Khekiye K. Sema
Never have the Nagas been confronted with so much confusion in recent history in the aftermath of signing the much touted “framework agreement” on 3rd August 2015 between GoI and the NSCN (IM) followed by the so-called ‘consultations’ of NGO’s, civil society and elected representatives by selective invitation in the absence of the Fourth Estate who were pointedly debarred from entering the forbidden ground both at Niathu Resort and Chumukedima on the 25th and 26th August 2015 respectively. Why was the Press disallowed when it is the main pivotal vehicle that conveys clarity of any proceedings to the masses? For reasons best known to the NSCN (IM), their deliberate effort to maintain fogged up ambiguity is truly working. One would have expected the Press fraternity to react sharply to this unwarranted shabby treatment when their fundamental freedom had grossly been violated. Instead of tamely swallowing the bitter pill and carrying out a third person reportage and continue walking that insulting extra mile to cover a pre-tailored press statement it was within their rights to register their ethical honour by boycotting the total proceedings in protest to ensure that such an unhealthy practice is not repeated in the future… not only for the sake of the Fourth Estate but also for the sake of the readers who too have a right to know the bare facts. Their duty was to relay the actual unbiased picture as witnessed by them rather than have the picture painted as described to them by an uncomprehending third party.Their docile response has cost the public dearly with the resultant sketchy news coverage picked up from the clueless participants. It has more served to stoke further confusion than clarity…but I suppose this is Nagaland where even the ‘Fourth Estate’ perceives no damage done in opting to reduce their self respect to that of a nonexistent ‘Fifth Estate’ instead of upholding the unquestionable ethical honour of their profession. This observation is not intended as a mere criticism but to help the Fourth Estate to understand their role and responsibility to the masses in the future. What remains clear is that the contents of this ‘maha’ agreement had not been divulged in both the sittings, leaving the masses no wiser than they were before its signing. NSCN (IM) has only itself to blame for encouraging speculative games to continue for better or for worse. This author reiterates that when two conflicting parties reach any form of an agreement it ought to be applauded and from this perspective alone the agreement of 3rd August 2015 is applauded. This applause does not however apply to the contents of the agreement which is an unknown quantity. Let us try and draw a lesson from a very true story that actually happened in the past. A very long time ago when reading and writing was still a preserve of a privileged few in the rural sector, a fortunate semi-literate GB of a village had asked an irksome elderly villager to deliver a letter to the Deputy Commissioner Mokokchung. That unfortunate illiterate rural elder did as he was bid by his GB and delivered the letter to the DC only to find out that the GB had recommended that the bearer of the letter be locked up in prison. The DC was given no reason why the bearer of the letter should be locked up and therefore no action was taken. There was a volcanic eruption in the village when this unfortunate ‘letter bearer’ reached home. Does this true story not fit our present circumstance? Compliant Nagas had been selectively invited to mandate an agreement, the contents of which they knew absolutely nothing about. Like that illiterate rural elder we have delivered the letter of endorsement to the GoI without knowing the contents. No one without exception…the Apex Hohos and NGOs and selected invitees… who attended the so-called consultation meet at Niathu Resort had the right to mandate any agreement without knowing the contents and without pre-consultation with their respective constituents. This author strongly believes that the Nagas have waited 69 long years to hear the final whistle. We ought to have had the patience to wait another month or two to get our acts together in a legitimately honourable manner…by registering a well considered debate on all the contents of the agreement by Village Council of elders facilitated through their respective Apex Hohos before the actual endorsement thus recreating an almost equivalent moral force of 1951 plebiscite. It would have sent an unimpeachable signal not only to the GoI but also to all other NPGs unambiguously registering where the will of the masses lie. We can only hope that we are not waiting for a volcanic eruption when the end result is declared based on an illegitimate endorsement.
The conflicting terminology of “shared sovereignty” within the Indian Constitution, from ‘independence to interdependence’ and so on is nothing much more than word jugglery which at best simply describes a State within the Indian Union with a measure of enhanced autonomy loosely termed as “shared sovereignty”. There has been opinion raised earlier that if the issue of “integration” is not a part of the packaged agreement, Mr. Muivah who is from Manipur, would have no place within the State of Nagaland no matter what his sacrifices. It is equally inconceivable to believe that he would make such supreme sacrifices without his personal interest being put in the frame. There has also been wild speculation that the Intanki Reserve Forest and the Nagaland Special Development Zone (NSDZ) could very well be converted into a rehabilitation centre of all the other Naga Tribes beyond the State boundary to afford them backdoor political rights to participate within Nagaland. The discomfort of ‘physical integration’ being ruled out and yet have a “Pan Naga Confederation” that would encompass all Nagas from other geographical areas, with statutory financial, legal and customary authority vested in it in the likeness of Article 371 A is an unfathomable proposition that any sensible Nagas ought to have questioned. How would this work in practice? The expounded theory that all Apex Hohos would suitably be empowered in the future seems to describe an infrastructure directed towards the formation of a “Collective Leadership” as presently practiced by the NSCN (IM). Would this mean that the existing State machinery is suitably revamped to reinforce the operational clout of Pan Naga Confederation overriding the State boundary and become the ultimate vehicle of governance within and beyond? Would this scenario then provide Mr. Muivah an opportunity to gain an overall access by default as the Chairman of the Collective Leadership, with or without being an indigenous inhabitant of the State of Nagaland? Pilferage of Intanki Reserve Forest and NSDZ for rehabilitation of out-State Nagas would then become a secondary option.
Admittedly these are all wild speculations without any concrete basis and would amount to nothing. This however is what secrecy does to a mind in a non-transparent environment and the onus of responsibility rest with the NSCN (IM) for perpetuating it.
The writer is IAS (Rtd)
Forest Colony, Kohima
