(Confirmed saying of NSCN-IM)
The lull in the present political discourse between the GoI and our NNPGs is beginning to unsettle the minds of the entire Naga population… (More so for the Nagas of Nagaland)…considering how Shri. R.N. Ravi/Interlocutor Governor of Nagaland had pushed the dateline button with urgency and making this fact known to the representatives of the 14 Tribal Hohos present on the 18th October 2019’s meeting at Hotel Japfu. The Governor/ Interlocutor made a very emphatic statement that day that the GoI was prepared to go ahead and close the negotiation with those NNPGs willing to pen the final Agreement…and deal with the ‘unwilling others’ as may be deemed fit…adding that “ the collateral damage caused to the innocent civilians can’t be helped”. It necessarily meant that when push came to shove it would be the civilian population that would ultimately face the brunt of the manhunt for the “unwilling” by the Indian army all over again. It appears that the Nagas civil population is but a dispensable vegetable from the stand point of the GoI.
The 31st October 2019 dateline has long since gone. In order to gain a better understanding of the ‘reality situation’ as to the reason for such a prolonged hibernation in both camps…some concerned members of the Senior Citizen’s Association of Nagaland (SCAN) met the Governor/Interlocutor Shri. R.N. Ravi, on the 13th of February 2020 at 3.00pm, at Rai Bhavan, Kohima. While a wide range of issues were generally covered, a more concentrated discussion revolved around the subject of Pan Naga Hoho (PNH) which has of late become very controversially disturbing to the Nagas of Nagaland. This is an unabridged account of what transpired:
Pan Naga Hoho (PNH): The Governor/Interlocutor explained that the first roadblock was on the issue of ‘Naga Flag’ and the ‘Naga Constitution’ that had suddenly been introduced by NSCN (IM) at a very late stage of the 23 years old negotiation…that had bogged down the process. He however confirmed that this matter has mutually been placed on hold by both the contending parties to be addressed through peaceful democratic process in the due future. The unambiguous fact of the matter without doubt therefore, is that the issue of “Sovereignty” and “Integration” is no longer an immediate contending issue with both the GoI and the NNPGs. Yet NSCN (IM) would have the Nagas believe in their weird day-dreaming philosophy of ‘Shared Sovereignty’ which seems like a make-believe myth being woven around the concept of “the State of Nagaland ceasing to exist and becoming a Nation”. The Nagas must know that this audacious claim to ‘Naga Nationhood’ is being worked out from within the Indian Constitution with demand for enhanced representation of MPs in both Houses of the Indian Parliament! One has to concede: NSCN (IM) does have a weird sense of humour. The ground reality of ‘’shared sovereignty’’ is that all States in the Federated Union of India has certain vested authority under the State List that the Centre cannot interfere…but Nagaland, unlike other States, has an additional dispensation under Article 371A. However this fact does not make Nagaland a “Sovereign Nation”. But it is beginning to dawn on the Nagas of Nagaland that the NSCN (IM) is more inclined to erase even this hard earned Article 371A by their very action of wanting a Supra-Statutory Body called the Pan Naga Hoho that will make Article 371A redundant without their being able to significantly better the existing status. According to the Governor/Interlocutor, the present slowdown of the talk is on account of the issue of PNH. The NSCN (IM)’s original proposition was for the creation of PNH through an Act of Parliament as a statutory body purely for the purpose of cultural and emotional integration with advisory role in matters of education and development to which GoI had offered less resistance…albeit doubtfully. Since then, NSCN (IM) has upped the ante once more by wanting PNH to be a more authoritative body to additionally be able to dictate political terms over another Statutory Authority called the State Government of Nagaland. GoI is not averse to allow setting up of a Bicameral Legislature…meaning the creation of the Upper and Lower Houses in the State of Nagaland. NSCN (IM) is now vehemently demanding that PNH should be fully empowered as a ‘Nominating Authority’ to ‘select’ certain undisclosed percentage of Members to the Upper House…and have a direct role to dictate terms in matters of ‘Education, Development’ and perhaps even governance within the state of Nagaland rather than an ‘advisory role’ earlier envisaged. Judging from their high-strung unscrupulous streak, it would not be beyond the NSCN (IM) to take one further arrogantly atrocious step of wanting to nominate their lapdogs to fill up the Upper House of Nagaland with even representatives from other States like Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam as well…who knows! It necessarily means that PNH will become a “Supra-Statutory Authority” over the Statutory Government of Nagaland…telling the Nagas of Nagaland how much meat, salt, chillies, axone, bamboo shoot should be put into our curry in our own kitchen. While the upstairs leaders of the Nagas of Nagaland are more likely to lap up such a curry….one would rather feel convinced that the more upright common Naga majority would perhaps refuse to eat such a dictated curry by someone who does not belong to our kitchen! The Interlocutor had rightly expressed serious apprehension that this latest twist in the tale on the part of the NSCN (IM) could open up another Pandora’s box of never-ending inter and intra-Tribal conflict, but NSCN (IM) seems to have confidently responded that the GoI need not worry about this because “we (NSCN-IM)can make our people dance like fools”. It ominously appears that in the Nagas’ long difficult journey for self-determination, we seem to have only succeeded in creating a monster in the form of NSCN (IM) who want to continue their oppressive regime within the State of Nagaland even in the post solution period through PNH. It is now up to the common man…the real Nagas of Nagaland…to decide whether we are prepared to “dance like fools” to the obnoxious tune of NSCN (IM) by accepting the PNH as is being visualised by them at this stage. The simple fact of the matter is that PNH in its present form absolutely violates the very principle of Naga customary law and practices in the matter of land and its ownership control that our forefathers have defended with their heads on the line and sustained it over the centuries. Not a single sensible Naga would allow any other Naga(s) from elsewhere to pilfer the rights of his land ownership… be it as an individual Naga or as a community of Nagas…ever! In fact this is a universally accepted principle of mankind on planet earth. It would therefore be extremely unwarranted even on the part of the GoI to expect that the Nagas of Nagaland would accept such a theory of population integration as a reason to give way to our Naga brothers from other States to interfere in the affairs of the State of Nagaland. PNH can never and will never qualify as a wholesome indigenous body…in the absence of geographical integration. NSCN (IM) has miserably failed to gain the trust of the people of Nagaland with their hidden agenda such as this being held so close to their chest. This is precisely the reason why they have shown no courage to openly disclose their list of “Competency Clauses” and carefully explain their background reasonings in the public domain… despite repeated request and reminding to do so. For instance NSCN (IM) has thus far not even amplified the criteria as to how the elementary composition of Tribal membership within the PNH will be like…but there is no prize for guessing here that the Nagas of Nagaland will most definitely be a minority within PNH in the likeness of the present Naga Hoho or the NSF despite the fact that our population equation far outnumber the rest of the Nagas put together from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur. The problem is further compounded when the NSCN (IM) says that the rules and regulation governing the PNH will be structured by the Body after the Body is formed…where Nagas of Nagaland will be a minority whose voice can be overruled by the majority every single time even if the issue is unfavourable and detrimental to our own survival! Would the Nagas of Nagaland ever want to be a part of this illusion? Earlier, the Senior Citizens were not completely averse to the existence of PNH purely for the sake of emotional and cultural integration while rejecting the “advisory role” perspective even then. The drastically irrational, re-constructed demand being made and doggedly being pursued by the NSCN (IM)…as has been confirmed by the Governor/ Interlocutor… is that the NSCN (IM) wants a very specific status of empowerment of PNH to enable it to directly or indirectly intervene in the affairs of the State of Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. This is an utter nonsensical cesspool concept unpalatable for any Nagas of Nagaland with a minuscule of gray matter in between the ears! The Senior Citizens of Nagaland therefore, firmly stand opposed to the PNH as is being envisioned by the NSCN (IM).
On being questioned, the Governor/ Interlocutor also confirmed that the NSCN (IM) wants to establish the PNH HQs within the State of Nagaland…though not mentioning the location specifics. In this regard, SCAN now firms its belief that setting up PNH HQs within the State of Nagaland will become a perpetual festering thorn in the backside of the people of Nagaland, judging from the very obvious and devious reasons for which NSCN (IM) is fighting extra hard (even at the cost of the collapse of the negotiation) to find the final comfortable landing ground for their one and only Supremo. If at all, SCAN advocates that PNH should be headquartered anywhere else outside the State of Nagaland, sans meddling empowerment in the affairs of other States…most of all Nagaland. This is a pre-requisite if the Nagas of Nagaland really want to sleep peacefully at night… post solution!
We, the Senior Citizens of Nagaland believe that if NSCN (IM) is unprepared to frankly and honestly share the details of “Competency Clauses” aspirations, it is equally incumbent upon the GoI to have it placed in the public domain…because the Stakeholders have contributed their share of excruciating sacrifices (at gun point or otherwise) over the years as beasts of burden and have more than earned their absolute right in the eyes of God and in the eyes of Man…demanding to know their immediate destiny and the destiny of their children …BEFORE, repeat…BEFORE and NOT AFTER the final deal is INKED. Without completing this elementary process, the GoI will also be equally accountable as that of the Factions. In failing to do this, it is more than likely that this PNH road will lead to a very severe confrontation between the Nagas of Nagaland and those beyond as has been witnessed by our headhunting forefathers before! Nagas of Nagaland should not be made to dance to the foul tune of our Southern Brothers. SCAN can only hope and pray that this does not happen.
Khekiye K. Sema IAS (Retd) President and Medoselhou Keretsu General Secretary, Senior Citizen’s Association of Nagaland