The creation of the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA) marks a significant political and administrative step for eastern Nagaland, but it also opens a larger question for New Delhi: what happens when one part of the wider Naga-inhabited region gets a new arrangement while Nagas in neighbouring Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh continue to wait for answers? The FNTA may address long-standing development deficits in six eastern districts, but its political consequences could extend well beyond Nagaland.
For the Modi government, the real test may now be whether this arrangement strengthens the idea of negotiated accommodation — or creates fresh expectations among Naga communities elsewhere.
The Modi government has achieved one milestone in a way. But there are other issues.
How would people of the hills in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh now ‘take’ things when ‘Eastern Nagaland’ will march towards greater glories?
The agreement and the new law will create the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA), covering six districts — Tuensang, Mon, Kiphire, Longleng, Noklak and Shamator.
It involves the lives and times of seven tribes — Konyaks, Sangtams, Changs, Phoms, Khiamniungans, Yimchungrus and Tikhirs.
The region ‘remained’ neglected when far away from the Good Governance model of the Double Engine Sarkar.
The revised Bill, as passed by the Nagaland Assembly on Sept. 3 (Thursday), says, among other things, that 20 elected MLAs of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly falling in the FNT area shall be ex-officio members of the FNTA without voting rights.
There shall be 40 constituencies covering the FNT region for electing members to the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority. Each constituency shall be a single-member territorial constituency.
Speaking on the Bill, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said on Thursday that it has been a “sincere” endeavour of his government that no community or region was “left behind” in the developmental journey.
He maintained that, “due to a combination of geographical challenges and historical factors,” the six districts of eastern Nagaland have “long suffered” from development deficits.
Rio first came to power in 2003 and has been in office since then for a long stint.
Barring a brief spell of President’s Rule on the eve of the 2008 Assembly polls and during his stint as the Lok Sabha MP between May 2014 and March 2018, he has remained at the helm of power.
On Sept. 3 (Thursday), he lamented: “Despite being rich in resources and human capital, these areas have not been able to keep pace with the progress witnessed in other parts of the state.”
Now, it will be important to examine how the FNTA move of the NDA regime impacts politics in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.
Many say that had the Centre inked the Naga Peace Pact after 2019, when “talks were over”, as stated in the Assembly by the then Governor R.N. Ravi, many issues could have been resolved.
In fact, the Naga peace pact did not come because NSCN-IM raised the demand for a Naga flag and a separate Constitution. The Centre has ruled out these demands, with Home Minister Amit Shah reportedly stating that these could not be given in the next 400 years.
Now, analysts feel the option for the ‘Nagas of Manipur’ is not to wait.
They should take a cue from ENPO and their brothers and sisters in eastern Nagaland and settle for an arrangement with New Delhi and within the state of Manipur.
That will be a forward march, says one source in the know of things.
Similar problems remain in parts of Arunachal Pradesh, where there are substantial native Naga tribes.
In February 2026, when the FNTA pact was inked in Delhi in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah, I had met Chuba Ozukum of the Global Naga Forum in Kohima.
He had sought to warn against partial agreements.
“FNT may have come, but Nagas are Nagas. We are one people. The spirit of Nagalim is in our veins. Signing peace pacts with A, B or C will not bring a solution. It must be inclusive and collective,” he said.
The Central government will need to take care of these issues.
Will the face of ‘eastern Nagaland’ change now that FNTA has come?
Will top politicians from ‘eastern Nagaland’ now stop investing crores in Dimapur and instead focus on new buildings and houses in their native districts?
From New Delhi’s perspective, if common Naga people in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur are not happy, how will they view post-2019 ‘politics’ when a big fuss was made about four things?
One —Shunt out R.N. Ravi, apparently because he raised the bogey of extortion?
Two — The Nagaland government insisted on a new interlocutor at the level of Union Minister of State for Home.
This was just a time-killing exercise, as Home Minister Amit Shah himself and the PMO were monitoring the talks when R.N. Ravi and A.K. Mishra were the central emissaries.
What’s so special about the demand for a Naga flag and sovereignty — something no PM or Home Minister of India can give?
Four —What has happened to ‘Naga unity’ and, now that ‘eastern Nagaland’ has functional autonomy, should the BJP-NPF alliance be given credit or ‘votes’ in the coming 2028 elections?
In a political sense, yet again, the BJP expects to sweep polls in eastern Nagaland — which sends 20 MLAs to the state legislature.
However, there are hurdles and hiccups.
Chief Minister Rio and his NPF party still hold some cards to play — at times in a veiled manner and also openly.
One is the BJP’s strong pro-Hindutva image, and hence it may still need a regional face (Christian) to garner votes for the alliance.
Secondly, Congress MP Supongmeren Jamir may oblige Chief Minister Rio “in an indirect” politics and help bring the Vande Mataram issue back into public debate. This will force the BJP to embrace Rio once again.
Former BJP national vice president M. Chuba Ao, himself a Naga, has in an article suggested that Vande Mataram is a property of the Congress party and is essentially a ‘political song’ related to the freedom struggle, with no religious overtones.
The BJP has been more than ‘kind and generous’ towards Rio for reasons which have hardly been explained.
The return of Ram Madhav is another factor that political analysts are closely keeping an eye on.
During his last tenure, Ram Madhav had clearly helped Rio return as Chief Minister in 2018 and, in the process, helped him revive his political career.
By the end of 2017, the duo of T.R. Zeliang and Shurhozelie had almost ensured the ejection of Rio from state politics.
But the one-time shy legislator and a former disciple of veteran S.C. Jamir knows how to survive the stormy weather.
~ Nirendra Dev
(The views expressed are those of the writer and not of the newspaper)
