PM Modi's visit to Shillong and Agartala being considered as 'important' :::: What's cooking up in 'Eastern Nagaland' ??

20 BJP office bearers and karyakartas from Nagaland to attend Modi meet  

What's cooking up in Nagaland, Eastern Nagaland or Frontier Nagaland ? Much to the surprise of many, Nagaland Rural Development Minister Metsubu Jamir says 'separate Eastern Nagaland State will create more avenues for development'

Metsubu: Headline hunter 

"AIR NEWS KOHIMA, 16th December, 2022: Minister for Rural Development Metsubu Jamir said a separate Eastern Nagaland State will create more avenues and opportunities for development. 

Jamir said he personally and morally supports the demand of the Eastern Nagas for a separate state. He was speaking at the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Union Mokokchung held on Dec 15.

Asserting that the people from Eastern Nagaland are socially and culturally second to none, Jamir said the term "backward" can be associated with the infrastructural development of the area but not the people because there are many intellects who have immensely contributed to the State. 

The Minister also noted the contributions of the Eastern Nagas towards the development of Mokokchung town. Courtesy: DIPR

The big issue is Metsubu himself hails from 'mainstream Nagaland' or popularly known as Central Nagaland and his party is understandably in favour of addressing issues but not quite in favour of 'division'of Nagaland.

New Delhi 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Meghalaya capital Shillong and Agartala in poll-bound Tripura on Sunday, Dec 18.

At Meghalaya capital Shillong, Mr Modi will preside over Golden Jubilee celebration of the North Eastern Council at a function to be attended by all Governors and Chief Ministers in the region.

Ahead of the Prime Minister's scheduled visit to Shillong on December 18, the East Khasi Hills district administration has prohibited the use of drones and other micro-light aircraft within the radius of 2 km of Polo Ground in Shillong.

From Meghalaya, the Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Tripura where he would address a public gathering at Agartala and also inaugurate projects and lay foundation stones for a few ones.

Elections are due in Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland by February-March 2023.

At Shillong, according to sources, the PM is likely to attend a function at IIM.

He is also to address BJP Karyakartas in Shillong on Sunday.

Sources say around 20 BJP office bearers and karyakartas from Nagaland will attend  the Prime Minister's meeting at Shillong on Sunday.

The BJP central leadership is giving enough importance to the Prime Minister's Shillong visit and thus the party workers and key leaders from Assam, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur may also attend PM Modi's meeting.

Meanwhile, amid strong demands for carving out a new state in eastern part of Nagaland, a three-member special committee set up by the Government of India to look into people's grievances visited Tuensang in Eastern Nagaland on Friday.

The team headed by A K Mishra is to make an on spot study of the ground situation as the Eastern Nagaland People's Organisation (ENPO) has stuck to its demand for creation of a new state - Frontier Nagaland.

The ENPO leaders briefed the team; while another meeting took place between the visiting officials and the tribal leaders.

Two other members of the panel are Mandeep Singh Tuli, Joint Director of Intelligence Bureau and A K Dhyani, Director North East Division in the Home Ministry. 

The panel was set up within days Home Minister Amit Shah met ENPO leaders and public leaders from the region in Delhi on December 6th.

The deliberations were based on 'history, geography and the shortcomings' of the administration and governance apparatus from Kohima over the decades, it was claimed.

Matters concerning the international border with Myanmar and potentials of making optimum use of mineral resources and commerce and trade also figured.

The 'strategic importance' of the region also figured prominently. 

According to another source, some participants raised why New Delhi has over the years sought to 'neglect' the ENPO region whereas it has been showing extra ordinary interest in areas of Arunachal Pradesh and also the newly created Union Territory of Ladakh region in the north.

Some points/issues like vulnerability of border areas within a 16 km range on either side of the international border also came up for deliberations.

It can be mentioned that  on January 18, 2020, the then Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and Chinese President Xi Jinping oversaw the signing of 33 project MoUs during Xi’s two-day visit to Myanmar. 

It is also worth mentioning that senior Myanmar officials have been speaking against the country’s 'reliance on high-interest Chinese loans'.

The average 4.5 percent interest rates were said to be the highest among countries that lend to Myanmar. 

Around 2021, Myanmar’s national debt stood at about $10 billion, of which $4 billion was owed to China.

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