FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2025
Towards One Voice: A Call for Naga Unity and Common Purpose
Published on May 6, 2025
By EMN
Share
- On 14th May 2025, at 11:00 AM, the people of Nagaland will witness a historic gathering at Agri Expo, Dimapur. Titled “Common Platform for Resolving Indo-Naga Political Issue,” this initiative is organised by the Nagaland GB Federation Peace Committee in collaboration with key tribal and civil organisations. Its purpose is clear and timely: to bring all Naga factions under one umbrella, and to build upon the Framework Agreement and Agreed Position. This is not just another programme. This is a pivotal chance to reclaim our future.
- Unless we learn to come together, build together, and fight together for the cause that the pioneers of the Naga freedom movement stood for, we are heading nowhere. This programme must be more than a meeting. It must be a movement.
- In the early years of our political struggle, the Nagas were united. Bound by a shared desire for self-determination and dignity, we spoke with one voice. The Naga National Council (NNC) was formed through collective decision-making and widespread support. Despite colonial and post-colonial attempts to divide us, the early freedom fighters rose above tribal affiliations. Their sacrifices were not for their tribes, but for all Nagas.
- We remember when villages gave shelter to freedom fighters regardless of where they came from. Elders led prayers and mothers fed the young freedom fighters in the jungles. We remember when our people chose hardship over submission—because they believed in the cause, and they believed in each other.
- That unity made the Indian government take us seriously. That unity gave birth to ceasefires, to peace talks, and ultimately to the Framework Agreement of 2015.
- But where are we now?
- Today, we are splintered into too many factions. Each faction claims to represent the “Naga cause,” but the ground reality tells another story. Leaders who once claimed to fight for us now live in luxury, building estates and amassing wealth—all in the name of nationalism. The “taxes” we are coerced to pay go not toward the collective struggle but to personal empires.
- We, the people, are tired. We no longer support this fragmented leadership. No one wants to fund endless divisions. No one wants to send their children to fight under unclear motives. We are disillusioned, not with the cause, but with those who have hijacked it.
- This endless formation of groups is not strength. It is a weakness. And India, and the world, can see it. When we are divided, we are easily dismissed. When we are unified, we are a force to be reckoned with.
- The May 14th event is an opportunity to rebuild what we lost. This is a call to every Naga political group—set aside your egos and sit under one roof. Come to the table with humility, not with weapons or conditions. Come, not to defend your faction, but to defend our future.
- This initiative is not coming from political elites. It is being carried by the people—by the Nagaland Tribes Council, the Senior Citizens Association, the Forum for Naga Reconciliation, the Naga Council, the Ex-Parliamentarian Association, traders, elders, and even voices from Arunachal and Assam. These are the voices of ordinary citizens who have nothing to gain but peace.
- Let this event mark the beginning of a new chapter—one where the framework of peace is not left hanging, where agreed positions are not just words but actions, and where India is compelled to engage meaningfully because we have finally found our one voice.
- Let their voices be heard by the stubborn leaders of NPGs.
- Do you understand what “Unity” will achieve?
- A unified front will:
- • Restore the legitimacy of the Naga movement.
- • Force India to recognise that the Nagas are not fragmented interest groups, but one people.
- • Create space for real economic and political progress.
- • Heal inter-tribal wounds and prepare the ground for lasting peace.
- Are you listening, leaders of NPGs?
- Let us be clear: this platform is not about the past; it is about the future. We must honour our pioneers—not merely by remembering their names, but by reviving their spirit of unity. We must rise as one people, or we will fall as separate groups, forgotten and broken.
- To the leaders of every faction: the people are watching. The world is watching. Your legacy will not be defined by your rank or your title, but by your courage to choose unity over pride. I, for one, don’t take pride in you.
- Let 14th May 2025 be remembered—not as another date in a long list of meetings, but as the day the Nagas chose to walk together again.
- A. Anato Swu
Nagaland Districts
