| caption: |
Phuilomi village poverty worsened by fines imposed after Gaidhiliu uprising |
| text: |
13th Halted. Disposed of two daks, one of which had missed me and arrived 3 or 4 days late, renewed gun licenses, and saw a large number of Kukis and Nagas who had come in for one reason or another. I understand that the panikhet demonstrator is sitting on his heels in Khonoma as usual instead of being on tour in the Kachha Naga country where he should be particularly busy at this time of year opening new panikhets. The Mokokchung man has just been discharged and has a very good record. I fancy a change is indicated. Among the villages that came in was Phuilomi, and I learned that they had lost their two guns (I knew those guns - more dangerous to owner than to the mark aimed at), had their revenue raised to Rs.3/- and been heavily fined in rice on account of participation in the Gaidhiliu business. Phuilomi has for the past 20 years been to my knowledge a wretched village, steadily dwindling in numbers, always short of food except after the harvest and the last one would expect to take an active part in any disturbance. I asked the gaonburas what they had been playing at. Their reply was that they were very sorry but they had gone mad, had suffered severely for it, and would not let it occur again; as for their last year's revenue they simply could not raise it, and had not completely paid that of 1932-33; they would bring in what cash they could raise when they could get it, but at the moment there was none in the village. The dobashis, both Kachha Naga and Kuki, confirmed what the gaonburas said, and stated that it was well known that the village was desperately poor. I asked what part they had played and was told that after taking oath to Mr. Mills that they would take no active part in the agitation but would give all the assistance in their power and all the information they could get as to what was going on. they sent a couple of young men to guide Gaidhiliu to Kenoma on the occasion of her final visit to this district, and failed to give any information at all. No doubt the village deserve the punishment they have had, but I do not like this policy of heavy fines in rice from villages which never have enough to eat in the normal course of things. In the case of Angami villages which did almost exactly the same during the Kuki troubles, I contented myself with confiscating their guns. In the case of these Kachha Naga villages I am inclined to think that some of them were less influenced by deliberate disloyalty than by superstitious fears, and some undoubtedly by the hope of exchanging the miserable poverty which they have endured for a generation or more for the plenty and prosperity which Jadunong and Gaidhiliu so freely promised them. In the case of Phuilomi my inclination is to reduce their revenue to Rs.2/- again and to write it off for the current year against the rice already delivered free at Henima. It will probably be impossible to realise any revenue in any case for the past year, and piling up arrears only means remission in the end. A complaint was received here of the weight of A.R. loads coming from Henima. Those from Kohima, which are probably weighed at the quarter-guard, are said to be of the regulation weight - 60 lbs. maximum - but several villages said that those coming the other way were inordinately heavy and some needed two coolies per load. |
| text: |
An examination of the I.B. book indicates that there is a lot of traffic on the road. This is bound to mean that there is too heavy a demand for coolies, as villages are smaller and more distant here than at most bridle-paths in the district in the district. It will not however be possible to do much until the outpost at Henima can be withdrawn again. |
