from prison after independence. It was Jawaharlal Nehru who described her as the ‘Rani of the Nagas’ and since then, the title ‘Rani’ is used before her name.