MHA team meets Naga body on demand for separate statehood

The team reportedly said Union home minister Amit Shah was keen to resolve the issue in a timely manner, the people added. The central team is said to have given a patient hearings to ENPO stakeholders.

A three-member committee from the Union home ministry, led by ministerial advisor AK Mishra, held a series of meetings at Nagaland’s Tuensang with civil society organizations over the past two days to study the demand for a separate state called Frontier Nagaland by the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organization (ENPO).

MHA committee members with representatives of ENPO tribes in Tuensang.

The central team has conveyed to the ENPO and its tribal units that the Indian government is taking the demand seriously, which is why they have been assigned to assess the situation on the ground, people familiar with the matter said, requesting anonymity. There was no official communication from the committee.

The team reportedly said Union home minister Amit Shah was keen to resolve the issue in a timely manner, the people added. The central team is said to have given a patient hearings to ENPO stakeholders.

The ENPO, which represents seven tribes of six eastern districts of Nagaland -- Mon, Tuensang, Kiphire, Longleng, Noklak and Shamator -- has been demanding a separate Frontier Nagaland state since 2010 over alleged issues of discrimination, particularly on the developmental front.

It is said to have reiterated that it would stand by its resolution of not participating in any electoral process if the demand for a separate statehood was not addressed satisfactorily by the central government. Nagaland will elect a new state assembly early next year.

Besides the ENPO and its tribal units, the central panel, which includes Mandeep Singh Tull, joint director of the Intelligence Bureau, and AK Dhyani, director, north east division at the Union home ministry, also met with senior citizens, district administration officials and representatives of the Hindu and Muslim communities residing in the area.

The team on Sunday visited the International Trade Centre DAN Pangsha in Noklak district, located along the India-Myanmar border, before flying to Kohima by helicopter. The team will be meeting chief minister Neiphiu Rio and other top state government officials on Monday, officials said.

On December 6, a team of ENPO leaders met Shah to discuss the demand for a separate state. Shah is said to have assured the organization that he would visit eastern Nagaland by January next year.