'Frontier Nagaland' issue likely to resurface
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Newmai News Network

Dimapur, July 27 2014 : The issue of 'Frontier Nagaland' may revive with the Government of India reportedly assured the Eastern Nagalaland People's Organisation (ENPO) to initiate talks with the latter group on the issue.

According to the ENPO leaders, they had apprised Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on the issue.

Obliging to their apprisal, the Union Home minister had reportedly assured the ENPO leaders that the Union Home minister had agreed to initiate talks on issues including the 'Frontier Nagaland' .

ENPO has been demanding for the creation of a new state by carving out Nagaland's four eastern districts including Mon, Tuensang, Kiphire and Longleng.

The tempo of the demand for the creation of 'Frontier Nagaland', a new statehood demanded by the Eastern Nagaland People's Organisation (ENPO) is likely to re-emerge with a new vigour after maintaining mute for sometime, with the assurance of the Union home Minister to initiate talks on the issue with ENPO.

Last year in July, rallies were held in the four districts of Kiphire, Tuensang, Mon and Longleng demanding that the government of India immediately starts the dialogue on the 'Frontier Nagaland' state creation by carving out the four districts from Nagaland state.

The ENPO's demand for the creation of 'Frontier Nagaland' was peaked in 2011 accusing the successive Nagaland governments of meting out step-motherly treatments to the four eastern districts of Nagaland.

Three years ago, Nagas in four Nagaland districts had carried out massive public rallies demanding the creation of a new state christened as 'Frontier Nagaland' by bifurcating Nagaland.

The ENPO, which is the apex organization of six Naga tribes including Konyak, Khiamniungan, Chang, Yimchunger, Sangtam and Phom inhabiting the four districts, had submitted a memorandum to the then Prime Minister urging him to realize the demand.

"Our demand for the creation of Frontier Nagaland is based on historical facts.

This is something like going back to the earlier arrangement when the entire area was under the erstwhile Tuensang Frontier Division of NEFA," ENPO had stated.

Prior to Nagaland's attainment of statehood in 1963, the entire area was under the Tuensang Frontier Division of NEFA.

Mon, Kiphire and Longleng districts were carved out of Tuensang post-statehood.

According to ENPO, for decades, gross injustice has been done to the people of these four districts by the successive governments, both in the state and at the Centre.

Of the 11 districts in Nagaland, these four backward districts have almost half of the state's total population.

But despite that, they continue to remain extremely under-developed, the ENPO leaders lamented.

"It is a democratic and people's movement based on fundamental issues.

The people in the four districts have their wholehearted support to it," an ENPO leader had said.

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