[Toko Tatung]
The beauty of life lies in its unpredictability. One couldn’t fathom how an Englishman, Harry Verrier Holman Elwin, born thousands of miles away, would prove crucial to a land and its people, hitherto unknown and secluded from the world, to stake its rightful place.
As Arunachal Pradesh celebrates its 50th year as a union territory and later a state in the republic of India, our celebration would remain incomplete until we raise a toast and celebrate Verrier Elwin, his life and his contribution to the NEFA.
My pilgrimage to the house of Ashok Elwin, the youngest son of Verrier Elwin, started on a chance visit to the deputy chief minister’s residence in Itanagar, where he was discussing “the unsung heroes of Arunachal” with professor Chaudhary, HoD of anthropology at RGU, and a few research scholars along with his PROs. Late Elwin’s name and his family’s whereabouts in Shillong was highlighted by the professor. It was a prayer answered as I always nurtured a deep desire to see Dr Elwin to be discussed and honoured by our state. With much gusto, I immersed in the deliberations and the visionary leader amidst us thundered, “We must visit the great man’s son to discuss the visionary man and the eternal friend of our state.”
A month later, after much research work and a series of consultations, we all drove to Shillong, to the house of Ashok Elwin, the youngest and the only surviving son of Verrier Elwin. I was the most nervous amongst the team, headed by DCM Chowna Mein, to see the son of the man whom I have always revered and profusely read about.
For me, Ashok was not only the son but the father too. We were greeted by Ashok Elwin, a thinly built man in his late sixties, tannish in complexion, deep brown eyes, and I could spot the resemblance to his famous father in his sharp and flared nose with a thin upper lip. The Elwins used to reside in their palatial residential office with 32 rooms and two big halls in Nongthymmai, known as ‘Sridham Bungalow’. It is where late Verrier Elwin and his wife Lila hosted prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru during his visit in 1956. After his death, they shifted to a dreamy looking heritage type building bought by his mother, late Lila Elwin, in 1965-66, who passed away in 2013, and now a B&B homestay named after his illustrious father, ‘The Elwins Homestay’ in Lower Lachumiere and our shelter for the night.
After we refreshed ourselves, we gathered in their living room and were ushered in by his wife Lesitta R Marak, an elegant Garo lady in her early sixties. The rooms were adorned by framed photographed by the man himself, during his innumerable trips on foot to different parts of the NEFA.
As we settled on the sofas, covered by red upholstery, we were served with almost 12 numbers of albums. As we took in the photographs, the first thing that struck me was the index late Dr Elwin made; the page numbers with the place and its people photographed were painstakingly mentioned in neat handwriting. In every page, lines were drawn, square in shape where the photographs were carefully hand pasted. It was repeated over pages in the various albums. I found certain pages of the albums which were blank, but there also lines were drawn, demarcating the space for the new photographs he must have planned to paste on from his next possible trip.
How immaculate and deep was his desire to document the people he was encountering and capture the moment of that time. I felt it was prophetic, a message he was leaving for us to reflect upon our existence, our unique place in this great nation of ours, and the path we must choose, keeping in mind the bond we have with nature.
A Philosophy of NEFA, authored by him, which became the guiding principle to administer the NEFA, must have been the fruition of such intense emotions and concern for our wellbeing and the resultant ‘Amrit of the manthan’.
During our course of discussion, little anecdotes were shared by Ashok, as told by his mother about how Dr Elwin mentioned certain tribal chiefs of the NEFA nonchalantly taking out their pipes to smoke in the presence of the governor and also demanding wine after their discussions. The simplicity and the élan with which our people carried their disposition must have amused and strummed the right strings in the heart of the people in the Raj Bhavan.
Ashok recounted that his father was mostly on tours and often took his elder brothers, Nakul and Wasant, and at certain times himself to such tours to accompany him to the NEFA. On one such trip to Tezu in 1960-61, when BS Duggal was the political pfficer (PO), the brothers found one green stone from the riverbank in Tezu, which turned out to be jade, which was fashioned as a ring stone in the craft centre for them.
As I rummage through more books and articles, particularly on the NEFA, written by him, and on him, I thought aloud what would have been the scenario if he were not the anthropological advisor to the NEFA administration and advisor on the tribal affair for NE India, and the consequent influence he had on prime minister Nehru in pioneering the policy towards it as testified by Nehru himself in the foreword he wrote for A Philosophy for NEFA.
Honestly, it would have been nightmarish, because only a man with his experience of decades with the tribal people, who were scarce, could have done justice with that position. And the yeoman service he rendered with his position in the NEFA made me wonder how positively he would have influenced the growth of our people and our state if he were alive for another decade, particularly post the 1962 war with China.
If we go through the Panchsheel as enumerated in the philosophy for NEFA, we realize how indebted we are to this fine soul and a statesman. Such insight and foresightedness of the policymakers were crucial for the people of the NEFA, which fortunately for us were found in his presence. The suggestion of the creation of the Tagore Memorial Fellowship to study the dance and music of the region in 1956 and a Gandhi Memorial Fellowship for studying and spread of indigenous tradition of weaving was a groundbreaking and much-needed step in the region to encourage, which was intrinsic and central to our existence and way of living. Although the thought evaporated with his death, it showed his understanding of our culture and acumen which even today stands unparalleled.
Dr Elwin’s love for our people could also be gauged from his effort in relocating a group of Arunachalee tribals, convicted of murder (Achingmori tragedy of 1953) from Banaras to Lucknow as its weather was too hot and unsuitable for them and to spend summers in Almora jail in the Kumaon Himalayas spoke volume. His unending trips to different villages in the NEFA, mostly on foot, exemplified his zeal to understand and address the problems as they existed.
Dr Elwin undertook the journey from Tawang to Kibithoo, Karko in Siang to Rangpangs of Tirap, from Sipi valley in Subansiri to Mechuka, Geling and Kepungla on foot, which bears testimony to his love and a sincere desire to understand and uplift our people.
Another noteworthy and crucial contribution was the shaping of the Indian Frontier Administrative Service (IFSA), which was nurtured under his guidance, with the sole intention of developing officers who were encouraged to be like native while governing them, which was unique and noble to be attempted in the country. It was created in 1953 but made official only in 1956. The main objective was to create a breed of specialized officers to administer the NEFA and later extended to Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet.
The first batch of 14 officers was all from the Indian Army. It had many illustrious personalities such as KC Johorey, who later became the chief secretary of Goa. He was given the responsibility to administer the Siang frontier division along with Yusuf Ali and U Chakma. The illustrious Bob Khating, the first Arunachal Ratna awardee (posthumously) who re-established Tawang under India’s sovereignty with 200 soldiers in 1951, was also its member. Another personality was Maj SM Krishnatry, who worked in the Subansiri frontier division, along with his wife Geeta, who led the Marabai-Tsari expedition, its USP being totally unarmed and unescorted, which took them to Tagin diaspora till Limeking and Na people.
It was because of Dr Verrier Elwin’s expertise and sobriety that he could influence prime minister Nehru, a world-class statesman, who in turn ensured that special care was taken in formulating policies towards the NEFA, which is reflected in the Panchsheel and also in the creation of the IFSA, though it was dissolved in 1968, after the Chinese aggression of 1962.
In retrospect, these dedicated and selfless officers whose contributions were immense in the formative years of our state would not have been possible if not for the IFSA – and the man responsible for its creation was unmistakably Dr Elwin.
As we reflect upon his life and contributions, one can be easily be overwhelmed by his foresightedness and immense love for the land and its people of the NEFA. The recent demand for a separate cadre for our state in the IAS could be seen as the logical fruition of his endeavour (IFSA), and was indeed ahead of his time. He functioned as a much-needed bridge and communicator between the Centre and a region, almost engulfed by the deep forest, which was largely unknown to the mainstream citizens. Though we are separated by almost 70 years of time and space, a bridge and communicator like him is still sorely missed and longed for. Dr Elwin’s importance is precisely felt in this context; he was our collective voice when we were a hidden world. Our needs and our unique place in this beautiful country would have been conveniently overlooked if not for him.
As I slept the night in his son’s homestay, I was lulled to sleep by his comforting thoughts and deeds that have a bearing in the state that we are in now. We as a state and a people have indeed come a long way from the Elwin days, yet we can’t shake off his pioneering work and the footsteps he has left behind. Though the hills are flattened and telltale signs of so-called modern development have dawned, should we not remind ourselves of Elwinism? Are we on the right path? We must pause, introspect and question ourselves.
As we prepared to depart from the homestay, the indigenous soul in me whispered as if his spirit was there, teaching us to go beyond our boundaries and comfort zone to serve humanity; a message to our people, sons and daughters of the soil, who still develop cold feet to serve in our own land. We must inculcate a sense of ownership and collective responsibility towards our land and our people. An Oxford-educated ordained Anglican priest, who came to evangelize, in a twist of faith not only renounced his priesthood and nationality but ended up working with the most marginalized and ignored section of the Indian society. The remoteness and the challenging working condition rather than dithering, prodded him to push himself harder. Unfortunately, this is conspicuously absent amidst us today. Must we learn from this noble soul?
Dr Verrier Elwin amplified another virtue of our tribal people through his life in his adopted homeland. An Englishman married to a Gond Pradhan lady whose family are settled in Shillong, far away from their parental land, yet so welcomed and loved in their adopted homeland… that’s the real tribal essence, our famed hospitality, acceptance and tolerance which is increasingly vanishing in the narrow, exclusive and polarized world of today. We must cultivate it and it was never so desperately needed than in today’s India, and embrace it for our own peace and unity.
Till his last day, he fought for our interest; he opposed tooth and nail the proposal of settling one lakh farmers from Punjab to the NEFA after the Chinese aggression of 1962. One can well imagine the impact it could have been on the demographic structure of our state. He was in the home ministry on 21 and 22 February, opposing the proposal. In the evening, after complaining of heartache, he passed away in 1964. As per his wish, he was cremated in Shillong and his ashes immersed in the mighty Siang, finally laid to rest where his heart had found peace and a purpose.
Upon reaching home, I wondered aloud: How do we ever repay him? We can never. His life and work is our collective heritage. He must be celebrated, studied, taught in schools and colleges and honoured. Like in his album, in those empty pages where photographs were yet to be pasted, it is our turn now to fill those spaces… though challenges are manifold, must we trudge along. As Khalil Gibran said: How distant the morning… in this night. (The writer is secretary-general, Arunachal Chamber of Commerce & Industries)
