Kevichüsa Nisier Meru (15 April 1903 – 28 December 1990) was an Indian politician and a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

, representing

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

in the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

, the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

India's Parliament The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

. He was the first

Naga Naga or NAGA may refer to: Mythology * Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions * Naga Kingdom, in the epic ''Mahabharata'' * Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong Riv ...

IAS Officer The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...

and also the first Naga graduate. Kevichüsa was conferred the Member of the

Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE).

Early life

Kevichüsa Angami was born on 15 April 1903 to an

Angami Naga The Angamis are a major Naga ethnic group native to the Northeast Indian state of Nagaland. The Angami Nagas are predominantly settled in Kohima District, Chümoukedima District and Dimapur District of Nagaland and are also recognized as one of ...

family from

Khonoma Khonoma is an Angami Naga village located about 20 km west from the state capital, Kohima in Nagaland, India. The village is referred to as Khwüno-ra (named after the Angami term for a local plant, Glouthera fragrantisima). The total popula ...

. He did his graduation from St. Paul's Cathedral College, Calcutta. His father Nisier Meru was the first Christian convert from Khonoma. Kevichüsa was educated at Baptist Mission School.

Political career

Naga National Council

The Naga National Council (NNC) had 29 officially elected members representing their respective tribal councils at its inception. These were elected from various clan or village councils. Kevichüsa was amongst its earliest members. Along with many representatives from the Angami and Zeme tribes, Kevichüsa then endorsed complete independence once the British left. In the NNC meeting held at Wokha in June 1946, he insisted,

Self-government should mean a government of the Nagas, for the Nagas, by the Nagas. Nothing else means anything to the Nagas. We have to be masters of our own country and be free.

After the 1951 plebiscite, Kevichüsa and some of the early leaders of NNC took a step back from their early articulations of self-determination as the movement evolved into a mass movement amidst intensified state repression. Kevichüsa soon resigned from the NNC. John Thomas places these actions amongst certain sections of the 'educated' Naga elites as typical response of national bourgeoise elsewhere. In the

1969 Nagaland Legislative Assembly election Elections to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly were held in February 1969 to elect members of the 40 constituencies in Nagaland, India. Nagaland Nationalist Organisation won a majority of the seats and Hokishe Sema was appointed as the Chief Mi ...

, Kevichüsa stood as the United Front's candidate from Dimapur Town and Dimapur Outer constituencies. He lost in both seats. While Kevichüsa polled 706 votes in the Dimapur Outer constituency, the Naga Nationalist Organisation candidate secured 3186 votes.

Member of Parliament

In 1971, as a candidate of the United Front of Nagaland, Kevichüsa stood against

S. C. Jamir Senayangba Chubatoshi Jamir (born 17 October 1931
PTI (''The Hindu''), 19 July 2008.) is an Indian polit ...

in the Lok Sabha elections. Jamir, then, was the Deputy Minister of Agriculture in the

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

government. During the election campaign, Kevichüsa attacked the Naga Nationalist Organisation for its failure to implement the "16 Point Agreement" with the approval of the Indian government. He promised to work towards the negotiation of a new political settlement. Kevichüsa registered an overwhelming victory with 102,596 votes (63.3%) defeating Jamir.

Personal life

Kevichüsa married Germanthangi on 15 October 1931. Together the couple had six daughters and five sons.

Legacy

In 2017, his family-run foundation–The Kevichüsa Foundation–instituted the ''A. Kevichüsa Citizenship Award'' to recognise an individual or group from the indigenous community who have 'championed, demonstrated, and embodied' the ideal of citizenship.

References

External links

Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Angami, Kevichüsa Indian National Congress politicians from Nagaland Lok Sabha members from Nagaland India MPs 1971–1977 1903 births 1990 deaths People from Kohima district People from Kohima People from Dimapur Kevichüsa family