Staff Reporter
ROING, 3 Dec: The state’s first Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and former additional chief secretary of Manipur, Annayok James Tayeng, passed away on Saturday at the district hospital here in Lower Dibang Valley district, following prolonged illness.
He was 83 years old.
Tayeng was the first IAS officer from the Adi community. He was the elder son of late Apok Tayeng, who was the most influential political interpreter at the time and worked with PLS James, the then (last) British political officer of the Abor Hills district (now Siang district).
Tayeng and his family spent their life in Manipur since 1969. He hailed from Ayeng village, but was born and brought up in Pasighat, East Siang.
Born on 1 March, 1940, Tayeng studied up to matriculation in Pasighat. Thereafter, he went to Shillong (Meghalaya) and passed intermediate science from St Anthony’s College in 1959. He did his BA honours in history from St Stephen’s College, New Delhi. He also did his MA in history from the same college under Delhi University in 1962-’64.
He was called for direct recruitment into the Indian Frontier Administrative Services in 1964, and was selected. In the same year, this cadre post was merged with the IAS cadre.
After selection, he was sent to Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie (in present-day Uttarakhand) for administrative training. He completed the training, which lasted from July 1964 to June 1965.
After training, he was attached to the NEFA administrative headquarters, Shillong, for three months. Thereafter, he was posted to Seppa in East Kameng district as assistant commissioner, and was subsequently transferred to Chayang Tajo, where he served till the middle of 1967. Later, he was transferred to Anini (Dibang Valley) as additional deputy commissioner. He had retired as additional chief secretary of Manipur on 28 February, 1999.
The Tayeng Welfare Society deeply mourned the veteran member’s demise, and prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul.
