The Centre has agreed in principle to executive, legislative, and financial autonomy for the Frontier Nagaland Territory (FNT), an administrative area proposed to be carved out of six eastern districts of Nagaland, the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) has said.
The ENPO, an apex organisation representing seven Naga tribes, has been spearheading the demand for the creation of the FNT comprising six districts — Kiphire, Longleng, Mon, Noklak, Shamator, and Tuensang.
Ahead of a meeting with a three-member team from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) at the Police Complex in Chumoukedima on Wednesday (January 15, 2025), the ENPO said that it would not accept anything short of executive, legislative, and financial autonomy for the FNT.
A.K. Mishra, special adviser to the MHA, helmed the tripartite meeting involving top leaders of the ENPO and representatives of the Nagaland government.
“The meeting ended on a positive note although we could not come to a conclusion on a few key issues, which cannot be disclosed at this juncture. We hope to iron out these issues in the next meeting soon,” ENPO president A. Chingmak Chang told journalists.
He, however, said the MHA team agreed in principle to the demand for autonomy.
“The Centre is also agreeable to the demand for establishing a regiment of any Central armed force to address the unemployment issue [in the eastern part of Nagaland] to some extent. Another demand accepted is the strengthening and modernisation of the Village Guards,” he said.
The institution of Village Guards was established in 1957 to protect Nagaland’s villages on the border with Myanmar against anti-social elements and raiders.
The demand for the FNT stemmed from the State government’s alleged neglect of six eastern districts of Nagaland. It gathered intensity ahead of Nagaland’s 60th Statehood Day in 2023, with the people of eastern Nagaland boycotting the Hornbill Festival, a major event showcasing the culture of all Naga and non-Naga communities in the State.
They also boycotted the election to the State’s lone Lok Sabha seat in April. No vote was cast in the six eastern districts straddling 20 of Nagaland’s 60 Assembly seats.
