By Khekiye K. Sema
By and large it has become increasingly difficult to define the intrinsic quality of the Naga race that identifies themselves as Christians...without the fear of God... without Christian values. We have effectively succeeded in converting Christianity into just another Tribal Clan...the “Christian Clan”. Somewhere along the road many of us have lost ourselves in self preservation priorities at the cost of our common good. Any forward looking society ought to have realised by now that the principles of decent existence depends on our collective ability to discern the truth and collectively stand up for what we believe to be the right thing to do. Thus far we have failed to do this. As a matter of routine, we now gullibly swallow all the sugar coated garbage disguised as a nourishing diet...without questioning the quality or reacting to the aftertaste. As a case study, take a look at what was published in the Eastern Mirror Saturday, May 13, 2017: (Quote) “A statement appended by 81 persons consisting of kilonsers from various regions and steering members assured that the agreement do not betray the principle of the Nagas but will protect the right of the Nagas and guarantee the security of India as well as promote and strengthen harmonious interdependent relationship of the two nations”. (Unquote). Nagas readers must have been pretty impressed with this face value declaration by no less than the “Kilonsers and Steering Members”. There has hardly been any worthwhile reaction to this since then till now. Even if the above statement was endorsed by every rank and file of the NSCN (IM) it would still represent a hollow statement virtually remaining within the realm of ambiguity. This is hardly the time for assurances. This is a time for hard facts to be placed on the table...because our real common destiny is being concealed within that damned suffocating Framework Agreement for a reason that NSCN (IM) dare not reveal to the Nagas of Nagaland! NCSN (IM) may have all the good intentions for the Naga future but it does not cut ice as long as they hide the true content(s) of the Framework Agreement. Would Mr. Th. Muivah dare to trust, believe and accept what the Nagas of Nagaland may structure for him as a ‘Framework’ for his irrevocable future without consulting him? If he is a man aware of his rights, there can be no doubt that he would vehemently oppose such a move because it would be unfair and irrationally unjust to him even if he was assured otherwise. So, if he is unable to accept such an unlikely eventuality...then with what gray matter is he trying to do precisely that against all the stakeholders? During the discourse of concerned citizens at Kolkata on 25-26th April 2017, General V.S. Atem (Rtd) of the NSCN (IM) joined the session and made an incredulous claim that a person like Mr. Muivah was anointed by God to settle the Naga issue and that it was beyond the second generation leaders beneath him to influence the thoughts of their leader (Mr. Muivah). While one does not subscribe to the first part of the claim concerning ‘the anointed one’ the second part virtually confirms what everyone has been nurturing as an assumption for a very long time...that Mr. Muivah is solidly autocratic...a virtual Dictator. The statement let loose by 81 “senior national workers from Nagaland State on the Framework Agreement” (Nagaland Post...Saturday May13, 2017) falls under the same category of ‘parrots’ helplessly parroting the whims of their ‘anointed Dictator’. It would be extremely difficult to comprehend any one amongst the 81 signatories being capable of questioning the ‘anointed one’ on any given issue...least of all on the subject of highly classified framework agreement which, in all probability, none of them would have any clue as to what it might contain. Yet they are prepared to give blind assurances because it is the wish of their Supreme Dictator...the ‘anointed one’. There can be no clearer message sent out by the Nagas of Nagaland to the NSCN (IM) leadership that the fate of over 20 lakh stakeholders of Nagaland cannot secretly be bartered away by ONE solitary Naga Dictator Brother from Manipur without Nagas of Nagaland honestly being consulted interactively. Ethically or customarily, such a disposition is against the essence of Naga character of equality and respect for one another and therefore absolutely unacceptable. In contrast to our elected representatives, that portrays the general sum-up of a common man’s feeling from Nagaland against Framework Agreement signed between NSCN (IM) and the GoI. Nagas will also go down in history as the ‘ultimate moron’ if they accept the nonsensical proposition of NSCN (IM)’s “further Consultation” promise after the deed is done. The so called ‘consultations’ being flaunted at Delhi by NSCN (IM) has been nothing more than an engineered one-sided lecture delivered by the Mr. Muivah for hours and thereafter recorded as an ‘endorsement’ by the silent ‘who is who’ audience present...sans interaction. (Rather than respond to the serious key issues being raised by the authors to clear the doubts in the minds of the people, NSCN (IM) has shown lack of maturity by consistently taking cheap irrelevant pot-shots at the authors by questioning the identity of the author as not being a true Naga by blood (as in the case of Mr. T.Solo) or being branded as an ‘Indian Agent’ (as in the case of both Mr.T. Solo and self), or being accused of barking against NSCN (IM)’s caravan because of not being invited to their ‘so-called’ grand consultation...and so on.) Be that as it may, what stands out glaringly is the fact that Mr. Th. Muivah urgently needs to acquire a very high quality hearing aid not only against the ravages of aging but to enable him to hear the authentic sound of the common man and how they feel about our Naga political reality. The egoistic stubbornness of this ‘anointed one’ wanting all the glory for him as the “Father of the Nation” is getting quite appalling. He needs to humble himself and know in no uncertain terms that the Naga National Movement preceded him and it certainly is NOT his or any other NNPGs’ exclusive preserve! Naga National Movement belongs to all Nagas. All Nagas have a birthright to share reasonable responsibility towards finding an amicable solution together...the key word here Mr. General Secretary NSCN(IM) is ‘TOGETHER’... ‘INCLUSIVENESS’. Expecting the masses to quietly bear the excruciating burden of their ‘out of control’ taxation as the only area of shared responsibility is no longer relevant. Does the NSCN (IM) even care to realise that the State Government is no longer capable of providing jobs to the educated youth hitting the streets in their thousands every year?... That NSCN (IM) is largely responsible for directly aggravating the enslavement process of the youth. Many a young aspiring Naga entrepreneurs have been forced to down their shutters because of NSCN (IM)’s incessant unabated “greed tax” against their fledgling attempt at business. Rather than protect the interest of the oppressed as any legitimate Government should, the Government of Nagaland (GoN) has shown no initiative or interest other than to leisurely swim in NSCN (IM)’s cesspool and collect illegal tax of their own like it is in competition with the NNPGs instead. GoN must be clapping its hands in glee appreciating the magnanimity of NSCN (IM) for publishing in the print media about reducing the annual salary deduction of all Government servants from 24% to 12%. The picture of a statutory Government paying tax to the shadow Government does not even occur to the GoN as an oddity. The whole scenario in Nagaland is regrettably hilarious to say the least. Even the National Investigating Agency (NIA) is intensely focusing only on one small ‘baby flea bite’ and deliberately overlooking the gigantic bite marks being inflicted by ‘grandpa fleas’. The system has been chocked to irrelevance. So...there can be no better time than now for the Nagas of Nagaland to say “No taxation without declaration of Framework Agreement contents”! Like the overzealous Christian fanatics prophesising the second coming of Christ...NSCN (IM) has been hyperactively replaying the same song from a broken record that ‘the conclusion of the negotiation is at hand’ for more than a decade and a half...with the latest dateline slated for the 5th August 2017...or so the grapevine whispers. The proud Nagas of Nagaland can then all kneel down facing southward, in the similar fashion as the Muslim brothers do facing towards Mecca, bow our heads in supplication, punch the thin air with full gusto while proclaiming...”Hail to the King”...the chorus being led by the entourage of our elected representatives.
Having said that let it universally be known that the Nagas have absolutely no reservation of honouring and saluting all the National Workers who bravely and honestly stood at the frontline against our adversary during the very trying times. No one would dare deny this fact...that because of their unflinching patriotism and bravery we are at a very momentous crossroad of defining our destiny today. On their part conversely, what they too must remember is the extreme sacrifices made against all odds by the populace in keeping their stomachs filled to enable them to stand at the firing line. One is as important a contribution as the other. No one is questioning the leadership of the NNPGs for spearheading the negotiation...but now that the era of physical confrontation is over and the time for brainwork is at hand, higher patriotic sentiment ought to be the driving factor in the minds of our NNPG leaders rather than give way to debased egocentric instinct of self-perpetuation, money mongering and disunity. Towards this end the NNPGs ought to instead sensibly be harnessing some of the best experienced brains amongst the Nagas for a meaningful reinforcement at the negotiation table against a far superior adversary. Our History is replete with glaring examples of God seemingly withdrawing His wisdom from the Nagas at the most crucial times because of our egocentric pastime rather than graciously humbling ourselves and placing our complete faith in Him. It is by far more rewarding to let The Almighty exult us rather than attempt self-uplift. Opportunity passed by our first generation National Workers (NW). They missed the bus. Opportunity is knocking at the door of our present day NW but yet again we are about to let it pass us by. The curse of an over-accentuated self-esteem amongst the NNPG leaders remains the one crucial stumbling block that has defiled the possibility of a united house. Mr. Th. Muivah with all his vast experience ought to honestly see that the stubborn road he has been travelling solo is froth with possible volcanic depredation. The non-transparent deceptive manoeuvres have only succeeded in eroding the trust factor and heightened negative speculations to the extremes. The explicit voice of the Prime Minister of India and the unreserved pronouncement of Union Home Minister of the GoI have filtered through the fogged up environment, unambiguously declaring that ‘sovereignty and integration’ is no longer an issue. NSCN (IM) had failed to officially contest their statements in the public domain. They have been busy generating more fog with their tiresome theory of “Shared Sovereignty and emotional integration” instead. Mr. Muivah surely understands that even if Nagas’ original stand on sovereignty and integration cannot fully be achieved no one will think any less of him...provided he acknowledges by action that our assured future rests with the consensus will of the people. He needs to alight from his high perch and mingle with the ‘less anointed factions’ as equal partners in the greater patriotic scheme of things and being the process of an honest interactive consultation with them and the people. Any solution then will be final without further ripples in the aftermath. It is for him to decide whether he would prefer having history put him 6 feet under with a cursed memory or affectionately be remembered in perpetuity as the humble soul that made supreme sacrifice for his people. He ought to honestly allow The Almighty to enter his inner Hebron sanctuary...and thereafter make his final call putting the wellbeing of his people before him.
