Thepfülo-u Nakhro (T. N.) Angami (1913 – 1986) was an Indian politician from

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 ...

who served as the first Speaker of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly and the second

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

of the

North East India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

n state of

Early life

T.N. Angami was born the son of V N Angami in Jotsoma village near

Kohima Kohima (; Angami Naga: ''Kewhira'' ()), is the capital of the Northeastern Indian state of Nagaland. With a resident population of almost 100,000, it is the second largest city in the state. Originally known as ''Kewhira'', Kohima was founded ...

in a wealthy

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 ...

family in 1913. He was schooled in Kohima,

Jorhat Jorhat ( ) is one of the important cities and a growing urban centre in the state of Assam in India. Etymology Jorhat ("jor" means twin and "hat" means market) means two hats or mandis - "Masorhaat" and "Sowkihat" which existed on the opposite ...

and

Shillong Shillong () is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a state in northeastern India, which means "The Abode of Clouds". It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the 330th most populous city in India with a ...

. He served as a Store Keeper in the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. From 1946, he worked in the office of the Deputy Commissioner of the Naga Hills District for five years.

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. Later, as the Council under Angami Zapu Phizo took to armed rebellion against the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

, 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 The North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), originally known as the North-East Frontier Tracts (NEFT), was one of the political divisions in British India, and later the Republic of India until 20 January 1972, when it became the Union Territory of ...

into a single administrative division within the Union of India. The state of Nagaland was established in 1963 and P. Shilu Ao of the

Naga Nationalist Organisation 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 Ri ...

became its first Chief Minister. Following elections to the

Nagaland Legislative Assembly Nagaland Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Nagaland. Nagaland became a state of India on 1 December 1963 and after election in January 1964, the first Nagaland Legislative Assembly was formed on 11 Februa ...

in 1964, Angami was elected its first

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

. 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. 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. In 1968, Angami made several demands to constitute a boundary commission to settle the border dispute between Nagaland and Assam. He also insisted that his government would not be a party to the creation of the

North Eastern Council North Eastern Council (NEC) is a statutory advisory body constituted under the North Eastern Council Act 1971 and came into being on 7 November 1972 at Shillong. The eight States of Northeast India viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghal ...

as the central government decided on it without consultation with Nagaland. 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 Hokishe Sema (6 March 1921 – 31 January 2007) was an Indian politician who served as the third Chief Minister of Nagaland and the fourth Governor of Himachal Pradesh. He was also a member of the drafting committee of Naga People's Conventio ...

. Later, Angami shifted to the United Democratic Front and then joined the Congress(I).

References

{{Chief Ministers of Nagaland Chief Ministers of Nagaland Speakers of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly Indian National Congress politicians from Nagaland Naga people People from Kohima People from Kohima district Indian Army personnel of World War II Nagaland MLAs 1964–1969