Naga National Council president Adinno Z. Phizo dies in Kohima at 86

Adinno Z. Phizo, president of the Naga National Council (NNC) and eldest daughter of Naga leader A.Z. Phizo, died at Bethel Hospital in Kohima on October 8 following a brief illness. She was the head of the NNC (Adinno) faction.

The NNC and the Federal Government of Nagaland announced her death in a joint notification, stating that she passed away at 8 p.m. in Kohima. The organisations said further details regarding funeral arrangements and the period of mourning would be announced later.

Adinno Phizo assumed leadership of the NNC following the death of her father in London on April 30, 1990. She was appointed acting president shortly after his death and was formally elected to the post at a meeting in Kohima on May 12, 1990.

Her leadership was reaffirmed at an NNC general meeting in Longmisa village in March 1991, attended by more than 6,000 people, according to accounts of the organisation.

A.Z. Phizo, who lived from 1904 to 1990, was a prominent leader of the Naga movement for self-determination. Adinno Phizo continued to uphold the NNC's position on Naga sovereignty and the 1951 plebiscite, which the organisation says recorded an overwhelming vote in favour of independence.

She spent several decades in London with her father before returning to Nagaland on significant occasions, including accompanying his mortal remains to Kohima in 1990.