My Experiences in Manipur and the Naga Hills

The author presents a first-person memoir of his years administering a frontier state and the surrounding hills, combining vivid travel narrative, administrative reports, and personal reflection. He describes journeys, village life, local tribes, customs, and armed encounters with wildlife and hostile settlements, gives episodes illustrating the value of keeping promises and enforcing order, and recounts efforts to mediate disputes and introduce reforms including education and Christian missions. Throughout he contrasts hands-on personal governance with impersonal bureaucratic systems, argues for pragmatic reform rooted in local institutions, and provides practical anecdotes and sketches of officials, ceremonies, and frontier life.