The land of the Nagas is not too expansive nor her population much too multitudinous. Nevertheless her polity and history has been from the beginning and most ancient as antiquity herself. Prior to the inauspicious advent of the British the Nagas did not even know India much less having anything to do with her : total anathema.
The British lorded over the Nagas from 1880 – 1947, but save for taking maximum undue advantage of our total trust and absolute loyalty, she virtually did nothing substantial for our betterment. The Nagas petitioned the Simon commission by stating most clearly and in no uncertain terms for her to “leave us alone” and allow us to enjoy our unencumbered lives of freedom as in the days past on the event of her imminent departure. The government led by new Prime Minister Clement Atlee, a member of the Simon Commission himself, sinisterly left most silently, perhaps much against the screaming of his tormented conscience (if he had one, that is).
The wily India then brought in her occupation forces in the persons of Army men and Police men and overran the Nagas many times over. Nagaland, by the way, does never belong to the British nor to the Indians. The pleadings for her rights have so far fallen on deaf ears and closed minds, or so it seems. The Naga National Council could prophetically perceive the dangers of the possibility of being maliciously thrown into “The Sea of Indian Politics” against which she had pleaded in written to Clement Atlee (et al.).
1. The intimidatory tactics of Governor Akbar Hydari on the Nagas resulted in the failure to sign the Proposed 9-Point Agreement.
2. A handful of opportunistic Nagas in the form and guise of Naga Peoples Convention sneaked into the confidence of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and brought about the 16-Point Agreement, which however was ”never the unqualified choice of the Nagas”. India too, on her part never honoured the same in toto.
3. After priming the situation to its worst possible levels of terror and anarchy, a handful of Federal leaders were led, as if on leashes, and compelled as “underground” representatives to sign the “Shillong Accord”. However 40 years have passed without any ray of light at the end of this dark tunnel of infamy.
4. In 1997, while the Naga Reconciliation process was being pursued in all seriousness at Atlanta (USA); the spoilsport-par-excellence India latched on to NSCN(IM) and signed a Ceasefire agreement which has been dragging on for these dreary 28 years.
5. The Final Accord was supposed to have been hatched with the expressed exclusion of the NSCN(K) and accordingly one Agreement had once again been signed with indelible ink on August 3,2015, or so it had been much proclaimed. But the simple Naga folks, who actually matter most, have not been enlightened about its contents nor their implications and therefore are least bothered. One is reminded of the maxim ‘you cannot fool all the people all the time!’ Amen.
The milling millions of India’s population is virtually like a roaring ocean and the Hindu agenda has been projected into much prominence. Of the 545 Lok Sabha Members of Parliament Naga representation is just 1 (one) single Member, and except for some show of physical developmental schemes and programmes India has not been listening to nor being mindful of the Naga Political Rights to any serious measure.
• On the part of the Nagas of today, we are behaving pretty much like the fable of “The hunts of the Chücümiaphie” (Chücümiaphie chüwhuotuoi). This Chücümiaphie is a skunk-like small mammal which can prey upon bigger animals like the deer by relentlessly chasing them to utter exhaustion and killing the prey quite so very unerringly as a rule. But the uniqueness of this particular hunt is that if the predator(s) even on the very verge of catching the prey, whenever chance upon honey bee hives in its path would most definitely forgo the primary target, though most exhausted and ready for the kill, and turn its undivided attention to the honey like a powerful magnet. The Nagas, likewise have forsaken the blazing trail of Nationalism, the one and only hope for National survival and identity, and are drawn to easy money and the apparently secure government service; numerous motor vehicles have been purchased to super-saturate the streets of Kohima City, with the greed to buy even much more. These pursuits are being debauched upon at the costly expense of honouring the martyrs of the Naga Political Rights. Yes, righteous and innocent blood in copious proportions have been shed for the benefit of tomorrow’s generation. This sacrifice most solemn had been proffered not in order to be under the Constitution of India nor to subsist under the slavery of “The Sea of Indian Politics” most despicable. The NNC stands for full Sovereignty of Nagaland and nothing short of it, so help us Lord!
• KUKNALIM.
