Our Reporter
Dimapur, Aug. 15 (EMN): Convenor of Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR), Rev. Dr. Wati Aier on Sunday said the 76th year (75th anniversary) of the Naga’s declaration of independence is not only historical but more importantly historic as it has a real abiding significance.
Addressing the international commemoration of 76th year of the Naga declaration of independence, which was held virtually on August 14 evening, Dr. Aier said ‘it is healthy to be reminded of our history and healthy to celebrate it, but there is a tendency for us to limit our perspective to the past’.
The idealism of abstractly romanticising history, he pointed out, has been the Naga’s trademark all these years, adding that less emphasis has been placed on the practical aspect of actually practising sovereignty.
The Naga situation is complex and one that is characterised by inertia, he asserted.
“Multiple actors and stakeholders have not been quite able to identify the cause of this inertia, or perhaps they choose not to and instead have merely focused on symptoms rather than address root causes. This has led to endless cycle of short-term fixes, reactive tactics and unsolved conflict between different groups. Naga people must change. For all those who want to bring formal political change, this is the crux of the matter,” he said.
He asserted that if Naga political groups (NPGs) aspire to serve a critical function in the immediate future of the Naga political field, they must know and be able to point out the practice of Naga sovereignty, and more importantly, they have to come to an authentic consensus on the meaning and destiny of the Naga sovereignty and this authentic and consensus must transcend opportunism. ‘This is a giant task. Are we up to it for a change to move forward?’ he asked.
‘For years, Naga people have lived in despair of moving forward and people are made to believe that either nothing would change or that whatever happens is to be accepted,’ he lamented while adding that for the sake of our own being, ‘Nagas must move beyond this way of thinking and take upon our resourceful imagination for the practise of sovereignty; this realistic and resourceful imagination will help Naga pursue our historical and political rights vis a vis to the Government of India (GoI)’.
‘To pursue this imagination in order to move forward- first we must be clear about our foundations as the genesis of Naga political history remains the only common memory of our belonging; secondly, we have to come clear about our shortcomings. Effective relations between different NPGs continue to be unattainable due to unresolved accumulation of ills and mistrust among the groups,’ he pointed out.
‘Let us understand that NPGs are functioning governments in their own rights,’ he said while asserting that in this case, reconciliation has a practical role to play. It gives us a mindset by which we can accept our differences and move beyond our harmful belief that everyone who is not with us is the other. We must understand that cooperation is nationalism; nationalism is cooperation at its best. Cooperation means to be dependent on one another,’ he said.
Aier observed that the limiting political worldview of undoing the other has proven to be useless. To continue nurturing such a view will only delay the Naga people from moving ahead. Without any disrespect to the GoI, what should be worked out from within the Naga family is the duty of the Nagas themselves, he said.
“Let us give the future a chance by candidly accepting our differences within essential unity. This is the task of Naga political groups and the people practising sovereignty,” he suggested.
He also called on the people to acknowledge that fact that the GoI has officially signed the Framework Agreement with the NSCN/GPRN (NSCN-IM) and the Agreed Position with the WC-NNPG. The political obligation from the side of GoI is an achievement of the Nagas regardless, since the signing of the Framework Agreement and the Agreed Position, a huge vacuum has been created and filled with narratives by various ambitious and speculative so called scholars and individuals seeking to draw a capital for themselves.
‘Today, Nagas will be missing the mark if NPGs fail to muster the power of context. The NPGs are presented with a creative tension that clearly articulates what the Naga people want and what the Naga people can do inspite of our differences. Every leader must determine to move towards the mindset of imagining the Naga possibility,’ he said.
NPGs, he said, must also realistically understand the GoI’s understood difficulties vis a vis Naga identity with its political markers. ‘Let us keep on practising what is ours. If Nagas are given what is already ours, than we invalidate ourselves. Framework Agreement and Agreed Position are indeed significant achievements. What can be implemented must be implemented’.
Aier said that the paradox of Naga factual concept must be immediately put into form. Those who do not wish to be part of the envisage model cannot be coerced into it, he added.
The guest of honour of the event, United Nations Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) chairperson, Dario Jose Mejia Montalvo said that despite the existence of a solid international framework of rights for indigenous people, there is great gap that exists in many countries in relation to the respect and protection.
“Multiple states do not recognise the existence of indigenous people within the territorial limits that they themselves have imposed which prevents that indigenous people can activate the specific normative frameworks of existing rights in their favour such as their rights to territory, lands and natural resources,” he shared while stating that this was one of the main causes that has triggered an increase in murders, attacks and criminalisation of indigenous people in the world.
“Your fight for independence was promoted by the clear incompatibility of your governance system with other monocultural system that interfered with your ways of life and governance. These reasons must continue to motivate your fight for self determination as indigenous people,” he added.