| Census
2011
District population : 1,96,596
Growth : 94.83%
Sex Ratio : 929
Literacy : 73.08

Brief About Tuensang
District
TUENSANG is
one of the eleven districts of Nagaland. It lies in the easternmost
part of Nagaland, and is named after the village which is situated
closed by the district headquarter. The District is populated by
5 (Five) major tribes namely, Chang, Sangtam, Khiamniungan, Yimchunger,
Phom and a part of Sumi Tuensang
is bordered by Myanmar all along its eastern side. On the North
lies Mon district. Tuensang touches Assam on its north on a narrow
strip between Mon on the east and Mokokchung in the West.
On the South of Tuensang lies Phek District and on the west are
Zunheboto and Mokokchung districts. The district has approximately
180 Kms of international border with Myanmar. Physiographically,
Tuensang district is covered with hills, high ridges deep
gorges and narrow valleys. The
altitude of Tuensang, the District Heaquarter is 1371.60m above
sea level. It covers an area of 4228 square kilometers which is
about 25 % of the total area of the State of Nagaland. It
has a total population of 4,14,801 having a population density of
98 per sq.km as per 2001 census. There are 234 recognised
villages and few unrecognized villages in the district.
BASIC FACTS ABOUT TUENSANG DISTRICT
Upto the beginning of
the 20th Century, the present Tuensang was a vast tract of land
between Assam and Burma ( now Myanmar). During this period every
village in the area was an autonomous state or village state. Each
village was self sufficient. Every village was well defended. It
was a time of head-hunting. Many of the villages were constantly
at war with one another. They often waged wars against villages
in controlled areas under the British India Government. The villages
in the unadministered area raided the administered villages
and heads were taken. As a result the British authorities were forced
to take punitive action against the offending villages. The British
could not remain a silent spectator when raids and massacres were
carried out in their controlled area. The Government took cognizance
of it and tried to prevent it by sending expeditions against the
offending villages. Thus many expeditions were carried out into
the unadministered area by the British India Government. The first
British punitive expedition reached Tuensang on 12th January 1889
from Kohima via Wokha. The offending villages often put up strong
resistance. It was only after long battles that the superior British
forces overcame the villages. As a punishment, the villages were
burnt and indemnity was imposed on them. Before long the British
India Government felt the need to bring this area under its administration
but could not do so immediately for the lack of finance and man-power.
So the area was left unadministered until the government was ready
for it. This condition continued till the beginning of 20th century
with more and more areas in the then Naga Hills which was formed
in 1866, coming under administration.
The area of the no administration could not continue for
long and by the year 1914 the Foreign and Political Department of
Government of India by a notification extended the Assam Frontier
Tract Regulation of 1880 to the Hills which were inhabited by Nagas
and other hill tribes. Thereby the Government brought the hitherto
unadministered area under some sort of administration in 1914 and
the area was named North East Frontier Tract. So the present Tuensang
district also officially came under the purview of this notification,
but in practice there was no administration till 1948.
INTRODUCTION
OF ADMINISTRATION
As per the Book ‘ Nagaland’ written by Verrier Elwin
( page 27) published by the Government from Shillong 1960, “From
1902, under the provisions of a special Order- in- Council,
the Tuensang villages were administered by the Governor-General
of India through the Governor of Assam as his Agent and he
was authorized to apply any British India Law to them. The Government
of India Act of 1935 continued this arrangement, and Tuensang was
defined as ”Tribal Area” within India. There was no change in its
status at Independence; the Indian Independence Act of 1947 and
the extra Provincial Jurisdiction Act of the same year authorized
the Government of India to continue its administration.” However,
the administration of this area remained in name only. The administration
did not extend beyond a few Tuensang group of villages. In
1914, the Assam Frontier Tract Regulation of 1880 was extended to
this area. It remained a Tribal Area under section 311
of the Government of India Act, 1935. As such no Laws of British
India would apply to this area unless extended thereto under the
Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1947. However, from 1950, the Naga Tribal
Area which was renamed as Tuensang District was included in part
‘B’ of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and therefore, all
Acts of Parliament enacted after 1950 would apply thereto. Further,
under the Tuensang Assimilation of Laws Act 1955, all laws
which were in force in North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) were
also made applicable to the district of Tuensang. In 1954, the North
East Frontier Tract was renamed North East Frontier Agency and Tuensang
Area came to be known as Tuensang Frontier Division. In 1957, it
was separated from NEFA and joined with Naga Hills to form Naga
Hills Tuensang Area ( NHTA), but its legal position would remain
unaltered. As regard to Tuensang district, no Assam Laws enacted
between 1950 to 1963 would apply to Tuensang district. Further,
no Assam Laws passed after 1963 can apply to Tuensang district.
The Naga Hills Tuensang Area Act , 1957
was enacted forming a new administrative unit in Assam by the name
of Naga Hills Tuensang Area comprising the former Naga Hills District
of Assam and Tuensang Frontier Division of NEFA as per decision
of the Naga People’s Convention held at Kohima on 22nd August 1957.
The NHTA ( Administration ) Regulation, 1957 divided the area into
three districts namely, Kohima, Mokokchung and Tuensang. The NHTA
was formed on 1st December 1957. The State of Nagaland Act, 1962
converted the NHTA into separate state comprising of the three districts
– Kohima Mokokchung and Tuensang. In December 1973, the districts
of Nagaland were recognized and the number of districts came to
be seven. In the process of reorganization, Tuensang was divided
into two, such as Tuensang and Mon. Thus what is now Mon District
was formally upto December 1973, apart of Tuensang District.
PRESENT
ADMINISTRATION
Even when Nagaland became a full fledged State in 1963, Tuensang
continued to remain a special charge of the Governor of Nagaland
and there was specially a Minister for Tuensang Affairs in the Nagaland
Cabinet. So the Deputy Commissioner was no longer responsible to
the Governor directly, but to the Minister for Tuensang Affairs
and thereby helping the Governor discharging his special responsibility.
This position continued till December 1973 when the ten-year term
of special charge of the Governor, after the Statehood from 1st
December 1963 expired. So the prerogative of the Deputy Commissioner
for special powers also expired from that date, and the district
came at par with the rest of the districts in Nagaland.
The Deputy Commissioner is in over all charge of the general supervision
of the district administration. He is assisted by several subordinates
such as ADC, SDO(C), EACs, Do Bashis and Goan Buras, in the district
headquarter, administrative and other centres in the district.
A special mention of the Do Bashis and
the Goan Buras may be made here for the special power vested on
them. This is an Institution introduced by the British administrators
and it still exist today, though deprived of much of its power with
the change of time and circumstances. Nevertheless the Do
Bashis and the Goan Buras still play vital roles
helping the administrators in the efficient execution of their
duties and functions in the district
|