Ong Kommandam was the right hand man of Ong Keo

Ong Keo

Ong Keo led the Khom to fight the French and Lao from 1901 to 1937. He was an Alak, born in Ban Paktai.His father was a village chief. Ong Keo moved rapidly up the leadership ladder because of his charisma and intelligence, and because he was fluent in Lao and Pali. He performed religious...

. He quickly picked up the struggle for independence with far greater success because he was able to unite the highland minorities of Southern Laos

Laos

Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...

. In 1910, he was shot by French Résident Supérieur of Salavan

Salavan

Salavan may refer to:* Salavan Province, Laos* Salavan , Laos* Salavan , Laos...

, Jacques Dauplay, who had supposedly come to negotiate. Kommandam survived the attack, which added to his status. He claimed that they were the Khom who are indigenous to the area, and have lived in a glory age when the Khmer ruled them, and when they were a part of the Kingdom of Lan Xang

Lan Xang

The Lao kingdom of Lan Xang Hom Kao was established in 1354 by Fa Ngum.Exiled as an infant to Cambodia, Prince Fa Ngum of Xieng Dong Xieng Thong married a daughter of the Khmer king. In 1349 he set out from Angkor at the head of a 10,000-man army to establish his own country...

. As part of his resistance activities, he invented a secret script to convey messages, Khom script

Khom script

There are two scripts in Southeast Asia called Khom script. This article describes the obscure script from Laos that Sidwell and Jacq have described under the name "Khom script"....

. He continued the fight for independence from 1910 until 1936 when he was killed.