On 14th October 2012 (Sunday), local dailies (including the Morung Express) carried an article titled “Why was Phizo’s body brought to Nagaland?” written by Sir. Thepfulhouvi Solo. In this article, Mr. T. Solo mentioned some very interesting and enlightening information about the last journey of Phizo’s body from London to Nagaland in 1990. Thepfulhouvi’s article made an instant impression on me because it contained some very interesting information about the death, final journey and funeral of Zapuphizo which I wanted to know for a long time. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article and I have even cut out the article from the newspaper and put it inside the file containing my collection of newspaper articles.
Two days after the publication of this article, i.e. on 16th October (Tuesday), Sir Neiketu Iralu also provided some more interesting information about the final journey of A.Z.Phizo from London to Nagaland. Neiketu Iralu’s article was also published in all the local dailies. It was indeed interesting and enlightening to know about the crucial role played by Rajmohan Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, in getting the necessary clearance from the VP Singh government for bringing the mortal remains of Zapuphizo to Nagaland. It was even more interesting to know that this Rajmohan Gandhi (who was then a member of the Rajya Sabha) personally went to the airport to pay his respect and homage to Phizo when the plane carrying his coffin landed at New Delhi.
On 17th October 2012 (Wednesday), a day after the publication of Neiketu’s article, I again read a short write-up in the Morung Express written by one Along Longchar (probably a citizen of Mokokchung). In this write-up, Along Longchar mentioned about his appreciation of Thepfulhouvi’s article “Why was Phizo’s body brought to Nagaland?” which was published three days earlier on 14th October. Apart from his appreciation of the said article, Along Longchar (whoever he is) also raised some very pertinent questions / issues which I have also always thought and pondered about. Two of the questions or issues raised by this citizen of Mokokchung in his short write-up were ‘why is there no comprehensive biography of Phizo detailing his life?’ and ‘How was Phizo as a father, a husband, a man and a leader?’ Along Longchar also mentioned that if the stories of Nehru, Gandhi and Lincoln can inspire, there is no reason why the story of Phizo cannot inspire. He also mentioned that Phizo must have a story to tell to the younger Naga generation. I fully conform to these thoughts and ideas of this Mokokchung citizen. In fact, I have also thought on similar lines for a long time.
There is no doubt that Phizo was a man who thought, believed and acted far ahead of his contemporaries. He was already a legend while still alive and he is undoubtedly the most outstanding Naga personality of the 20th century. But most of the stories, accounts, reports and versions about him are still shrouded in legend and mystery. This is so because there is no authentic and detailed biography of Phizo and most of the information about him is just second-hand, unreliable and unconfirmed.
Some questions about Phizo which, I believe, many may want to ask would be:
1) When, where and how did Phizo actually manage to get on board an airplane bound for London in 1960?
2) What was the situation he encountered when he landed at the London airport in June 1960?
3) What were his struggles like during his initial months and years in London?
4) What was his source of livelihood during his 30 years stay in London? Or, who provided him food, clothing and shelter in London?
5) How often did he keep in touch with his wife and children back here in Nagaland?
6) Did he spend the entire 30 years (1960-1990) residing only in London or did he travel to some other places also?
7) How many press conferences did Phizo deliver while in exile in London and how successful were these press conferences?
8) Did he ever face difficulties for entering Britain by unfair means?
It seems like the answers to this type of questions are still kept sealed and closed under the covers of classified files. This has been so despite the fact that many would actually be interested to know these details. And I also look forward to a day when these questions and queries would be satisfactorily answered once and for all.
Moreover, many unconfirmed stories and accounts of Phizo have been in circulation here in Nagaland for a long time. These unconfirmed stories and reports may compel one to ask all or any of the following questions:
1) Is it true that Phizo once tried to start a tyre factory here in Kohima?
2) Is it true that Phizo wanted the Nagas to support the Japanese soldiers during the famous Kohima battle of 1944?
3) Is it true that the Phizo’s coffin was donated by the British government?
I do not know how far any of these often mentioned information are true. The story about the rainbow that appeared at the Dimapur airport when the plane carrying the body of Phizo landed is now legendary. Many people (Nagas and non–Nagas) would still be interested to know these details.
It has been 22 years since Phizo died but I believe that there are still many things and lessons which the Naga youngsters can learn from the extraordinary life of this extraordinary man. So, through this write-up, I appeal to all the senior citizens who have information about this man to reveal them for all posterity. Of course, it would not be possible for everyone to write lengthy books and journals. But at least we can resort to contributing information through articles in our local dailies. I believe that this kind of sharing would go on to have far-reaching and long-lasting impact upon the minds and thoughts of the young and upcoming Naga generation.
Here, let me say a few things about myself. The amount of information that I have about Phizo is very limited. But even the little few things that I did know about him were able to influence and inspire me so much so that I ended up writing two articles on him. These two articles – ‘The Significance of 16th May’ and ‘Reflected Glories of Nagaland’ had already been published by the Morung Express in the summer of 2011.
For a long time, I had also been greatly touched, influenced and inspired by the story of the meeting that took place between Phizo and the Indian Prime Minister Morarji Desai in London in June 1977. This was the reason why I wrote the article ‘A Meeting in London’ in which I mentioned some accounts and details of what conspired between Phizo and Desai in this meeting. My article was also published by the Morung Express in February this year. However, the fact still remains that all my three articles on Phizo were written not because I knew many things about Phizo but because I wanted to know more about him and because I had been greatly influenced and inspired by the few accounts and stories which I had known about this legendary Naga personality since my childhood.
Same was the case with my article on Theyiechüthie Sakhrie. I did not know many things about this Naga patriot/martyr. But the very few things that I did know about him influenced and inspired me in such a manner that I ended up writing a rather lengthy article on him. This article of mine on Theyiechüthie was titled ‘An Unsung Legacy’ and this article was also published by the esteemed Morung Express last year.
And what about the likes of Pelesatuo, an Angami missionary who was burnt alive in Chakesang region by the Indian army during the Indo- Naga conflict years. Many Naga youngsters would want to know more about these people. So, I strongly feel and believe that whatever information and stories we can gather about them need to be collected, preserved and conveyed to the upcoming Naga generation – rather than keeping these accounts, reports and stories totally sealed and covered under ‘Classified Files’………
