5 things to know about Nagaland’s respected Litterateur Achilla Erdican who recently passed away

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TNt Desk | June 8, 2018

Recipient of the Governor's Award in 2011 for distinguished achievement in the field of literature Achilla Imlong Erdican passed away on Thursday. June 7 at around 8 pm at a private hospital in Dimapur after a prolonged illness. She was 89 years old and is survived by her husband Dr. Albert G Erdican.

#1 Born on May 9 1929 to late Imlong Chang and Imcharenla from Sipongsang village in Tuensang district, Imlong Erdican was the first lady to matriculate from the Chang community. She was also the first Chang lady to receive a BA degree in 1955. She received her BA and M.Ed. degrees from Linefield College in Oregon in USA in 1958, besides M. LS from the University of Western Ontario in Ontario, in Canada in 1970.

#2 Imlong Erdican also served the community as general secretary of the Chang Tribal Council during 1947-49, and the government as asst. education officer in the ministry of Education during 1959-60, a teacher at Methodist Secondary English School in Malaysia during 1961-63. She was also a special officer for Tuensang Affairs of the government of Nagaland from 1964 to 1969.

#3 She was the first Guides commissioner during 1966-1969, and a member of the Advisory Council of Bhanastali Girls College in Rajasthan from 1967 to 1969. She was a faculty member of the Emory University of Atlanta, USA from 1976 to 2010 and an editor and compiler of the Chang-English, English-Chang Dictionary 2003.

#4 Erdican married Dr. Erdican, an American citizen, on Nov. 25 1970 and returned to Nagaland in 2011 after spending more than 40 years in the United States.

#5 It may be recalled that in 2012 Nagaland Post had widely reported about her contributions to the state government when late Achilla donated the largest collection of Naga artifacts, spanning over more than 100 years, brought all the way from the United States with the help of the Arts & Culture department, Nagaland.

May her eternal soul Rest in Peace.

Source: Naga Hills Express