Zuboni Hümtsoe (1990 – 13 November 2017) was an Indian entrepreneur 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 started an online fashion and handicraft brand called ''PreciousMeLove'' in Nagaland. She was given the

Nari Shakti Puraskar The Nari Shakti Puraskar is an annual award given by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India to individual women or to institutions that work towards the cause of women empowerment. It is the highest civilian hon ...

, a national award. On 13 November 2017, Hümtsoe was found dead at her home in

Dimapur Dimapur () is the largest city in the Indian state of Nagaland. As of 2011, the municipality had a population of 122,834. The city is the main gateway and commercial centre of Nagaland. Located near the border with Assam along the banks of the ...

, Nagaland; her death was ruled a suicide. Her businesses continued to be led by her sister Lozano, in Dimapur.

Life

Hümtsoe was born in 1990 in Nagaland. She went to

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

and she had experimented with selling foreign fashion items that were imported by her air hostess sister Lozano Hümtsoe. They were able to but garments cheaply buy they could not cope with the range of sizes expected by customers. She was responsible for the founding of PreciousMeLove which started in 2011. The funding came from a 3500 rupee college grant and she said that this powered by an ambition created by the death of her father. The brand was led by an all female team and it was based in

in Nagaland. PreciousMeLove was aspiring to be the "Made in Nagaland" brand. She came to notice as the "Modi Girl" after the Prime Minister visited where she was exhibiting but he started to leave without seeing her products. She ran after him and persuaded him to return to see her display. On International Women's Day in 2017, she was in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

where they were awarded the

by President

Pranab Mukherjee Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the India ...

at the

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...

. She was found dead on 13 November 2017. It was agreed that it was a suicide. The business continued thanks to Hümtsoe, sister, Lozano Hümtsoe and the Women Resource Development Department, Government of Nagaland. There are two businesses, PreciousMeLove (PML) and Nungshiba Handicrafts. PML creates women's fashion clothes and Nungshiba Handicrafts which is next door makes the scraps into "Naga Dolls" which are made in Nagaland but inspired by Japanese fabric dolls.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humtsoe, Zuboni 1990 births 2017 deaths Delhi University alumni 2017 suicides Suicides in India 21st-century Indian businesswomen 21st-century Indian businesspeople Indian businesspeople in fashion Nari Shakti Puraskar winners Naga people