ENPO holds public rally demanding separate state

Our Correspondent
Tuensang, Aug. 9 (EMN): The Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) rally demanding the creation of a separate state of ‘Frontier Nagaland’ was held peacefully in Tuensang on Tuesday.

ENPO, the apex body of seven tribes of eastern Nagaland, had first drafted a memorandum demanding a separate state to the Prime Minister of India in 2010.

In a solidarity message on behalf of the Tuensang public, Aliba Sangtam, Vice President, USLP, called on the public to cooperate and stand united, and to always be ready to sacrifice their time on occasions like this. “It was started not out of personal interests but on demand”, he said.

President of Chang Wetoshi Setshang (CWS) Pongsu, speaking on behalf of the youths,  said, “Eastern Nagas are addressed as backward by other people but we are not backward, we are deprived. We have demanded many times for our rights but it has seldom been fulfilled thus, lack of resources, infrastructure and development. ”

Meanwhile, W Bendang Chang, vice president of ENPO, urged the public not to be discouraged but rather be supportive of each other. He told how the organisation had gone to the central government to hold several rounds of bilateral talks, the first one in September, 2015 and the last in December, 2021. Chang also stated that this movement had been endorsed from the grassroots level and no other motive was being attached in the demand for a separate state.

A Shamtei Phom, President, Eastern Nagaland Women’s Organisation, asserted that the people of eastern Nagaland must be united. “ENWO as the mother of ENPO fully supports and stands with their demand in prayers and in actions,” she stated.

Further, K Asungba Sangtam, Convenor, Talk Team, stated that eastern Nagas had been ‘neglected and underrepresented’ in various areas, adding that the six districts under ENPO have only 20 representatives in the Nagaland State Assembly.

 “Under the Constitution of India Article 371 A (2b), the money which is sanctioned from the centre would be divided equally between the rest of Nagaland and eastern Nagaland…”, “it has been more than 50 years, still no tangible development has taken place in Eastern Nagaland”, he added.

He further stated  that on March 7, 2012, the Nagaland State BJP party had recommended to the then President, BJP National Party, Nitin Gadkari, to support the cause of the ENPO, and he had assured to the people on December 14, 2012 at Mon district of  their support if the BJP party came to power at the centre.

After the rally, the ENPO submitted their memorandum to the prime minister through the deputy commissioner.