Kohima, Jan 23 – The Nagaland Government remains optimistic about the Centre and the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO) making headway on the long-standing demand to create a Frontier Nagaland Territory (FNT), which would encompass six eastern districts of the State.
The ENPO, which has advocated for a separate State for years, recently gave “temporary” acceptance to the Centre’s proposal to grant the region a degree of autonomy. The latest tripartite talks, involving the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), ENPO representatives, and the State Government, were held on January 15 in Chumoukedima district.
“We hope both sides—the Ministry of Home Affairs and the ENPO—will approach the matter sincerely and reasonably. All aspirations may not be fulfilled immediately, but progress is being made,” said Senior Minister and State Government spokesperson KG Kenye.
ENPO President A Chingmak Chang stressed the need for financial, executive, and legislative autonomy as non-negotiable elements of any agreement. “Without these, no agreement can be signed,” Chang said. The Nagaland Government has been reviewing the MHA’s proposals, expressing satisfaction with some of the selected demands. Minister Kenye noted ongoing consultations with autonomous territorial councils, such as Bodoland in Assam, to draw lessons from their governance models.
The ENPO has firmly stated its preference for a governance framework outside the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which applies to autonomous councils in certain northeastern States. Instead, the group favors retaining Nagaland’s special constitutional status under Article 371A and reviving a regional council system that was in place between 1964 and 1974. The discussions remain at a critical stage as both the Centre and the ENPO assess the outcomes of the January 15 meeting and work toward a mutually acceptable resolution.
