Book launch at T. Haralu’s 100th birth anniversary

Marking the centennial birth anniversary of Thepfurüya Haralu, a book titled “In No Strange Land” was launched on Monday at the residence of Khamba Haralu, the son of late T. Haralu, in Kuda Village, B Khel, Dimapur.
The collected writings are a tribute from some of the people who knew him and his children’s memories of a father.
Thepfurüya Haralu, was an officer of the Indian Frontier Administrative Service (IFAS) in the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) and was also the first Naga recipient of the Padma Shree award in 1964 for services rendered during the Chinese invasion in 1962.
In 1959, Haralu was involved with rehabilitation of the first wave of Tibetan refugees who came to India along with the Dalai Lama.
Later, he went on to become the first deputy commissioner (DC) of Kameng district from 1963-66.
On October 29 1966, the first Indian army team to scale Gorichen Peak was led by him.
The same year he was called to serve in Nagaland by the then NNO government where he served briefly as secretary of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry before becoming the first Naga DC of Kohima district on May 1967.
Haralu began his administrative services in 1949 as a young development officer in the Naga Hills and spent years in Tuensang frontier division. He later opened the Longleng outpost in 1950 and in 1955 he established Mon HQ.
In June 1944, he received a mention in dispatch (MiD) from the British government for his voluntary service as a guide and interpreter and for accompanying the allied troops behind enemy lines.
Thepfurüya married Lhusileü who passed away in 2015. Together, they raised four daughters and three sons, one of whom passed away in 2018. The couple is survived by 23 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.