‘Separate state goal can be achieved with unity’

Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Oct. 27: The Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation’s (ENPO) demand for a separate state, “frontier Nagaland,” from Nagaland, was iterated at the 24th general session of the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Union of Dimapur (ENPUD) with the ENPO’s President Kekongchem Yimchunger claiming that the demand was ‘because of the discrimination faced by the eastern people’ and that it was time the six tribes live as own masters and not work at someone’s place as ‘a domestic worker.’

The session was held at an ENPUD leader’s residence at Circuit House colony in Dimapur on Sat. Oct. 27. Yimchunger remarked that the strength of the ENPO was the unity among the six tribes namely the Chang, the Konyak, the Khiamniungan, the Phom, the Sangtam, and the Yimchunger. He appealed to the community to get rid of the internal issues among them and to strengthen their bonds through unity.
“There may be internal issues among us as human being with limitations but do not break the unity if we are determined for a frontier Nagaland,” the ENPO leader said.

However, he was critical of the eastern Naga communities residing in Dimapur and Kohima for the ‘negative emotion and reaction that they convey.’ He urged them to ‘contribute positive thoughts for the betterment’ of the ENPO.

The ENPO leader stated to the gathering that the other Naga tribes had ‘enough for themselves for survival while the six ‘ENPO tribes were struggling for mere survival and working as domestic helpers.’ “We are not born to work at someone’s place although some are forced to do so for survival. But for how long can we continue and if we continue at this pace we have no future,” Yimchunger lamented. He remarked that it was hard for the people of the eastern areas to ‘come out of their imaginary world and emerge into the practical world.’

The ENPO president also had a message for the leaders and elders of the ENPO. He asked them not to join the ENPO for personal gain but for the cause of “frontier Nagaland.” He said that with such concept there was no future for them in the ENPO area. “There are lots of fragmentations in the Naga society because of the feeling of dominance,” Yimchunger said as he pointed out that even the eastern tribes need to do away with the ‘dominance attitude.’ He reminded them that the ‘ENPO tribes are together because of the respect we have for each other.’

The ENPUD’s president, MC Ongbou Chang, said in his presidential address that the ENPO’s vision was ‘well defined, specified and distinguished.’ For that reason, he said, the six tribes should not act as opportunists but stand united.

“We are in good relation with other communities in Dimapur despite our uncompromising demand for separate state. Also, our unflinching support continues to be common for the Naga political issue and cause,” Chang said.