ABSTRACT
There are times in a Naga's life when his mind and heart stand still. For Phizo in Rangoon 1936 was one such year.
He was too much of a child of Khonoma, too much part of its turbulent history, not to be inspired by the trend Burmese nationalism was taking. In his lifetime he had seen British administrators come and go. A. W David had given way to J. H. Hutton, a noted anthropologist and author of numerous monographs, who marred a Naga girl, but earned no kudos from her people for do~g so. 1 He was District Commissioner roughly from 1913 to 1930, and it was during 'his tenure that a commission headed by Sir John simon visited India from Britain to recommend on constitutional reform. Its brief included questions on the way forward in relation to the undeveloped tribal regions of the northeast, and its arrival in India triggered off extensive civil disorder. The Indian Congress passed two resolutions reflecting the nationalist mood of the time, first, a call for mass demonstrations and widespread anti-British propaganda, secondly a total boycott.
