Geoffrey Yaden

Geoffrey Yaden started Nagaland Post, the first English daily in Nagaland. At the paper’s 15th anniversary in 2005 he recalled its early difficulties and said, “The decision of truth versus the society is always a battle.”⁠[1]

His father, Lipoklemba Yaden (L.L. Yaden), was born on October 18, 1922, in Merangkong village, Mokokchung district, was inducted into the Indian Administrative Service in 1968 and retired as Commissioner of Nagaland on March 1, 1984. He died on July 26, 2015, aged 93, survived by his wife and seven children.⁠[2]

At the paper’s 25th anniversary thanksgiving he said it “was not launched to fulfil an ambition but to pursue a mission” and acknowledged earlier weekly newspapers for their part in the rise of print media in Nagaland; his son Ao Chuba Yaden, a director of the paper, gave the vote of thanks.⁠[3]

In August 2016 the first L.L. Yaden Meritorious Scholarship, which he initiated in memory of his father, was awarded, giving Rs. 50,000 to the top HSLC scorer from a government high school in the Langpangkong range.⁠[4]

In October 2016, as brand ambassador for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in Dimapur district, he took part in a Clean Dimapur drive, saying littering made it hard to keep the city clean and that the campaign aimed to raise public awareness of hygiene.⁠[5]

In October 2021 he attended the opening of a young peacemakers training programme as convener of YMCA Nagaland; he was then also editor-in-chief and proprietor of Nagaland Post.⁠[6]

In June 2023, as an advisory board member of YMCA Dimapur, he spoke at the YMCA annual regional council meeting and suggested that YMCA Dimapur set up a website to interact with young people and share news.⁠[7]

On September 11, 2024, his mother, the social worker Daisy Yaden, died at the age of 98; she had received the Governor’s Medal, founded the Nagaland Women’s Welfare Association and chaired the State Social Welfare Advisory Board, and was survived by six children.⁠[8]

The same month he received the Peace Channel Peace Award. In his acceptance speech he recalled the turbulent 1990s, when Nagaland Post was the only news daily in the state, and said the paper aimed “to empower individuals to address issues so as to create awareness for positive outcome.”⁠[9]

In June 2025, as an adviser to the Dimapur YMCA, he gave the exhortation at the YMCA’s 35th annual regional council meeting, urging it not to be limited to meetings and to expand to more districts of the state.⁠[10]

On June 14 he released Professor Jungmayangla Longkumer’s books Naga Notes and Haiku for Me in Dimapur.⁠[11]

In October 2025, as guest of honour at a World Hospice and Palliative Care Day event, he urged the state government to extend palliative care to rural areas and to provide training, certification and a stipend for qualified carers.⁠[12]

In January 2026, as the Kohima Press Club marked its 25th anniversary, he sent a message as editor-in-chief of Nagaland Post calling it the oldest press club in Nagaland and “a beacon of journalistic integrity, dialogue, and fellowship.”⁠[13]

Nagaland Post: Official website: https://nagalandpost.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[14]