Chumoukedima, Nagaland, August 28 (HBTV): One of Nagaland’s news media pioneers and a prominent figure among the state’s first generation of journalists, Jack Theyiezelie Chakesang, is no more. Updates on Wednesday said Chakhesang, approximately 71 years old, a former Indian military officer and later editor of Nagaland’s first broadsheet newspapers, passed away on August 27 in Dimapur.   

Jack Chakhesang was born on March 13, 1953. He was the editor of Nagaland’s first broadsheet daily newspaper, The Naga Banner. The Naga Banner was one among the earliest news print groundwork for the then nascent Nagaland media industry.  

Prior to his picking up the pen, Chakhesang was a captain in the Kumaon Regiment of the Indian Army. He later authored a book called ‘Goodbye, My Regiment’. In which he recounted in humor his life and experiences as a young captain.  

Due to the extreme lack of media history and archival history of the Nagaland news media and its prominent figures, information about Chakhesang is limited at this time. However, Chakhesang had a long and distinguished career in journalism. He was also a founding member of the English newspaper Eastern Mirror, being an instrumental figure in the foundation of the newspaper as its consultant editor.   

Another feather to Chakhesang’s hat was his writing for major national and global news houses such as the Agence France-Presse or AFP, Reuters, Times of India, and The Telegraph, a difficult feat even by today’s standards for regional journalists.    

At airtime, Jack Chakhesang’s funeral was understood to have been conducted on August 28, Wednesday, in Pfutseromi village in Phek. His mortal remains have been laid to rest in the village, updates said.