ENPO accepts ‘Frontier Naga Territory’ proposal

Mokokchung, 27 June (MTNews): The Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organization (ENPO) has accepted the Government of India’s proposal for the formation of a Frontier Naga Territory (FNT) with legislative, executive, administrative, and financial autonomy.

The ENPO made the announcement on Tuesday, saying, “Considering the sentiments of our Naga brothers and sisters towards unity and togetherness,” it had accepted the proposal “without insisting on dividing the Nagaland State.”

The ENPO is an apex body representing seven tribal communities of the six districts of the Eastern Nagaland region. It has been pursuing the demand for a separate state for the last more than a decade.

“We stand on the threshold of this dialogue; we hope to move forward courageously with the prayers and blessings of our fellow Nagas to a future where we can be equal contributors to the prosperity of our Naga fraternity,” ENPO stated.

In 2010, the ENPO submitted a memorandum to the Government of India demanding a separate state. Formal talks were initiated in 2015, but the issue remained unresolved.

The ENPO recently met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on 6 December 2022. Following this meeting, a series of meetings were held with the officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) involving the State Government of Nagaland.

The ENPO said that the GoI has offered to form the FNT with legislative, executive, administrative, and financial autonomy. The performance of the proposed set-up will be reviewed after a period of 10 years to assess its efficacy to fulfill the aspirations of the people of the Eastern Nagaland region.

The ENPO said that it accepted the proposal because it believes that it will allow the people of Eastern Nagaland to “pursue development and advancement” and “prove that, given the opportunity, we can indeed do well” while sharing “hopes and joy as we embark on its new arrangement.”

The apex body cited that advancements and progress will remain a far cry in the Eastern Nagaland areas “unless these areas are looked after by granting and fulfilling the demand and aspiration of a Statehood under special provision and status in line with Article 371 (A).”

The 7 tribes of ENPO namely Chang, Khiamniungan, Konyak, Phom, Sangtam, Tikhir, and Yimkhiung also appealed to the ‘state government and Naga brothers and sisters’ seeking support towards fulfilling the demand of the people of Eastern Nagaland.

While efforts of successive governments of the state in more recent years to bring the people of the Eastern Nagaland area at par with the more advanced areas of Nagaland is mentionable, however, due to lack of basic foundations the Eastern Nagaland areas are still falling behind the rest of the Nagas by much more than a century’s gap, the ENPO said.

It also said that, by an Act of Parliament under Article 371 (A), Clause (1) (d), a special provision was inserted to administer the areas of Eastern Nagaland – the present ENPO areas – as a special instrument to look after the special needs of the people of these areas, and Clause (2) (b) “where any money is provided by the Govt of India to the Govt of Nagaland to meet the requirement of the State of Nagaland as a whole, the Governor shall in his discretion arrange for an equitable allocation of that money between the Tuensang district and the rest of the State.” This act, the ENPO said, did not bring any desired effect.

The ENPO further informed that the Nagaland government had recommended to the GoI in 2011 for formation of an Autonomous Council/Authority but it was not agreed, and subsequently rejected by the people of Eastern Nagaland.

June 30 consultative meeting postponed

The consultative meeting in regard to the proposed Autonomous Council for the six districts of the Eastern Nagaland region that was scheduled for 30 June has been postponed. A notice issued by Principal Secretary, Home, Abhijit Sinha said the consultative meeting was postponed “due to unavoidable reasons till further notice.”