ABSTRACT
Phizo at the mission' school in Kohima was marked for greate:r academic achi~vement. In the face of considerable financial stringency, his mother and his older sister, Zetono, pooled their resources to send him in 1923 to the Assam Government High School in Shillong. Once there, however, he proved but average. He was more noted for his bucking the system and displays of independence than for excellence in his studies. In those days it was de riaueur for Europeans only to wear neckties, but he considered this custom racist and wilfully wore a tie to school every day. His keen sense of what was fitting expanded enormously while he was away from home.
