[1] John Edgar graduated at 20 in 1860 from a private school after taking an exam for the Indian Civil Service and amassing 1,617 points.
On 14 November 1867, Edgar reached Dudpatil, the official residence of the deputy commissioner of Cachar, with an escort of advanced guards.
[8] Edgar is further credited with the establishment of the Fatak Bazaar of Silchar which was once the biggest shopping centre in South Assam.
Muslim masons worked in Siclhar and layed bricks on the outskirt of the town in Khasi land which became Itkhola.
When Sukpilal was sick and dying, Edgar sent a doctor to the Lushai Hills, but the difficult unmapped terrain prevented an effective timely response ultimately leading to his death in 1881.
Edgar is credited with the development of Silchar as a frontier settlement against the Lushai Hills and headquarters of the Surma Valley Division of Assam.
In the Indian 1971 census, Silchar became the largest tea exporter statistically as a result of Edgar's developments a hundred years later.
The preference for foreign talent and entrepeuners is argued to have led the indigenous Cachar people to become educationally and culturally backwards and mistrusting of the merchants.
[12] Chatterjee argues that Edgar contirbuted to the erasure and obfuscation of the ethnic and native identity of the Cachar people.
In pursuit of economic growth and development, the policies of Edgar sacrificed the social fabric of Cachar before unchecked immigration.
Edgar also pushed out tribals such as Kukis and Nagas to the borders of Cachar and occupied territory of forest and wastelands.
The Sonai and Dhulai valleys which were kuki owned and barren became the rice bowl of Cachar unde the new immigrant labourers.
[15] Using the Revenue Settlement rules 1859, Edgar controlled the brigands, drunken brawls and criminals into a stable secured feudal society.
Cachar became subsistent in feeding its population while being able to export excess harvest to other tea estates and the army commissariat.
During his rule as Deputy-Commisioner of Cachar, the expansion of tea estates was considered steady which eventually reached the borders of the Lushai Hills.
Edgar's bid to resolve the issue would lead him to enter deepening relations with the Lushai frontier and its inhabitants.
[17] With his influence, Edgar managed to secure a few Bengali Zamindars of Sylhet to invest their wealth into purchasing tea estates.
[18] Vast territories of Cachar's wastelands such as the southern portion of the district were leased to different extensive tea estates on a nominal rent rate.
Planters were permitted to construct and maintain their own roads as private property without government interference to further encourage infrastructure.
[19] The Labour Act of 1873 amended various provisions which only allowed the government as the sole authority to deal with runaway workers of the tea gardens.
The British believed the Lushai chiefs would be brought within control by offering gifts and deepening relations of mutual benefit.
Edgar visited Sukpilal with Hari Charan Sharma to convince him of the need of a demarcated boundary that both sides can agree on.
This also opened relations with the Lushai chiefs who now were willing to approach the British to settle disputes as opposed to raiding the tea estates.
The reasoning for his raids were attributed to Lushai custom of providing bawis (slaves) to a woman when entering her new home upon marriage.
He met with the upas of Vonpilal whose mother was ready to make amends for the British after being mistaken to responsible for a raid done by Poiboi.
[26] However due to Nuthall's sickness and difficult terrain and weather issues, the column was not reinforced and turned back.
After the expedition Edgar submitted another detailed report on the geography, Lushai customs, flora, fauna and topography.
[31] After the cycle of mautam struck the Lushai Hills once more it was estimated half the population died of starvation along with pestilence and disease turning fatal from malnutrition.