The Pochury Students' Union (PSU) has condemned the reported obstruction of a Naga Students' Federation (NSF) delegation at the Avangkhu check gate on Saturday by personnel of the 39th Assam Rifles
DIMAPUR — The Pochury Students' Union (PSU) has condemned the reported obstruction of a Naga Students' Federation (NSF) delegation at the Avakhung check gate on Saturday by personnel of the 39th Assam Rifles stationed at Avakhung.
In a press release, the union stated that it considers the incident serious, as it occurred within Pochury jurisdiction, at a location that is not merely a security installation but also an established point of public, commercial, and people-to-people interaction.
It added that the denial of passage to the NSF delegation is not merely an obstruction against the Nagas but a matter that touches upon the dignity and sentiments of the Naga people as a whole.
Pointing out that the delegation had submitted the necessary references for its proposed cultural engagement, the PSU demanded to know the specific grounds on which the delegation was stopped, what concrete security concern or violation was established against them, what evidence was available to show that they intended to undertake any unlawful activity, and under what law, order, or written directive the Assam Rifles was authorised to prevent them from proceeding.
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The PSU stated that security cannot become a blanket justification for arbitrary restriction, noting that if authorities possessed credible information indicating an unlawful intention, it must be clearly established through lawful procedure.
In the absence of any publicly stated explanation or evidence, the stopping of a recognised Naga civil society delegation raises serious questions regarding transparency, proportionality, and accountability, the union said, questioning how legitimate cultural and people-to-people engagement could be treated as a security threat without the basis for such restriction being publicly established.
The union maintained that recognised civil society and student organisations must be allowed to discharge their legitimate social, cultural, and humanitarian responsibilities without being subjected to arbitrary impediments in the absence of demonstrable grounds. It stressed that any restriction imposed upon civilian movement must be lawful, necessary, and proportionate to a clearly identifiable security concern and cannot rest solely upon an undefined invocation of security considerations.
The PSU demanded that the Assam Rifles place on record a clear, written, and legally tenable explanation for the denial of passage, rather than allowing the matter to remain shrouded in ambiguity and speculation.
It further called upon the Assam Rifles and the Government of India to answer the Naga people directly, transparently, and without ambiguity, stating that silence cannot be allowed to substitute for accountability.
If there was a lawful and substantiated reason to stop the NSF delegation, the union said that the reason should be placed before the public. It added that if no such lawful basis existed, the authorities must acknowledge the wrong and ensure that such arbitrary restrictions are not repeated, stating that the dignity of the Naga people, the legitimacy of peaceful people-to-people engagement, and the rule of law cannot be treated as matters of convenience at a security checkpoint.