In April 1945, Naga Hills District Tribal Council (NHDTC) was formed in Naga Hills district, still under British administration. It was moderated by C. R. Pawsey, the then Deputy Commissioner of Naga Hills district, who also happened to be the first Chairman. It did not include the people of Free Nagaland because those areas were outside British control. On February 2, 1946, the Naga Hills District Tribal Council changed its name to Naga National Council (NNC) in its Wokha meet. The composition of NNC was based on proportionate representation by all tribes. NNC members included all ages and sexes of Nagas by birth. NNC adopted the Naga Constitution (Yehzabo) on January 14, 1956. The constitution formally integrated all the Naga inhabited territories between China, India and Burma as sovereign Nagaland. Later in 1954, the NNC spread its wings to Free Nagaland and other Naga areas. NNC’s membership was by spontaneity of birth (naturalization of citizenship by birth) and not voluntary.
Until 1957, NNC became the only socio-political institution of the Nagas. There was no other pan-Naga public organization of any kind. Nagas experienced their strong sense of belonging and ownership in NNC. History revealed that the unity of the Nagas under the banner of NNC was solid strong. It was in that period of unbreakable unity that the Nagas declared independence on August 14, 1947 and conducted Plebiscite on May 16, 1951 that gave 99% mandate for independence. Then, in June 1957, Naga People’s Convention, NPC was formed by a group of Naga elites who called themselves co-operation group that stood against Naga independence despite having participated in the declaration of Naga independence and plebiscite. NPC engineered the first break-up in NNC to sign the 16-Point Agreement. The unity of the Nagas was first shaken and broken by NPC.
The signing of 16-PA gave a new twist to the sovereignty of Nagaland. However, 16-PA failed to bring permanent peace. It created what was called Naga political problem, a problem created by themselves. Until then, Nagas had no political problem. Nagas had only an inalienable right to be independent as declared. Today, the direct offshoots of that very NPC are fervently calling and appealing to Nagas for unity. Nagas must know that the only way to reunite Nagas is to come to that historical fact. The honorable thing is to admit the mistake of breaking Naga unity by sabotaging NNC’s political program. What they had broken, they have to mend it by coming back to the truth. Else, there is no point shouting at the rooftop.
The second attempt to destroy NNC came when some people started calling NNC a dead institution after the Shillong Accord of 1975 to which, NNC had no part, at least in letter. Incidentally, people who had no part in the history or origin of the formation of NNC in 1946 in Naga Hills district are calling NNC a dead institution. Therefore, calling NNC a dead institution by non-actors seemed by default. No doubt, the territories of sovereign Nagaland as defined in Yehzabo included all Naga inhabited areas, none could deny the historical fact of the origin of NNC’s formation by the Nagas of Naga Hills district. A parasite tree cannot call the host tree a dead tree because the parasite tree has no root in the ground and entirely depends on the host tree’s roots for its nutrition. Therefore, if the host tree is dead, the parasite tree too has no chance of survival.
I write this as a natural member of the then undivided NNC.
