Speech of Hon’ble Ato Kilonser Ino. Alezo Venuh, GPRN/NSCN (U)

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, and comrades,

I thank Almighty Jehovah, the creator of our beloved Nagaland. I extend my heartfelt Naga Independence Day greetings to all across our cherished homeland.

Every Independence Day, we gather with the hope and vision of a dawn when the Nagas will awaken to an Independent Naga Nation. For the past 78 years, generation after generation, the spirit for an absolutely Sovereign Naga Nation has been the driving force of our lives. Yet, the declaration of Naga Independence on the eve of this day in 1947, is to become a reality.

Friends, today we are at the crossroads in every sphere of life. If we fail to address the stagnation and stillness in our economic growth and progress, we will be caught in a whirlpool, that drags us into selfdestruction, more divisions, bifurcations of our geopolitical landscapes will only create new boundaries among ourselves.

Unity cannot be achieved by voicing the same ideals in different tones and platforms. Likewise, unity born out of compulsions driven by outside forces and will be superficial and will short lived.

Time is ripe to reassure ourselves, revamp our political structure and manage our resources and more effectively.

Our democratic polity evolved long before the Scottish renaissance and birth of modern political institutions. We strive to protect and uphold the Naga Parliamentary system of Tatar Hoho, without being dismantled by the Westminster system.

The traditional Naga system of democratic governance and administration has no parallel even in the contemporary Socio-Political institutions. Every Naga Tribal Country is a federation independent village republic. This political structure is marked by cohesion and strict adherence to the regulations of the village. We must safeguard this unique historical political system without falling prey to the whims and of the neo-colonial political influence. Each village republic has an unwritten constitution – our Naga customary laws, practices, procedures, and both civil and criminal laws - along the systems for the rational management of land and resources. The Sovereign Republic of Naga Countries must be institutionalised.

We must ask ourselves why and how we have failed to re-establish the federal structure envisaged by our forefathers. No power in the world can challenge our determination, if we remain committed to secure our indigenous system.

It is time to revisit the narratives of the 19th and 20th centuries. Two great civilisations met on the wrong platform, at the wrong point of time. Suspicion and confrontation follow, while the masterminds of this conflict walked away, leaving Naga territories became as a theatre of bloodshed.

We owe honest and truthful to the ancestors who dreamed of freedom and faced the canes and bullets with valour nationalism. Every time we turn our weapons on our people, or look at each other with suspicion. We are committing criminal injustice to our ancestors, to ourselves and our future generations.

We must re-examine our own narrative and decide on the kind of understanding required to resolve the differences, conflicts and confrontations. We respect each and every Naga community, regardless of size or history. Only then can we earn honour and respect from within an outside. Honourable political solution will follow naturally when we stand united, with our heads held high and our feet firmly on the ground.

Can we leave a broken and insecure social-political environment for our future generations?

While we were caught in the war, our own people misused the situation and went for a subservient parallel political situation. The power centresthat sowed the seeds of deprivation and accumulation of wealth, drained off much of our human and natural resources. Our territories and people became rippled and crippled.

Naga National Governments did not extend to the general public and could not make any investments or policy approaches for the economic growth or institutional development of the people. This paved the way for external political ideologies to creep in and to exploit the situation.

In reality, the question on India became more and more pronounced as they divide among the Nagas became centered on power politics and consolidation of wealth. The beginning was set in the early 1970s within the Naga Movement. As situations continued for decades, and reached a point that needed a reorientation, a few likeminded National workers came together and formed the neutral entity, as balancing force, the NSCN Naga Unification. We have faced stiff resistance and assault from all corners and the situation still continues.

Working Committee NNPGs do not stand for a give and take policy. We have to take first, observe the viabilities and then we decide over what to give in the wake of contemporary realities. When we address the political issues, the mistakes committed in the processes cannot be justified. If we try to create narratives for our comfort level and convenience, it will be a treacherous move to further widen the gap between us. Therefore, the leaders have to keep in mind that what we address are taken into the hearts by the people.

If we present an unrealistic picture before the people, we are deceiving ourselves and the trust they have deposed. They give us everything, food, shelter and every possible means to carry forward the mission.

It is time to give back to people what was assured to them, it cannot be delayed for an indefinite period. The world is growing at a pace that every microsecond is precious. We have to think in terms of man hours, every hour we spend is equal to a month in terms of man hours for the Nagas, so far, the matters are still lying with National leadership. A collective decision has to be made, otherwise the Government of India will not take up the matter further. The Government of India has made their position clear.

We have to put an end to all allegations and blame game, shouting from Nagaland. We have to achieve our goals through corrective measures, through a better understanding of the factual position both between the leadership and the whole Naga fraternity.We have to keep it in mind that no nation is formed under a commonly accepted general principle or law of commonalities. Every nation is formed out of indifference between political leaders of the same geopolitical region. The initiative has to be from within the Nagas.

The Government of India has agreed to constitute a Legislature under the federal structure consistent with the indigenous Naga political system namely – the Nagaland Federal Hoho. The same in the form of territorial will be constituted as Territorial Hohos within the Naga areas in Naga areas held by Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.

About Assam, all the tribal leaders, GBs and the elected representatives of NLA and Parliament Members will have to take a note on the factual matrix of the border issues.

Naga Hills Tuensang Area was separated from Assam by way of NHTA Act of 1957. At the time of the formation of Nagaland, Assam had transferred only the Naga Hills District. It did not transfer the Naga Tribal Areas as under the NHTA Act, which includes the NC Hill, Rengma Hills, Lotha, Ao and Konyakareas held by Assam including the forests owned by the Naga villages.  These “Traditional Naga Areas are not disputed Areas, but they are “Naga Tribal Areas illegally held by Assam”. This act of the Assam Government is in contravention to the Treaty of 1962, which was made a mutual convention leading to the formation of Nagaland, thus ratifying NHTA Act of 1957.

As the whole matter was deliberated, the government of India understood the political reality and agreed to take over the administrative control of the Naga Tribal Areas which include the forests, by an empowered High-Power Committee that will demarcate the traditional boundaries.

The demarcated Naga Tribal areas and the forests will be transferred to Nagaland which would include all the Naga Tribal Areas of the Frontier Tracts of Assam from North Cachar Hills to the villages under Konyak Authority of the ANGHs.

Regarding the international boundary with Myanmar, the representation of Naga club itself was pointed out by the experts as the reason to exclude separation of Naga Hills at the time of the Partition of Burma Act.

The Historical Positions of the Nagas and the Government of India draws a difference here:

1. During the Second World War, the Naga Hills fell into the hands of Japanese forces and the British Government recaptured the areas through battle. The recaptured areas fell directly under the Crown, it is only an administrative consideration whether these areas were excluded or partially excluded, but was under the direct control of the Governor General.

We can refute and disagree, but as we sit across the negotiation table, there has to be enough logic and grounds. The transfer of powers to India included all such areas including Naga Hills which was then under the Government of the United Kingdom.

2. During the Partition of India in 1947, the Muslim League had included Assam and the Hill Areas to the borders with Burma and Tibet in their map. The clarification given by the Muslim League was that tribes of the Hills have no religion and together with them the Muslims of Assam have majority.  This was refuted by Gandhiji and the Viceroy agreed to cede Assam and the Hill areas to till the Burma -Tibet Border to India. The Hill areas comprised Naga Hills, Hills of Manipur, Khasi, Jaintia and Garo together with other Frontier Tract Areas.

3. Indo-Burma Border Agreement was signed in 1967 after the formation of Nagaland.

Without any hearing or a joint Commission on the claims of the villages and tribes along the Indo-Burma border, the GoI agreed to the Demarcations according to the Pemberton Line and the 1837 boundary of Patkai ranges. This was to be reviewed by the joint committee where the tribal and village heads of the Naga areas were to stake their claim. Border Fencing along the Naga areas would be against the agreed terms with the NNPGs on the ‘Exemption from Indian Passport Act’.

Besides everything, we have to understand that the amending powers that the Parliament had in 1962 was curtailed by the Supreme Court of India in 1973. The doctrine of the basic structure of the Constitution was applied which restricts the Parliament.

Even (as) we enter into any agreement outside the premises of the basic structure of the system; the Parliament cannot enact such laws. Despite this, if the government of India enacts such laws and amendments to satisfy the Naga leadership, it will not stand the test before the open forum of the Courts. The Parliament cannot circumvent the Supreme Court Directives.

Whatever has been settled through the negotiations, the NNPGs have covered the entire gamut that can be achieved at this point of time. The remaining matters can be taken up only after appropriate legislatures and statutory bodies are established through the political solution. There has to be a due procedure drawn for such negotiations by enacting appropriate acts of the newly formed legislatures.

The failures on this count emerged from the Ceasefire Agreement that should have included certain clauses pertaining to the geographical area, People, and other terms of references. This would have required a resolution of both houses of the Parliament so as to give the solution so as to have the validity of the treaty outside the purview of the Constitution. Such a procedure would have eliminated the questions on the Vires to the Constitution of India.

We tried to overcome these shortcomings to a great extent. Whatever the best possible at this point of time has been settled between the GoI and the NNPGs, within the limitations imposed by the previous negotiations and shortcoming in other procedures. It is right time for making a holistic approach in the political solution by enlisting the settled positions by the negotiators. The political solution is for the people and not for claims and credit to the leaders or assignees. We need a systematic approach in the matter, what the Nagas have to decide after the formation of the new political system, should not create an obstruction in entering into the accord with the Government of India.

We must end blame games and unite for a holistic political solution. The Naga Federal Hoho and Territorial Hohos will reflect our indigenous system. The solution is for the people, not for leaders claims. Let us move forward with a systematic approach, ensuring a secure future for generations to come.

Kuknalim

 God bless Nagaland