Talking of Nagas, I was the other day talking with my Honourable Friend the Rev. Nichols Roy. Nichols Roy. He reminded me of the fact that there were seven sub-divisions amongst the Nagas each having a different dialect of its own. I had read this many years ago but had forgotten it, he reminded me of the same. And who does not know even at the present time of the system of head-hunting that prevails among the Nagas? They are so ill-developed, they are so much behind in civilization that they go and fight with their neighbouring villagers–not to speak about the fight with the plains tribes about whom our friend Mr. Jaipal Singh was speaking–but of one tribe of Nagas killing another tribe of Nagas, Ao Nagas and Sema Nagas, and cutting off their heads and putting them on the door tops as a memento of their victory. Even last year when a friend of mine visited the Naga Hills, he said there were 150 cases being conducted in the court of law wherein 150 people were charged with head-hunting or taking part in it at the present day. Now, what do you say of such a thing as that ? Why take no notice of such a state of things existing at the present day ? The Committee, with its own difficulties, tried to inquire into the state of affairs not only the Nagas but of all the tribal area people and came to this particular conclusions on which is based Schedule No. VI. The Nagas are a very difficult race to deal with, I know. We had a Naga member on the Committee, Mr. Imti was his name. He was a graduate of the Calcutta University. Somehow or other he worked with the Committee for some time but afterwards withdrew because he was persuaded by his other Naga friends not to work with the Committee, not to give his helping hand and not to be one of us. That was an unfortunate thing.
