Hokishe Sema (6 March 1921 – 31 January 2007) was an Indian politician who served as the third

Chief Minister of Nagaland The chief minister of Nagaland is the chief executive of the Indian state of Nagaland. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following e ...

and the fourth Governor of Himachal Pradesh. He was also a member of the drafting committee of Naga People's Convention.

Early life

Sema was born on 6 March 1921 in the Sütemi village in the erstwhile Naga Hills District (present-day Zünheboto District of Nagaland). He studied in Mokokchung Government School before proceeding to

Serampore College , founders = William Ward, William Carey, & Joshua Marshman , religious_affiliation = Baptist , rector = , location = 8, William Carey RoadSerampore – 712201West Bengal, India , established = , principal = Vansanglura V ...

and St Anthony's College in

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

. He joined government service in the 1950s as a school inspector, later serving as an assistant commissioner of the then Naga Hills district of undivided Assam.

Political career

In the late 1950s, he became a member of the drafting committee of Naga People's Convention. A sixteen-point agreement signed with 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, c ...

on the basis of this Convention led to the formation of the separate state of

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 1960. Sema became a member of the interim body of the new state government in 1961. In 1964, Sema was elected unchallenged to the first legislative assembly of the newly-formed Nagaland state from Akuluto constituency. He served as the cabinet minister in the state governments headed by P. Shilu Ao and T. N. Angami. In 1967, Sema was one of the two politicians inducted to the Home Mission Board of the Nagaland Baptist Church Church Council when it was reconstituted.

Chief Minister of Nagaland

After the elections to the Second Legislative Assembly (1969-1974), 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 ...

won 22 of the total 40 seats for which elections were conducted, 12 seats from Tuensang Area were nominated from the region. Eventually, the 12 nominated members as well as eight Independent members lent support to the NNO on 12 February raising the strength of the NNO to 41. Thereby, Sema who was elected the leader of the NNO legislative party was sworn in as the third Chief Minister of Nagaland by the governor

Braj Kumar Nehru Braj Kumar Nehru MBE, ICS (4 September 1909 – 31 October 2001) was an Indian diplomat and Ambassador of India to the United States (1961–1968). He was the son of Brijlal Nehru and Rameshwari Nehru and first cousin once removed of India' ...

. During his term, two no-confidence motions were moved against him. Both, however, were defeated. He lost his seat to Rano M. Shaiza in 1977. In the 1980s he was the leader of the

Congress (I) Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) was created in 1969; it was created and led by Indira Gandhi. Initially this party was known as Congress (R), but it soon came to be generally known as the New Congress or Syndicate. The letter 'R' st ...

. In 1986 he became Chief Minister for brief period. Sema's tenure as chief minister is remembered for the role he played in getting Naga underground members to surrender and their subsequent integration and redeployment as a full battalion of the

Border Security Force The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December 1 ...

. From 1969 to 1974 and 1982–1987, his government provided

with a measure of political stability.

Later political career

He joined the Indian National Congress in late 70's, the first national party to set up a unit in Nagaland. He was elected 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 ...

six times during which time he also served as the Finance Minister of the state and as the president of the

Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) is the unit of the Indian National Congress for the state of Nagaland, India. Its head office is situated in Kohima, the capital city of Nagaland. The present President of Nagaland Pradesh Congress ...

. From April 1983 to March 1986 he served as

Governor of Himachal Pradesh This is a list of governors of Himachal Pradesh. Sh.Rajendra Arlekar, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar is the 21st governor (30th if governors with additional charge also counted) of Himachal Pradesh since July 2021. Out of the regular 20 governors ...

and was later a member of the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

. In 1994, he left the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

owing to differences with the chief minister,

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

and formed the

Nationalist Democratic Movement The Nationalist Democratic Movement was a political party based in the 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, ...

Association with the Bharatiya Janata Party

He joined the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

in 1999 and went on to become that party's national executive member. In 2003 he was re-elected to the

as the

candidate from Dimapur-I constituency. He became leader of the BJP's legislature party and chairman of the ruling

Democratic Alliance of Nagaland The Democratic Alliance of Nagaland is a state level coalition of political parties in Nagaland. It headed the Nagaland government with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It is formed in 2003 after Nagaland Legislative Assembly election with Naga P ...

with

Neiphiu Rio Neiphiu Guolhoulie Rio (born 11 November 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 9th Chief Minister of Nagaland. Rio has also served as Chief Minister for three separate terms (2002–07, 2007–12, 2012–14 and 2018–till date), making h ...

as Chief Minister. He authored ''The Emergence of Nagaland'' in 1986.

Death

Hokishe Sema died on 31 January 2007 of cardiac arrest. He was suffering from old age ailments and was admitted to hospital. He was buried with state honours in his native village of Sutemi. He was survived by his late wife at that time, five sons and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sema, Hokishe Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Nagaland Chief Ministers of Nagaland 2007 deaths Rajya Sabha members from Nagaland Governors of Himachal Pradesh People from Zünheboto district Chief ministers from Indian National Congress Indian National Congress politicians from Nagaland St. Paul's Cathedral Mission College alumni Nagaland MLAs 1964–1969 Nagaland MLAs 1969–1974 Nagaland MLAs 1982–1987 Nagaland MLAs 1987–1988 1921 births Nagaland MLAs 2003–2008