In a historic meeting described as "extremely fruitful" by an apex Eastern Nagaland-based group, Union Home Minister Amit Shah told the delegation that time-bound efforts will be made to resolve the region's issues.
"It is to be stated that the Union Home Minister had appreciated the Eastern Nagaland people for being a part of the nation building thus far, which, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also aware, he stated. The Union Home Minister said that the grievances and request for a separate entity is understood," a statement from the Eastern Nagaland People's Organisation (ENPO) said.
The 16 Point Agreement signed in 1960 includes Eastern Nagaland, the native home of the Konyaks, Sangtams, Changs, Phoms, Khiamniungans, and Yimchungrus tribes, as part of the Nagaland state. The region currently comprises six districts: Tuensang, Mon, Shamatore, Longleng, Noklak, and Kiphire. These seven tribes have remained away from this year's Hornbill Festival, which is being held in Kohima. On Tuesday, Shah met with ENPO leaders in the presence of present BJP MP S Phangnon Konyak and two previous MPs, Asungba Sangtam and Wangyuh Konyak.
The ENPO is leading the campaign to establish Frontier Nagaland as an independent state. He promised to implement multi-pronged time-bound methods to solve the people's complaints.
"The Union Home Minister highlighted a clear Road-map for amicable, legislative and sustainable solution for Eastern Nagaland, which will include consultation with the people of Eastern Nagaland and the Nagaland state government. Shah also assured to visit Eastern Nagaland personally by January 2023; for which, the ENPO eagerly awaits his visit," the ENPO statement said. According to sources, Shah would likely visit Eastern Nagaland in January 2023.
The meeting was also attended by the Home Secretary, Director Intelligence Bureau, Additional Secretary Home (NE), and A.K. Mishra, the peace emissary in the Naga discussions. Mishra's participation also demonstrates that the MHA and Home Minister Shah appreciate the complexities of the current peace talks with the NNPG and the NSCN-IM, as well as how they are intertwined. A NNPG team led by N Kitovi Zhimomi is also set to meet with Mishra later this week for important rounds of talks. Mishra is said to have recently taken a "clearer" posture in his interactions with stakeholders.
The Centre has emphatically rejected the NSCN-and IM's notably its aged leader Thuingaleng Muivah's demands for a separate Naga flag and constitution. The lack of any state government official at the December 6 meeting, notwithstanding the uproar generated by a section of the NDPP and ministries when a team led by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio flew to Delhi on December 3, tells a different tale. One major ENPO source opposed the meeting's inclusion of any minister or Rio, claiming that no third party involvement was necessary unless "they don't want to undermine things."
Rio's cabinet includes ministers from Eastern Nagaland who are also members of the BJP. Pressure will now grow on 20 elected parliamentarians to resign from the NDPP-BJP-NPF coalition government. Surveys conducted in the 1990s found that a rich vein of coal, limestone, nickel, marble, and cobalt runs over the whole eastern strip of Nagaland (including the six districts).
However, for a variety of reasons, the majority of these have gone untapped.
