NPMHR on land and development

Asserting land was central to our identity and survival as peoples, Naga Peoples’ Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) said Thursday the increasing activities on exploiting natural resources in the form of Special Economic Zones, oil exploration, mining of minerals that were being undertaken without any informed consent, public knowledge or democratic consultation were a matter of deep concern.
In a press release issued by its secretariat, NPMHR stated that such activities needed to be viewed alongside the agenda of Look East Policy, opening up of trade zones and relations between South Asia and South East Asian countries, trans-national highways and railroads etc that seek to promote economic development by ignoring the voices and basic needs of ordinary people.
“The top-down state-centric development will have long term negative impacts on our lives,” NPMHR stated, adding that such activities would “not only alter our relationship with land, but it also has the potential to displace people and culture, disrupt livelihoods, and most critically expand the gap between the rich and the poor which is on the rise in Naga society.”
Therefore, NPMHR has called for development that was value based and consistent with indigenous peoples’ worldview and perspectives where utmost care was taken to ensure preservation of natural resources and where society benefits collectively were the basis for any activity.