S C Jamir

Early life

Jamir is the son of Senayangba Jamir and Takatula who died in 2016 of Ungma village, Mokokchung district of Nagaland and belongs to the Ao Naga Tribe. Grandson of Jongshinokdang, who in the late 19th century, had the providential opportunity to meet the American Christian Missionary Rev. Edwin W. Clark and was instrumental in bringing Christianity to Nagaland. He was born on 17 October 1931. He did his early education in Mokokchung, at Kolkata's Scottish Church College for his intermediate in arts, and higher studies at Allahabad University from where he subsequently obtained his B.A. and LL.B. degrees.

Political career

Jamir was a member of the negotiation body that held talks with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1960 leading to the establishment of Nagaland as a state within India. He was one of the signatories of the 16th Point Agreement which brought about the creation of Nagaland state and is today considered as one of the architects of modern Nagaland.

Jamir was elected as the first Lok Sabha Member from the state of Nagaland. From 1961 to 1970, he has served as Member of Parliament and during this period he has also served as the Union Deputy Minister of Railways, Labour & Rehabilitation, from 1968 to 1970, served as the Union Deputy Minister of Community Development & Cooperation, Food and Agriculture. He was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary to Jawaharlal Nehru the then Prime Minister who was also in charge of the Ministry of External Affairs. He was a member of UN delegation in 1962.

In 1971, he was first voted to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly. He served as Chief Minister of Nagaland five times (1980, 1982–1986, 1989–90 and 1993–2003). For his first two terms he was a member of the Progressive United Democratic Front, but by 1989 his party merged with the Indian National Congress. His tenure as the Chief Minister of Nagaland is considered as the longest, from 1993 to 2003. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from Nagaland for the term 1987-1992, but resigned in 1989.

As Governor

Jamir served as Governor of Goa from July 2004 to July 2008. Following the resignation of Maharashtra Governor S. M. Krishna, on 6 March 2008, President Pratibha Patil asked Jamir to temporarily take the additional charge of Maharashtra. Jamir was formally appointed as Governor of Maharashtra on 8 July 2008, while Shivinder Singh Sidhu was appointed to succeed him in Goa. Jamir was sworn in as Governor of Maharashtra on 19 July 2008. In July 2009 he took additional charge of Gujarat state during the medical absence and subsequent death of Governor-designate Devendra Nath Dwivedi. On 9 March 2013, he was appointed Governor of Odisha.

Nagaland lottery scam

During his tenure as Chief Minister, The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) unearthed a major financial scandal in the Nagaland state lottery amounting to Rs 38,297 crore. The entire scam took place between October 1993 and November 1997. Jamir denied his government's involvement in the financial scandal but the special audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), ordered by the Union Home Ministry, indicted both the Nagaland Government and the state's sole distributor of tickets, M.S Associates, for defrauding the public as well as the exchequer of the amount on July 1999. This case continues to be pending in the court till date.

Personal life

Jamir married Imkonglemla, daughter of Senkalemba in 1958 and they have five children and twelve grand children. His younger daughter died in 1996 while his mother died at the old age of 105 in 2016, after living a long life.