Anthony Gilchrist McCall

The office would also place chiefs in charge of all grievances and subjects within the circle to encourage leadership cultivation and cooperation.

The document further outlines an anti-corruption clause to not place material and personal ambitions by reaching an office as a circle chief.

McCall's intention of the durbar policy was to encourage chiefs to become able administrators who could maintain foresight for the wellbeing of their people as opposed to their traditional privileges.

The durbar would also encourage chiefs to raise grievances on the implemented policies of the British government or other sources which are not indigenous.

The chiefs at one point allocated funds to an agitator who wished to start a highschool and become educated into a headmaster for the future high school.

On account of only 3% of te population in permanent contact with amenities, the village welfare committees were inaugurated in response.

The rules were that committees must be formed with the chief as president who will be assisted by heads of the village church and school along with pensioners and two ordinary men and women.

To limit long debates, villagers are told the advice beforehand and encouraged to bring up question during the monthly meeting.

[14] McCall established the village welfare committees to encourage choice-making among the Lushai people and take responsibility for their wellbeing.

This was established as a policy of forming a national identity that would resist becoming absorbed into the spheres of Indian or Burmese domination.

McCall argues that cures by order and edict have a lasting effect while dictatorial action is better reserved for emergencies.

[18] McCall and his wife recognised that the Lushais possessed significant talent in cotton weaving on hand looms, which had traditionally been used in pre-colonial times.

This was done with consideration for granting economic capacity for the Lushai people in the situation of self rule or strife in harvest failure.

Another reason for the expansion of the cotton industry was to curb the influence of Christian revivalism that the Welsh mission had caused.

[19] The first article built under the Lushai Hills Cototn Industry was a rug of rough unpsun white tufted locally grown cotton.

The patron of Robert Reid supplied dyes free of cost to the Lushais, who previously could not produce them on a mass scale.

After successful negotiations with the chiefs and their upas, the 300 delegates linked arms around the flag pole with McCall, his wife and two civil officers and sung "God save the King" before the Union Jack.

[3] McCall furthermore made a speech at the chiefs durbar which would show support for the future crown colony scheme of the Chin-Lushais: You will remember that in 1935 the British peoples enacted an Act which had for its purpose the inauguration of Dominion Status for India.

Then in 1938 you, who keep in touch with world affairs, will remember the Munich Agreement of 1938, by which Mr. Chamberlain managed to put off war with Germany for one more precious year.

The Superintendent, Lushai Hills, then intensified the above avenues to create our national strength and unity and intensified Circle Conferences among Chiefs, culminating in October 1941 in a full district Durbar of Circle Representative Chiefs from the North and the South Lushai Hills.

It would be difficult to aspire to nationhood without such institutions as the above.McCall established twelve tactics that would comprise the Total Defense Scheme.

Secondly, McCall was determined to counter the defeatist teachings of the Indian National Congress, who claimed the Japanese would become another colonial master.

McCall was also wary of the influence of Subhas Chandra Bose and the Azad Hind movement of exiled regiments surrendered to the Japanese in Malaya, Java and Burma.

Furthermore, unlike other British administrators and merchants, such as the tea estate owners, McCall and his wife remained in India among the Lushais.

In protest of the decision, McCall claimed that "he represent(ed) the personification of British integrity" to the region's people.

In a letter from Andrew Clow on 10 November 1944, McCall was accredited with implementing the Total Defense Scheme and his far-seeing and accurate judgement.

Clow's decision has been explained primarily due to his private secretary's relationship with McCall and his status as a civilian.

A more prominent reason was that the Total Defense Scheme required a military officer within the chain of command rather than a civilian.

In his diary, McCall criticized the decision of the military commanders who had never set foot in the tribal areas.

[2] McCall married Jean Chrisholm Elliot Scott, who was widowed (formerly Culbard), on 17 October 1924 in Calcutta, India.