Thangliena: Life of T.H. Lewin, Amongst Wild Tribes of India's North East Frontier

John Whitehead

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1870838068 ISBN 13: 9781870838061

Publisher: Kiscadale Publications, 1992

Thomas Herbert Lewin (1839-1916) was an outstanding soldier/administrator in the wild hills of India's north-east frontier. Not just a man of action, Lewin was also an anthropologist, linguist, writer, artist and musician. In the early part of his life he became effectively the ruler of the remote Lushai Hill Tracts, and his subjects, who had no previous acquaintance with Europeans, came to know him affectionately as "Thangliena". His work in understanding the language and culture of the Lushais was of lasting significance. This biography portrays not just a fascinating character, who in his day was a well-known figure, but also draws contrasts between an active life of service in India that dated from the Mutiny, and Lewin's varied retirement in England as a close friend of many eminent Victorians, including George Meredith and Edward Burne-Jones. Material for the book is drawn from a number of published sources as well as a recently-discovered hoard of private letters.