President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad awarding the Padmashri for meritorious work at NEFA

Sketch map of Nagaland showing the construction of motorable road from Mokokchung to Tuensang in 1957.
Nagaland was part of NEFA at that time.

Malathi as Radha dancing the Manipuri dance. A dance master would come home to teach her

On completion of the IIT work, I was posted back to Delhi as Superintending Engineer, Delhi Circle in charge of  Repairs and Maintenance of all Government buildings at Delhi including Rashtrapati Bhavan and Parliament House. Mabel worked as  Medical Officer for the Air Force Unit and we were allotted quarters within the Air Force camp.  During our stay in Delhi, Kamali was born on the 5^th June 1956.

Naga hostiles at Assam

Some time in October 1956, the CPWD  Superintending Engineer posted at Shillong in charge of works of North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) was ambushed by the Naga hostiles but was fortunate enough to escape with his life though a stenographer who was with him was killed.  He became a nervous wreck and CPWD wanted a replacement for him. NEFA came directly under the charge of the External Affairs Ministry with the Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru heading it.  

We came to know later that the Superintending Engineer had been directed to construct a  road from Mokokchung to Tuensang in Nagaland on high priority as without this important road communication, the Army was finding it difficult to tackle the Naga hostiles who were then conducting a guerilla type of warfare against the Government. The sanction for the road was given as early as 1952 but till 1956 no action was taken by CPWD, even to survey and align the road. The Superintending Engineer was dead scared to go into Nagaland to survey the road as the Naga hostilities were at their peak during that period and so the road construction remained unattended.

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) of that area was extremely perturbed over this abnormal delay in constructing the road and he took up the matter with the Prime Minister who directed the Engineer-in-Chief, CPWD to ensure that the construction of the road was taken up immediately and completed without any further delay. The Engineer-in-Chief in turn asked the Superintending Engineer to proceed immediately to Nagaland and ensure early completion of the work as directed by the Prime Minister. As he was nervous to go over to Nagaland all by himself,  he pleaded with the other Heads of Department to accompany him as he felt that this hazardous task was  unnecessarily being thrust upon him. Sympathising with his plight, the other Heads of Department obliged him by agreeing to go with him.

The Superintending Engineer’s stenographer conveniently absented himself on that day and the Director of Finance who was with him picked up his own stenographer on the way. The whole group traveled to Jorhat from where they had to proceed to Mokokchung on the foothills of Nagaland, about 60 miles away by road.  The law and order situation was so bad at that time that  a convoy consisting of 100 vehicles, with about 5 Army vehicles leading the convoy, followed by a few civilian vehicles like cars, buses and trucks and again some more Army vehicles with a few more civilian vehicles and ending with Army vehicles, leaves Jorhat every day. at 6 am  to  Mokokchung. Even the slightest noise or rustle among the forest trees would immediately bring the convoy to a halt with the soldiers getting out of their vehicles and keeping guard.  It was therefore no wonder that this 60 miles of travel from Jorhat to Mokokchung took almost 12 hours.

All these Army manoeuvres further frightened the Superintending Engineer who became more and more nervous. The convoy reached at about 6 pm and the Superintending Engineer was put up in a Circuit House with  soldiers behind sand-bags guarding the Circuit House. He could not sleep the whole night and in the morning, he spoke to the Political Officer of the Division who is of the rank of  Dy. Collector and asked him to arrange for a special convoy back to Jorhat as he was not prepared to stay any longer at Mokokchung.  He said that he was even prepared to resign from the Department if it became necessary.

A Special Convoy consists of 5 vehicles with an Army carrier with troops in the front followed by a jeep carrying the VIP, then an Army vehicle, a civilian jeep and with another Army vehicle with troops at the rear. At the marketplace at Mokokchung where they were discussing the details and timings of the travel back to Jorhat, there were also a few other tribal people listening to their conversation. All tribals dress alike with a loin cloth and a shawl around their shoulders so it is difficult to say who is a loyal Naga and who is a hostile Naga.

The Special Convoy left Mokokchung with the Superintending Engineer getting into the 4^th jeep instead of the 2^nd jeep which was normally meant for the VIP. The stenographer therefore occupied the 2^nd jeep. The road from Mokukchung towards Jorhat winds around a bit and faces Mokokchung once again after a four mile ride, separated only by a deep valley. While the Special Convoy was at that place, there was shooting from the adjoining hill which killed the driver of the front Army vehicle. Before he died he drove the vehicle on to the hill-side, otherwise  it would have fallen down the velley on the left side, taking all the troops with it. There was a second shot which killed the stenographer sitting in the 2^nd jeep. The Army retaliated and shot one of the Nagas while the second fellow ran away. It was found later that the Naga who was killed was the same man who was at the marketplace listening to their conversation. The Superintending Engineer became hysterical and took shelter under the jeep and started screaming while the Nepali peon stood on the side of the jeep covering him. The Superintending Engineer became a nervous wreck after this and proceeded on long leave, thus creating the vacancy.

The Engineer-in-Chief sent circulars around to get Engineers to volunteer for the post but in spite of so many circulars and pressure from the Prime Minister’s Secretariat there was no response for almost 6 months. I felt this situation rather embarrassing and I went on my own accord to the Engineer-in-Chief.  I told him that the work in NEFA should either be handed over to the Army because of the hostile law and order situation there or if this could not be done, I was prepared to volunteer to fill up the vacancy. He thought at first that I was joking , as Delhi postings are always treated as prize positions and people from all over India clamour for a posting in Delhi. Also, as I was holding a highly responsible post dealing with Central Government ministers, he was hesitant to consider my proposal.  However, as he had no other option, he finally agreed that I could go to NEFA.

So all of us, that is  Mabel and I, Malathi, Suresh, Kamali, Poornam, our faithful maid and our cocker spaniel left by train to Gauhati in Assam in May 1957. From there we went by road to Shillong, a pretty hill station, which was then the Head-Quarters of NEFA.

A bungalow on 5 acres of land with 4 geese as watchmen

My Departmental staff had arranged a large bungalow for me on the hill, just below the residence of the Maharaja of Tripura, located on 5 acres of land with a stream running through it. The house had 4 large bed rooms with large dressing rooms and toilets attached, a spacious kitchen, pantry and stores and an outhouse with 4 rooms to accommodate the peon (office boy), mali  (gardener) and watchman.We got 4 large geese to enjoy the stream which flowed through our land and they acted more like watchmen as no one could go near them.

Balraj Uncle and Hepsie Aunty

Balraj Uncle and Hepsie Aunty stayed with us throughout our posting in Shillong. We had a wonderful time there with almost all our relatives visiting us and enjoying the salubrious climate of Shillong. Aunty David stayed with us for quite some time and while she was there, she had some problem with her tonsils and so she got her tonsillectomy done at one of the Mission Hospitals through Dr. MacPherson, one of the famous Surgeons there.

Cycle rides, pony rides and Manipuri dance

Mabel got a job as Assistant Surgeon at the Government Hospital in Shillong and Malathi and Suresh were admitted into the Loretto Convent there. Malathi enjoyed cycling up and down the hill while Suresh had his daily pony rides. We were members of the All Saints Church with a Khasi pastor in charge and with congregation members,  mostly khasis. We became very popular there with Mabel taking a major part in women’s activities and I was in charge of the youth.

Malathi started learning Manipuri dance with the dance master coming over to our place and teaching her at our home thrice a week. Within 2 years,  she could dance so well that we got her to take part in one of the major dance performances held at the Government Auditorium where she danced for almost 45 minutes in front of a large audience, in two sessions, one as Radha and the other as Krishna.

Road from Mokukchung to Tuensang

I reported for duty to General Shrinagesh, Governor of Assam and to Mr. K. L. Mehta, ICS, Adviser to the Governor of Assam. All the Heads of Departments were designated as Directors in NEFA and I was designated as Director of Engineering. My first assignment was to construct the road from Mokukchung to Tuensang, the capital of Nagaland which had remained unattended though sanctioned as early as 1952.

Expensive labour from the plains

I tried to analyze why construction works in NEFA were not at all proceeding satisfactorily, especially road works which were then being done through Oriya and Assamese labour from the plains without engaging any of the local tribal people. Apart from the hostility of the local tribals to the engagement of outside labour, I found that it was also proving extremely costly as this involved maintaining a large contingent of outside labour from the plains to carry food and other necessities to the labour force working on the job right in the interior in the mountainous region. To maintain one outside labourer on the project, it needed an average of over 5 people to travel up and down from the plains to the place of work as they could hardly trek 10 miles in a day carrying heavy loads over high mountainous area with steep slopes.

Introducing a new concept: 'Single Line Administration'

In consultation with the Adviser to the Governor of Assam and other Heads of Department of NEFA, I devised a new concept of Administration to tackle this problem, termed as ‘Single Line Administration’ which involved the work being done solely by the local tribal people with full participation by all the Departmental heads of NEFA. The Director of Forests and his staff would look after the clearance of the forests which fell on the road alignment, the Director of Health would look after the health of the tribal workers and the staff  of Directors of Agriculture and Education to help in overall supervision of the work. The Director of Administration would offer his help in arranging for the services of the Assam Pioneers, which was a semi-military force experienced in rock blasting using explosives whenever we met rock in the road alignment. The Director of Engineering (that's me) and his staff would take over the management and full technical control of the project, starting right from surveying and aligning of the road to permissible grades for vehicular traffic, designing and providing breast walls, retaining walls, bridges, culverts, efficient drainage and road formation.

This new concept was very much appreciated by the Governor and his Adviser and by the whole administrative set up of NEFA. as this not only quickened the pace of work but also reduced the cost of the project to one fourth or one fifth of the earlier project cost. I received a number of appreciative letters from the NEFA  Administration for the formulation and introduction of his new concept. I decided that I would adopt this concept  on the  very first project of mine in NEFA, on the construction of the road from Mokukchung to Tuensang.

No more 100-vehicle convoys!

As I mentioned earlier, I had to go through the same drill of traveling from Jorhat to Mokokchung in a 100-vehicle convoy  and being put up in the Circuit House with the soldiers guarding us by stationing themselves around the building behind sandbags and on the alert, as I was told that the hostiles become quite active whenever some VIP arrives.

My team consisted of my Executive Engineer, 4 Assistant Engineers and my Nepali peon. All the Engineers were dead scared and were blaming me for taking such risks as we could never trust the Nagas who may find some way of slaughtering the whole lot of us. I placed myself completely in the hand of God and fully trusted Jesus’ words when he said ‘Cast all your burdens on me  and I will take care of you’. I was quite confident that He would send our  Guardian Angel to take care of us and there was nothing for us to fear. I remained completely calm after that and knew that every thing would work out well and then did my best to instill some courage into my Engineers.

The next morning, I met the Political Officer and told him that I had come to construct the road so I could not just remain caged in the Circuit House. I had to meet the heads of the tribal people who are called ‘Gaonburas’ and chalk out a programme of construction as to how to get the road constructed. He expressed a little hesitancy on his part as he felt that in the extremely bad state of law and order in the Division, there could be some risk in meeting the heads of the tribal people as it was difficult to distinguish a hostile Naga from a loyal one. Anyway, I insisted that with the Prime Minister giving the highest priority for this work, the road would have to be constructed though there may be some risk in doing so. I told him that I had already finalized a tentative alignment of the road and the villages that the road would pass through, so in the first instance I would only need the Gaonburas from these villages. That would be about 10 in number. He finally agreed and sent word to all these Gaonburas to come to Mokukchung and meet me to discuss about the construction of the  road. They all came about 3 days later, as some of them had to come from villages 60 miles away, walking down the hills.

Confabulation with Naga Chiefs, the Gaonburas

The Political Officer, the Army Major,  4 engineers and I were seated on chairs with soldiers protecting us from behind. Before any discussion began,  all the Gaonburas came one by one and placed their gifts at my feet .  To show respect, they then walked backwards without showing their backs to me.  The gifts consisted of Naga shawls, spear, dah which is the Naga knife, Naga hat, chicken and eggs.

All of them knew how to speak Hindi so it was easy for me to converse with them directly. I thanked them first for taking all the trouble to come this long distance to meet me and also to shower me with so many gifts. I explained to them that I had come all the way  from the capital city of Delhi just to make a road in their Division from Mokukchung to Tuensang as their Division was the only one where there was no motorable road communication and  roads were the first step for the development of  any area. I told them that my Engineers and I had come all this distance  only to discuss with them how to get this road constructed completely with Naga labour. Not a single outside labourer would be involved in this, so it would become their road and they should be proud of  that. It was therefore for them to suggest how they wanted to get this project completed.

Slowly, the Gaonburas opened up and asked me how I was proposing to pay them for the said construction. We have a Delhi Schedule of Rates for construction of roads and in my mind, I was prepared to pay even up to 3 or 4 times those rates as the working conditions in Nagaland were so difficult compared to what prevailed in Delhi and other areas in the plains. I asked them what rates they expected from me as I knew  that they had no method by which they could quote their rates.

"We want Delhi rates!"

The tribals usually keep their accounts by making different-sized nicks on bamboos to indicate different money values. One of the gaonburas stood up and said, ‘Sir, we would like to have Delhi rates’, without realizing in the least what that really meant and without knowing what rates they would actually get for the said construction.

I started pulling their legs, asking how they could ask for rates applicable to Delhi which is a Capital city, when there could not be a comparison between their city and Delhi. They however insisted that they would like to have Delhi rates only and nothing less. I pretended that I was reluctantly giving in to their request and agreed to give Delhi rates for the work. They were all so excited and very happy that they got what they wanted. Then we could get down to brass tacks.

60 miles of road in two months: collaborative execution

I told them that now that the rates were settled, we should sit and discuss and chalk out a  construction programme to complete the 60 miles of road, say within a period of two months. I asked each of the gaonburas to let me know how many men and women labour each village could contribute towards the construction and for how many days. After some discussion among themselves, one by one they informed me of the labour strength that they could provide for the road construction. Some of them came forward with providing 900 people for 3 weeks, some 500 for two weeks and so on.

Their way of working is that they bring their whole family including men, women and children and all their food needs for the total period of working and they make their own temporary shelters by cutting the nearby trees and bamboo groves. We did not have to take any responsibility for their food and housing which relieved us of a great burden.

After knowing the strength of labour available, I  calculated the men and women days each village could contribute and worked out  a tentative construction programme  to complete the road in 2 months by allotting each village the stretch of road that they should take responsibility for. The next step was to walk on the alignment that I had provisionally decided upon on the basis of  the cadastral map of the area so that the final alignment could be fixed on the ground. The gaonburas were quite willing to take us on the proposed alignment and fully assured us of our safety.  They also volunteered to look after all our needs like providing food, shelter etc to my Engineers and also to me during our walk to Tuensang, our ultimate destination, which would take at least 3 days to reach.

I accepted their assurance of our safety and the next day, my Engineers and I started to walk with the Gaonburas on the tentative alignment, modifying it wherever necessary and fixing the temporary site offices and residence for the 4 Assistant Engineers who would be supervising the work.

Destroyed churches rebuilt by order of the PM

During my walk, I saw a beautiful church close by and I wanted to visit it. The Sikh Regiment which was in command of that area had earlier burnt all the churches that existed in Nagaland hoping that once they totally destroyed them, the Nagas would come to terms. On the other hand, this action provoked the Nagas and flared up the situation so much that the Nagas went on a rampage killing the Indian soldiers in large numbers by resorting to guerrilla warfare. In fact, this was one of the main reasons for the Nagas to continue with their hostile activities, as most of the educated Nagas were Christians and felt that once they stopped their resistance, they would all be converted to Hinduism.

As soon as our Prime Minister came to know of this highly irresponsible action of the Army, he ordered that all churches which were destroyed should be rebuilt to a much better specification than that which existed before. The church that I saw was one of them and I was very happy to see it so well-maintained, well-furnished and decorated.

The Gaonburas wanted to know whether I was a Christian and when I told them that I was one, they got so thrilled and excited that they immediately got a group of choristers with their full instrumental accompaniment to sing a number of songs to me. I  really had a wonderful fellowship with them and I thanked God for making this possible.

Trout-fishing with spears, hunting with hawks

While continuing with our walk, we came across a hill stream where I saw Nagas fishing with their spears. As the trout fish jumps against the flow of the stream, they aim their spears at them and get them. This was quite a novel way of fishing that I had not seen before. In one of the villages that we passed through, one of the Nagas had a hawk sitting on his forearm over a leather band wound around his hand. He told me that he hunts pigeons and other birds with the help of his hawk and he actually demonstrated this to me by showing me a bird flying above and then whistling to the hawk and pointing the bird to it. The hawk flew from his hand and after a short while brought the bird in its beak. This did thrill me.

Naga dancing and hospitality

We spent the 3 nights in the villages, where they entertained us with rice beer, rice, chicken meat, pork, vegetable dish and black tea. The best part was the tribal dance by the girls of the village who included us also in their dance  and the vigorous war dance by the men in which also we were forced to take part. These dances carry on till late into the night till you get fully tired out. This however displayed the hospitable and generous spirit of the Nagas in entertaining guests.

The 3-day trek enabled me to finalise the complete alignment of the road and to give full instructions to the Gaonburas about the stretch of road that each village would be responsible for.  This plan ensured that the entire road would stand completed, once all the Gaonburas fulfilled their respective assignments. They assured me that they would keep their promises and that they would make it possible for me to drive to Tuensang in my jeep in 2 months’ time.

Safe: no escort, just a jeep-ride with a peon and a driver

They further told me that I need not resort to any special convoy for my return  but just drive back in my jeep from Mokukchung to Jorhat without any fear whatsoever as they would ensure our safety by informing all concerned. With such assurance from them, I trekked back to Mokukchung and then drove back to Jorhat with only my driver and peon leaving Mokukchung at about 7 pm. With the winding road in the hill section, if anyone wanted to harm us they could easily do it as the headlights of our jeep could be seen miles away ahead of us. By God’s grace, we reached Jorhat safely at about 9 pm just after 2 hours run.

Lost and found: Rs. 10,000

During the execution of the work, one of my Engineers left about Rs. 10,000/- which was meant for payment to the workers, forgetfully on the way. He was perturbed over it and sent me a call by wireless to Shillong. I told him that he should just report to the Gaonbura of the village about the missing money and that he would trace the money for him. Just as I hoped, the money was found by the Gaonbura on one of the road-side benches covered by sticks in the form of a cone. I was told later that whenever a lost item was found anywhere, the tribals would just cover it with sticks or bamboo and nobody would touch it till the owner recovered the missing item. That was the standard of  honesty that existed among the tribals at that time.

It was a great surprise to every one when I drove from Mokukchung to Tuensang just after 2 months in my jeep without any Army escort whatsoever but with just my driver and peon. There was a great rejoicing at Tuensang, with the Political Officer, his staff and the Army Commander and soldiers taking part to celebrate the completion of this strategic road which had remained unattended for over 5 years.

Other major road projects

Finding that the ‘Single Line Administration’ concept was successful in the execution of the Mokukchung-Tuensang road project, we embarked on some major road projects apart from the construction of internal roads in all the six Divisions connecting all the major towns within the Division. A few of the major projects to mention are:

Bomdila-Diranzong-Tawang Road – length 99 miles.

At the time of my joining in NEFA in 1957, I found that two  roads in NEFA were being constructed by Army Engineers, one from Charduar in the plains of Assam to Bomdila and then onwards to Tawang near the China border in Kameng Division, a length of about 137 miles. The second project with them was to construct a road from the plains of Assam to Hapoli, capital of Subansiri Division, a length of about 70 miles. These roads were allotted to the Army Engineers in 1952 with a time limit of 4 years to complete the construction. While Bomdila –Tawang road traversed a high mountainous terrain reaching up to 14,000 feet, the road in Subansiri Division was almost in a plain area.

38 miles of road completed by the Army in three years

Till 1957, the Army Engineers could only complete 38 miles of road towards Bomdila which was about 70 miles from the plains and about 50 miles in Subansiri Division. In the Bomdila road project, the Army Engineers found that they could not proceed beyond 38 miles as they were not able to find a suitable road alignment from there to Bomdila. They had constructed 38 miles of road in about 3 years time reaching a height of 9800 feet and built a nice Army mess there calling it the ’Eagle’s Nest Mess’ which they were  using whenever they visited that area. There was no construction activity beyond that for almost two years.

At that time, the Defence Ministry wanted to withdraw one of the Army Divisions from NEFA. as there was a threat in the North west and they wanted the Army Engineers there. They asked me which Division I would like to spare without affecting the progress of road work in NEFA. Finding that the Army Engineers in the Bomdila sector were not progressing with the construction work for almost 2 years, I agreed to the withdrawal of the Army Engineers from that Division.

This road construction was given a high priority by the NEFA Administration as they were expecting possible trouble from the Chinese on the borders of Kameng Division. It therefore became an immediate responsibility for me to proceed with the construction beyond 38 miles to reach Bomdila, the capital of Kameng Division in the shortest possible time and then proceed further towards Tawang via Dirang Zong.

Along with my Survey staff,  I reconnoitred the whole area covered with virgin forest with trees of  over 50 feet girth and solid rock formation and in about a weeks time, we were able to find a suitable alignment towards Bomdila, a distance of 32 miles.
32 miles of road, completed by my team over four-and-a-half months Adopting the same single line concept and with the help of the Assam Pioneers to tackle the solid rock fouling the alignment, I was able to complete the road up to Bomdila which is about 7500 feet high above sea level, in about 4 ½ months time. This was an extremely difficult construction as it passed through thick forests, high solid rock formation and unstable and loose soil at places which gave rise to so many land slides some of them killing some of our workers. It was just God’s grace that I escaped death though I had also walked on the same alignment during construction facing so many landslides.

The completion of this road was highly appreciated by the Governor of Assam and his Adviser, Mr. K. L. Mehta, ICS who wanted to hold a big function at Bomdila to celebrate the occasion. Mr. Mehta also extended a special invitation to Mabel to attend the function which gave her a chance to see the inside of NEFA and the conditions that were existing then. We traveled in the same jeep to Bomdila and she was filled with awe to find that the road was passing through such high cliffs with overhanging vertical rock of about 80 to 100 feet.

At the function held at Bomdila to celebrate the event, where the Governor of Assam, his Adviser and all the senior officials were present, I, in my speech, wanted to award medals and certificates to my Engineers and staff  who had worked on the project. The Adviser stopped me in my speech and said that he wanted to just say a few words before I continued with mine. He announced that the Governor of Assam was pleased to award me a Gold Medal for the meritorious services rendered by me in completing the Mokokchung Tuensang Road in record time and in taking up the completion of the road from Eagle’s Nest Mess to Bomdila within a short period of just
4 ½ months in spite of the extremely difficult terrain.

Escape route for the Dalai Lama, the highest road in the world at that time at 14,000 feet

In the following two years, I was able to complete the road from Bomdila towards the China border, first up to Dirangzong where a bridge was named after me and then beyond to Tawang just 5 km short of the China border, as I was then directed by the Government that the road should not extend beyond Tawang. This road passed through Sela pass at a height of 14,000 feet and was then the highest road in the world though a couple of years later, the Gilgit road constructed by Pakistan had exceeded this height.

The road to Tawang was constructed by me in the year 1960 and this became the escape route for Dalai Lama and to his entourage from China to India in the year 1961. It appeared for all purposes as if the road was made to order for the Dalai Lama to escape.

With the completion of the road to Tawang, our Indian Army took up positions at Sela Pass with all the guns pointing towards the north to stop the Chinese from advancing, in case they decided to invade India. But it so happened in the following year 1962, the Chinese decided to invade India by taking an easier route through the adjoining Bhutan where the hills are of much lower height thus cutting off  the higher pass at Sela where our Indian troops were stationed.

Not a shot was fired by our Army  and the Chinese Army made use of the Bomdila Dirangzong Road as an invasion route to travel right up to the foothills where they stayed for 3 days pointing their guns towards the plains.  After that they returned  to China by the same road, without a single shot being fired by them. 

Using a successful model to complete other road projects 

With the Single line Administration concept having proved successful  in undertaking projects in NEFA speedily as well as at a very low cost, I was able to take up a number of road projects in all the six Divisions of NEFA.

Along-Majorbari Road

One other challenging work that I took up was the construction of Along Majorbari Road connecting Along, the capital of Siang Division with the plains of Assam. Capitals of  five Divisions had been connected with the plains of Assam except for Siang Division which was connected to the plains only by air route from Dibrugarh to Along.

"It's just not possible"

The Government of India's Ministry of Transport. had received an estimate for about Rs. 64.00 lakhs for the construction of a connecting road from Along to the plains. The Ministry had rejected the proposal saying that a road was not possible because of the treacherous nature of the hills to the south of Along. They had therefore come to the conclusion that air connection to Along was the only  means of communication to that Division.

Aerial survey and reconnaissance survey by foot

 I was however not happy with this decision, as I was very keen to provide a proper road access to this Division from the plains. I therefore made an aerial survey of the terrain to the South of Along and I noticed that though the  hills were shattered and looked hostile, there were gaps between the hills which could  permit the construction of a road.

I decided to walk and make a reconnaissance survey of the road right from Along  to the plains of Assam and I was quite convinced that a good road about a 100 miles in length could be constructed with permissible motorable gradients in that terrain.

The only hitch was that the Government of India would not permit the construction of the road, as according to them a road was just not possible.

"We have just rupees two lakhs"

I then discussed this construction with the Adviser to the Governor of Assam, who said that the powers of the Governor to sanction projects was only to the extent of Rupees two lakhs and hence the question of taking up the construction could not arise. I did not want to give up this matter so easily and I took up this project as a challenge.  I sent for all the gaonburas of the villages along the proposed alignment and told them that Siang Division which was the most advanced of all the Divisions in NEFA, was the only Division without a road from the plains.  This was affecting the overall development of the Division.  A  road from the plains would make a lot of difference and bring prosperity to the Division.

I told them that the road from the plains would be about 100 miles in length and NEFA Administration did not have enough money to construct the road except for Rupees two lakhs. The road construction could only be taken up if they,  (the gaonburas)agreed to accept payment at the rate of Rupees two thousand per mile of the road construction. After some discussion among themselves, they said that they would fully cooperate with me in getting the road completed and accept payment at the rate of Rupees two thousand for each mile of the road they construct. 

100 miles of road in 100 days

With the permission of the Adviser, I started the construction with full support from all the other Departments of  NEFA. Using tribal labour, I completed the construction of the 100 miles of road in just 100 days, which stands as a record for  road construction in NEFA.

We were able to travel by jeep all the way from the plains of Assam to Along just after the completion of the road. I happened to go to NEFA after about ten years of my departure from there and I found that this road is now one of the most strategic road for the Army to reach the China border from the plains of Assam, as Army trucks, weapon carriers, tanks etc are making full use of this road. 

New townships spring up

During my stay of 4 years in NEFA, a number of new townships were also established in all the six Divisions connected with motorable roads and complete with all infrastructure like administrative buildings, schools, hospitals, residential buildings, workshops, cultural centres etc  and fully provided with water supply, sanitary and electrical installations. 

Airport in Shillong

Considering the disturbed conditions in the North, the Governor of Assam was very keen that an Airport should be built in Shillong which could cut down his travel time from Shillong to Gauhati by almost 2 ½ hours in case of any emergency.

During those days, Shillong was connected with Gauhati by road which used to take 3 hours to travel. He wanted the  construction of the airport to be taken up on war footing and completed in a very short time.

I was able to locate a suitable site in Upper Shillong where there were two small hills separated by a valley. I bull-dozed the top of the two hills and filled up the valley to form a nice level runway for small Dornier planes to land and take off.

"Is it a bird?"

The first trial flight was taken up in the year 1960 when a Dornier plane piloted by Group Captain Lodhi landed smoothly on the newly built runway.

The Khasi people from the nearby villages who had never seen a plane at close quarters were so thrilled and excited that they all rushed towards the plane to touch it to see for themselves that it was not a big bird as they had always believed that only birds could fly in the air.

The Governor and the Officers of the NEFA Administration were extremely pleased that they had now an airport in Shillong for use in case of any emergency  and they were all full of appreciation that the work  could be completed in such a short time. 

The folowing are extracts from some of the letters written by the Adviser to the Governor of Assam and other Officers of the Government of India and NEFA Administration appreciating the introduction of ‘Single Line Administration’ in NEFA: 

From Mr. K. L. Mehta, I.C.S., Advisor to the Governor of Assam in May 1959.

At the time of my impending departure from your midst, I wish to send you just a line to thank you for the help and willing cooperation which I received from you in ample measure throughout my tenure in Shillong. I would like to express my appreciation for the lead given by you in making the conception of Single Line Administration of NEFA a success, without which it would have been impossible to record such progress as we have been able to make in the past few years. I hope that the excellent spirit which has been established and which enables us all to work as a member of a united and happy team, will be fully maintained in the years to come.

What a lot of transformation has come about in the interior mainly due to the exertions of your Engineers under your excellent leadership. New vistas have opened up through the construction of several hundred miles of roads in record time and at comparatively little cost. A number of new buildings have also come up, making it possible for our officials to live in comparative ease and comfort. Yours has been a fine achievement and it is a pleasure to see all your Engineers working as members of a family. 

From Mr. M. R. Sachdev, Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Works, Housing and Supply. 

I am writing this to convey to you the Government of India’s appreciation of your good work in connection with the construction of Bomdila Dirang Dzong Road. The construction of this 28 mile long jeepable road with the help of the tribal labour in the most difficult and undeveloped part of the country in a record time of 4 ½ months is indeed an achievement. It is hoped that with continued effort, you will be able to achieve similar good results in the tasks that lie ahead of you. 

From Mr. K. L. Mehta, I. C. S., Ministry of External Affairs in May 1960. 

I wish to repeat my congratulations on the opening of the Bomdila-Dirang-Dzong Road and also take this opportunity to congratulate you and all your helpers in the even greater achievement in extending the Along-Basar Road up to the plains of Assam.  

Mabel was not at all happy that I was continuing to work in NEFA even after expiry of the two year period, which was the normal period of working in a hard area posting as I was in.

The NEFA Administration was not however prepared to release me and Mabel got so fed up that in the beginning of 1960, which was my fourth year of my stay in NEFA, she decided to go away to Bangalore and stay on there till I got relieved. During her stay at Bangalore, Roshini was born on the 17^th April 1960. I was able to get my release only late in December 1960 after promising the Adviser that I would definitely return after my 4 months leave, which I never did.

"Son-in-law of  the Nagas"

In the last month of my stay in NEFA, I went over to all the Divisions to bid farewell to all the NEFA Officers there and to the Tribal people who were extremely good to me.  At all the Divisions, the farewell functions included dance with the tribal boys and girls for hours together  till late in the night.

In Nagaland, the tribals held a very big function where after the farewell speech, they came and tied a string of beads to my hair at the back of my head and said that I had become their son-in-law  and that I could choose any girl that I liked! I thanked them for their offer but regretted my inability to accept as I was a married man blessed with a loving wife and four sweet children.   They then wanted me to join them in their vigorous war dance which continued almost throughout the night with all the men and women taking part.  Though the work in NEFA was extremely difficult and challenging, I reckon this as my best posting throughout my career in CPWD, as it also brought me in touch with the local tribal people with their in-built qualities of life, so simple, kind, hard-working and honest. It was a real pleasure to me working with them and I really enjoyed it.  The Government of India in appreciation of the meritorious work  that I did in NEFA awarded me the title of ‘PADMA SHRI’ through the then President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad, at the Republic Day Honours of 1962. I was then the youngest Government Officer to be awarded  the PADMA SHRI.                  

Citation by the Government of India 

Shri Joseph Durai Raj, now Superintending Surveyor of Works, joined the Central Public Works Department in November 1949 and was posted to the N.E.F.A. Circle as Superintending Engineer in 1957. Under his able guidance and leadership, 199 miles of jeepable road, 113 miles of mule-track and 337 miles of porter tracks were constructed economically in a very difficult terrain. In addition, 76 miles of existing roads were improved in about three years. This spectacular progress in the construction of roads in the N.E.F.A. in record time was mainly due to the untiring efforts, intelligent planning and immense drive and initiative displayed by Shri Durai Raj. 

Cutting from the Hindustan Times published on that date :- 

The two youngest recipients were Ramanathan Krishnan (25), the tennis player and Mr. Joseph Durai Raj (42) for his part in road construction in the NEFA area. 

Extracts from some of the Letters of appreciation from family members: 
  
From Athai, Mrs. Kamalam David:

Hearty Congratulations. May the Almighty God bless you abundantly and crown you with more and more titles and success. I am grateful to God for giving me such a wonderful and clever son-in-law.  

From my Aunt, Mrs. Grace Tucker, Dy. Minister, Government of Karnataka:  

Great is the honour to you – for a Padma Shri is a rare and a much coveted reward. But nephew is richly deserving of such an honour. I congratulate you and hope that you will receive many more such honour. 

From my Aunt, Mrs. Daisy Boaz: 

Let me first congratulate Dorai upon receiving the most honoured degree of Padma Shri. This is the first occasion when a member of our family is honoured in this way and all of us feel mighty proud about it. So please accept our heart felt congratulations from all of us. 

From Laurie Athan, Mr. E.L.J. Isaac: 

I have great faith in our Government. In most things they do the really right thing. Here is a case where you are working so hard and conscientiously for our country and they have recognized it. At one time, I used to feel that you were over doing it by risking your health and even your neck by trying to be over efficient. Now I am satisfied that it is the right approach. We are all proud and happy on the Honour conferred on you. If all of us Indian Engineers had your approach to get things done expeditiously and honestly, I assure you that our country will be a better place to live in. 

From my cousin Mrs. Viola Isaac: 

God is great and He showers His blessings on the good, hard, honest and wonderful work which you have done an are still doing.  We are glad that your kind heart and self sacrifice has been rewarded. We thank God for His Great Blessings and pray that He will bless you and your family more and more and are eagerly looking forward to hearing about many more distinctions conferred on you. 

From my co-brother Dr. Clement  Paul, Judge of the High Court of Madras  

You don’t know how excited and proud we are at the very High honour conferred on you but which you so richly deserved. Our very hearty and sincere congratulations to you. We hope and pray that in the years to come, still higher and greater Honours and distinctions will be conferred on you and you will reach the very highest top in your profession. 

From my cousin Mrs. Leila Paul:

Please accept our HEARTIEST CONGRATULATIONS on your being conferred the PADMA SHRI. We are so happy, we are all jumping for joy and thank God for all His mercies. This is a well deserved reward for all your hard work and brilliant achievements and we are thrilled that the Government has recognized your merits. May God bless you more and more.