Mayangnokcha Ao (1901–1988) was an Indian educationist and writer from

Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...

and the founder, Vice President of the

Naga National Council The Naga National Council (NNC) was a political organization and a tribal government of Naga people in the erstwhile Naga Hills District, British India, Naga Hills district of Assam (present-day Nagaland) in Northeast India. It was active from th ...

Early life

Hailing from the

Ao Naga The Aos are a major Naga ethnic group native to Mokokchung District of Nagaland in Northeast India. Their main territory is from Tsüla (Dikhu) Valley in the east to Tsürang (Disai) Valley in the west in Mokokchung District. The Ao Nagas r ...

tribe, born in Changki village, Nagaland, he was the first graduate from the tribe and the first Naga headmaster of the Impur Mission Training M. E. School, the oldest school in the region, where he served from 1927 to 1940. In 1948, he was appointed as the headmaster of the Government High School Mokokchung. He was a member of the team which translated the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

into

Naga language The Naga languages are a geographic and ethnic grouping of Tibeto-Burman, spoken mostly by Naga peoples. Konyak languages, Northern Naga languages do not fall within the group, in spite of being spoken by Naga groups; instead, these form part ...

and was the translator of the

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

Public life

The British Government awarded Mayangnokcha the 'Certificate of Gallantry' in 1945 and the 'Member of British Empire' MBE in 1946. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

conferred on him the President's 'Best teacher' award in 1964, and awarded Mayangnokcha the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

in 1984. In 1966, Ao was part of the five member-Nagaland Peace Commission formed in

Kohima Kohima (; Tenyidie: Kewhira ()) is the capital of the North East Indian state of Nagaland. With a resident population of almost 100,000, it is the second largest city in the state. Kohima constitutes both a district and a municipality. The m ...

as an initiative of the Nagaland Baptist Church Council. It passed a resolution asking government authorities and public to strengthen peace work in Nagaland. Along with Ao, Vizol Koso, Nabakrushna Choudhuri, Lakshmi N. Menon, and Nivukha were part of the commission. They met the Naga underground leaders at Chedema.

Death

On 29 February 1988, he died at the age of 86. His life has been documented in a biography, ''Mayangnokcha, the Pathfinder'' and the Government High School Mokokchung was renamed after him on 16 June 1994 as Mayangnokcha High School.

Legacy

The Mayangnokcha Award Trust was instituted in 1993 to felicitate toppers in the state Higher Secondary Certificate exams conducted by the Nagaland Board of School Education. In 2021, five awards were conferred on students: academic excellence (overall topper), and subject toppers in Ao Naga language, Science, Mathematics, and English. They were awarded to Keneino Thorie, Atula W. Mongro, Yimyatetla Longkumer, Vibeli K. Achumi, and Tiamong Aier respectively.

Early life

Public life

Death

Legacy

References

Further reading