With the demand for the creation of “Frontier Nagaland” gaining ground, indications are that the peace talks of the past 11 years between the Centre and the insurgent outfit, the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah), may hit bumpy roads, if not torpedoed.
The main agenda of the talks is the unification of the “Naga-inhabited areas” in Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh with Nagaland.
Six organisations representing the Chang, the Konyak, the Sangtam, the Khiamniungan, the Yimchungru and the Phom tribes in Nagaland have submitted a memorandum to the Centre, including Home Secretary G.K. Pillai.
The tribes had formed the Eastern Nagaland People's Organisation (ENPO), which is demanding a new State comprising the districts of Tuensang, Longleng, Kiphire and Mon.
The memorandum says that 9-lakh Nagas of the 20-lakh population of the State reside in these districts. There are 11 districts in the State.
In a memorandum sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the ENPO said that in terms of development, areas inhabited by its tribes had been neglected.
The NSCN(IM) has so far not reacted to the ENPO demand.
