The June 16 letter of Governor R N Ravi to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has stirred up a lot of dust and controversy in the state at a time when everyone is focusing on fighting the SARS Cov-2 pandemic. The governor’s letter, among others, expressed his unhappiness over “armed gangs” trampelling upon the authority of state particularly with their extortion activities while the state machinery stood mute spectator. The governor, therefore, could not stand silently by and threatened to assume the law and order powers of the state under Article 371 A (1) (b) of the Constitution, a special provision in the case of Nagaland.
The governor threatening to replace the elected and representative government is unusual enough. But what has concerned most people even more is that it appeared as if the governor was referring to the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) who were all actively under ceasefire agreements with the government of India with the governor himself acting as GoI’s Interlocutor. These agreements were between the GoI and the NNPGs, independent of the government of Nagaland which was not a party to the talks. Ceasefire ground rules regulated the activities of both sides and they were monitored by Ceasefire supervisory bodies, chaired by GoI representatives, usually by retired Indian Generals.
The process of consultations between the two sides were said to have been completed on all substantive issues and even October 31, 2019, was slated as the last date for signing the Naga settlement at one point. Besides, the governor also reached out to the Naga public, particularly the tribe and community bodies as well as village elders etc. which was much appreciated by the people. The various Naga bodies have also given their views. And everyone was expecting a settlement to come about at the earliest. Has the government of India now changed its mind/stand because if the governor was referring to the NNPGs in his letter, this was clearly not a positive sign, coming as it does from the Interlocutor? This has been the overall anxiety of the people.
The timing of the governor’s letter is really what has raised many eyebrows.
i) This is a time when everyone’s attention is fixated on fighting the SARS Cov-2 or Covid-19 pandemic. Fear of the pandemic is all-pervasive at the moment. Inexperienced and lacking in so many areas, the state was going through very difficult times. The governor himself has constructively intervened to help the state and his work has been much appreciated by the people even if not in so many visible ways.
ii) India itself is fighting this public health emergency with the Covid-19 positive curve ever rising; there is an on-going humanitarian crisis in the wake of the pandemic while the economy is nose-diving. To all these has now been added a war-like situation in Ladakh and, to a lesser extent, closer home in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
iii) As mentioned above, the talks to settle the Naga Political Issue may be on-going because a settlement is still to be signed but the consultation process on substantive issues is over and ceasefire agreements regulate behaviour on both sides. The general thinking is that the pandemic may be a reason for delay.
iv) Taxes or extortions, depending on the individual’s perspective, by the NNPGs are ubiquitous it is true. But this is not new. Since the signing of ceasefire agreements between the GoI and the various NNPGs, at least the killings have stopped. To this extent, it could be said that the situation was comparatively better now. A settlement of the Naga issue would remove the raison d’etre for the NNPGs to raise taxes/extortions (More below).
Considering the above, would it be far-fetched to imagine that the GoI may be doubtful about the possible role of the Naga factions in the event of an outbreak of war with China, especially as the battle front may also move towards NE and Arunachal Pradesh? Could this be the real reason for wanting to invest the Law and Order power in the state with the governor in preparation for any eventuality on the Chinese front? Although GoI may say it is routine, the Disturbed Areas Act has again been extended to Nagaland, something both the people and government of Nagaland have been asking to be removed.
It must be mentioned that where the activities of the NNPGs are concerned, the state government has always been vulnerable regardless of whichever party happened to be ruling at any one time. This is because the vast majority of the Naga people sympathise with the Naga National cause. The NNPGs have been taking undue advantage of this. They have often made the Naga people suffer in the name of the Naga cause! With the proliferation of splinter groups the extortions/taxes have also increased. As a result, the NNPGs have also lost the support of many Nagas. Fed up with their demands, the various Naga tribe/community bodies, as well as public, have been raising their voices against their exorbitant demands and stating that only one tax can be paid for one cause.
The dilemma of the Naga people is that having supported and stood with the Naga national cause for so many decades, they find themselves unable to “undefend” the cause without a settlement to this issue first. To do so would be like betrayal of their beliefs and themselves although sometimes they may be unhappy, even angry, with the NNPGs or their cadres. And as the vast majority of the Nagas sympathise with the Naga cause, all political parties in the state are likewise helpless. Because of this peculiar situation almost all Nagas suffer from dual personality! Such a situation not only creates conditions for much confusion and instability but also makes allowances for many wrongs. For example, for a long time, most Nagas even considered money coming from Delhi as “Indian Money” and not theirs. Naturally, accountability was not demanded and corruption was much easier. But the situation will change once the Naga issue is settled and the dual personality/identity issue is settled. Already, many Nagas are beginning to be vociferous and demanding accountability. A settlement of the Naga Issue will also remove any justification/excuse for taxes or extortions by any one or group! Systemic corruption too will begin to be tackled.
We should also look at the legal provision which the governor cited to assume the powers of the state government. The Law and Order powers of the governor have its roots in the Nagaland Security Regulation Act, 1962, made before Nagaland state came into existence. In turn, this law was made based largely on the practices used to fight Naga insurgency in the 1950s and early 1960s. This is in addition to the other draconian legislations like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, The Assam Disturbed Areas Act and the Assam Maintenance of Public Order Act, starting in 1953, following the disastrous visit of Jawaharlal Nehru with his Burmese counterpart, Thakin Nu or U Nu, to Kohima.
Most Nagas seem less familiar with the Nagaland Security Regulation Act, 1962, although much of their sufferings could be traced back to this piece of legal crap. The infamous “Village Groupings” (concentration camps) were made possible or were justified under this Act. All the movements of people and even the routes and timings that Nagas had to take to go from one place to another were regulated under this Act. Under this Act, any item can be declared “essential” and the Nagas also have no right to private property. And, of course, the Law and order Powers reside with the Nagaland governor and as such his powers are more that of a colonial governor and not that of a state governor within the federal structure of the Union of India.
This author had in his book, “The Naga Imbroglio” (1999) and co-authored work, “The State Strikes Back : India and the Naga Insurgency” (Policy Studies 52, East-West Center, 2009), decried this legal provision and called for its removal. In today’s age and time, why should we keep some vestiges of colonial rule? When India started visioning its Look/Act Policies, this author wrote newspaper articles wondering how much such policies would benefit the Nagas as their right to private property could be legally taken away because of an antiquated and draconian legislation, based on colonial values, still on the statute books! Sadly, while other draconian legislations like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act were denounced vociferously by many Nagas, the removal of the Nagaland Security Regulation Act did not find much resonance although this Act is more deeply imbedded and affects them much more in their daily lives. Perhaps, this law is less visible to the Nagas because the biggest practitioners of the Act, often called NSR, are the state police and civil servants, and not the Indian army.
Meanwhile, the GoI of India must decide if it wants Nagaland as a full-fledged State within the federal structure of the union of India and Nagas as full citizens or it wants Nagaland only as a colony in this 21st century. Correspondingly, Nagas must begin to think about the kind of future they can expect as citizens of India.
One thinks both sides have come a long way from the days of the Naga memorandum to the Simon Commission when Nagas expressed their wish not to be part of India. At the time of independence, India’s leaders, who had fought British colonialism as wrong apparently thought it was quite alright to lay complete claim to their legacy so long it benefitted them. Nehru’s own pride was much more important to him than showing respect to Naga aspirations and settling the Issue when it was much less complicated. Today, do we want to keep repeating history and living in the past? Or will we start to move forward into the future?
Charles Chasie