The Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organization (ENPO) eagerly awaited a draft directly from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) regarding their demand for the Frontier Naga Territory, as announced earlier this month. They went as far as rejecting a draft presented by the Eastern Naga Legislators’ Union (ENLU) on 9 February stating that they will “only wait for the draft from MHA.” However, in a surprising turn of events, Chief Minister Rio clarified that the draft proposal of the MoS (Memorandum of Settlement) was not drafted by the state government but was handed to him by Union Minister Amit Shah to discuss with the elected members and ENPO.
This clarification comes following a resolution during a meeting convened on 23 February at Chenmoho village in Mon District where the ENPO declared their abstention from participating in both central and state elections until the long-standing issue concerning the creation of the ‘Frontier Nagaland Territory’ (FNT) by the Indian government is resolved. The gathering, comprising ENPO, federating tribal bodies, frontal organizations, talk team members, and senior leaders, unanimously agreed to this stance due to the prolonged delay in resolving the Frontier Nagaland issue.
Emphasizing their unwavering commitment, ENPO stated they would not be swayed by any assurances from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) after the upcoming parliamentary elections. They reiterated their determination to pursue alternative courses of action if the aspirations of Eastern Nagaland’s people continued to be neglected. Subsequently, tribal bodies presented a memorandum to the Nagaland governor, reiterating their resolve to explore alternative options if the sentiments of Eastern Nagaland’s populace were not acknowledged.
Following this, during the governor’s address in the ongoing Nagaland Legislative Assembly session, Governor La Ganesan commended the central government’s initiatives to address the problems and grievances of the people of eastern Nagaland. “At this juncture, the need of the hour is Naga unity; and the Nagas can achieve the much-needed unity by remembering their shared and intertwined history, by respecting and caring for each other, and consciously nurturing the Naga brotherhood,” the governor added.
