T. N. Angami

Thepfülo-u Nakhro (T.N) Angami[1] (1913-1986) was a Naga politician who served as the first Speaker of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly and the second Chief Minister of the North East Indian state of Nagaland.

Thepfülo-u Nakhro
2nd Chief Minister of Nagaland
In office 14 August 1966 – 22 February 1969
Governor	Vishnu Sahay Braj Kumar Nehru
Preceded by	P. Shilu Ao
Succeeded by	Hokishe Sema
Speaker of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly
In office 1 December 1963 – 13 August 1966
Preceded by	Office Established
Succeeded by	K. Shikhu
Personal details
Born	1913 Jotsoma, Naga Hills District, British India (present-day Nagaland, India)
Died	1986 (aged 72–73)
Political party	Naga Nationalist Organisation

Early life

T.N. Angami was born the son of V N Angami in Jotsoma village near Kohima in a wealthy Angami Naga family in 1913.[2] He was schooled in Kohima, Jorhat and Shillong.[3] He served as a Store Keeper in the Indian Army during the Second World War.[4] From 1946, he worked in the office of the Deputy Commissioner of the Naga Hills District for five years.[4]

Political career

Angami began his political life in 1951 when he resigned from his job as an office assistant to join the Naga National Council, an organisation that he went on to head as its president.[5] Later, as the Council under Angami Zapu Phizo took to armed rebellion against the Government of India, Angami opposed Phizo and, in 1957, formed the Reforming Committee of the Naga National Council with the aims of opposing violence, winning over the rebels and restoring peace in Nagaland. In August 1957, the Reforming Committee convened an All Tribes Conference in Kohima that called for the constitution of the Naga Hills District and the Tuensang Division of the North East Frontier Agency into a single administrative division within the Union of India.[6]

The state of Nagaland was established in 1963 and P. Shilu Ao of the Naga Nationalist Organisation became its first Chief Minister. Following elections to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly in 1964, Angami was elected its first Speaker.[7] Following a no confidence motion against the government, Ao resigned as Chief Minister and was succeeded by Angami who served from August, 1966 to February, 1969.[8] As Chief Minister, he convened a Peace Mission and convinced the Government of India to take a more liberal view of the rebels and to grant them amnesty without preconditions. His efforts resulted in a ceasefire agreement between the Government of India and the Naga rebels.[9] In the elections of 1969, the Naga Nationalist Organisation was voted back to power but Angami stepped down as Chief Minister and was succeeded by Hokishe Sema.[10] Later, Angami shifted to the United Democratic Front and then joined the Congress(I).[11]

References

1. Shimray, U A (2007). Naga Population and Integration Movement: Documentation. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. ISBN 9788183241816.
2. A New Team, [Nagaland]. 1974. p. 1957.
3. A New Team, [Nagaland]. 1974. p. 1957.
4. Murry, Khochamo Chonzamo (2007). Naga Legislative Assembly and Its Speakers. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. p. 155. ISBN 9788183241267.
5. Murry, Khochamo Chonzamo (2007). Naga Legislative Assembly and Its Speakers. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. p. 155. ISBN 9788183241267.
6. Bareh, Hamlet (2007). Encyclopaedia of North-East India: Nagaland. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. pp. 72–73. ISBN 9788170997931.
7. Murry, Khochamo Chonzamo (2007). Naga Legislative Assembly and Its Speakers. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. pp. 59–60. ISBN 9788183241267.
8. Singh, Chandrika (1981). Political evolution of Nagaland. Lancers Publishers. pp. 176–177.
9. Zhimomi, Kuhoi K. (2004). Politics and Militancy in Nagaland. New Delhi: Deep & Deep. p. 118. ISBN 9788176294874.
10. Ramunny, Murkot (1988). The world of Nagas. Northern Book Centre. p. 279. ISBN 9788185119250.
11. Singh, Chandrika (2004). Naga Politics: A Critical Account. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. p. 132. ISBN 9788170999201.