On 25th March, 2020 we were perturbed by the above article. It was the morning following the midnight announcement of a country wide lockdown for 21 days to stop the spread of the Corona virus in India. In this moment of global crisis, Mr Thepfulhouvi Solo chose to make another of his virulent contributions.
We felt constrained to respond to his article even as the lockdown continues because it is important to dispel his damaging and misleading message. While the article appeared like a historical narrative about the formation of the Naga Peoples’ Convention(NPC), he is insinuating that the Nagas in Manipur have not wanted Naga integration and that Muivah and NSCN, instead of struggling to integrate Nagas is trying to control Nagaland state by political trickery.
We are thankful to Mr T Solo for providing the opportunity to respond in the public domain so that the record and perspective is set straight.
Mr T. Solo, a retired bureaucrat, be informed that the Naga National political movement is for a Naga homeland and Naga identity, not for mere statehood for a fraction of the Naga territory.
Mr Sashimeren who time and again insisted Jasokie, to convene “a Naga meeting” was then the Development Commissioner Tribal Affairs in the Assam Secretariat Shillong, a senior Bureaucrat of the Government of India. Mr Jasokie was the Joint Secretary of Publicity and Information of the Naga National Council, who by then had parted ways with the NNC President A. Z. Phizo and hence also with the Council (NNC). He had no locus standi to call “ a Naga meeting”
However “A Naga meeting” was called by Jasokie, at the insistence of Sashimeren, a functionary and agent of India, an act of open defiance and revolt against Phizo and the NNC. The invitation was reportedly sent, as per Jasokie, according to T. Solo, “to all Nagas through Naga officers working in the area. Eventually “only Nagas of Naga Hills and Nagas of Mon-Tuensang of NEFA attended the meeting”.
They were both instruments of the Government of India and their initiative for calling “ Naga Meeting” which led to the formation of the NPC on 26 August, 1957 was an Indian agenda aimed at weakening the Naga National political movement.
The following question therefore arises –
Who were the Naga officers through whom the invitation to the Nagas in Manipur was sent ? Did it reach the leaders concerned?
Is it not obvious then that within a short time in the very same year the Naga Hills District and Mon-Tuensang of NEFA were together formed into a separate Administrative Unit call Naga Hills Tuensang Area (NHTA) and only “Nagas of Naga Hills and Nagas of Mon-Tuensang of NEFA” who attended the Naga People’s Convention were included in the new Administrative unit NHTA ?
There was already a scheme in place and some leaders played God in the unveiling of Naga historical events of that time. It is the same NHTA which was inaugurated as Nagaland, the 16th State of the Indian Union on 1st December, 1963.
Why did Mr Shilu and Chiten Jamir, the products of the NPC and therefore agents of the GOI felt the need to enquire whether the Nagas in Manipur would like to join Nagaland, when the latter had intentionally not attended the NPC, that led to the creation of NHTA ? Were the opinion of other NEFA Nagas (other than Mon-Tuensang) also taken ? If not why so?
Their mission was charted out to weaken the Naga political movement. Mr Chiten Jamir, the personal envoy of Shilu had no locus standi nor contact to make such an important enquiry to the Nagas of Manipur except for the fact that Mr M. L. Kampani, who was earlier DC of Kohima, and by then become the Chief Commissioner of Manipur and had probably facilitated Chiten Jamir’s meeting with Nagas of Manipur. Mr Kampani, being a senior bureaucrat of GOI was definitely an enabler and part of the same mission. T. Solo maintains that the Nagas of Manipur preferred to remain in Manipur because Manipur was then already a princely state. This is blatantly incorrect. Manipur was already a Territorial Council at that time having already merged into the Union of India way back on 15 October, 1949, without the consent of Nagas and other tribals in Manipur. We doubt if such a meeting ever took place at all, in the highly disturbed situation obtaining at that time. And if it did take place the bonafides of Chiten Jamir and his principal and their mission were simply not honoured by the Nagas in Manipur, upholding the directive of the NNC and A Z Phizo not to be associated with the NPC .
(To concluded)
L. Adani former president United Naga Council (UNC), K. S. Paul Leo former president UNC and Gaidon Kamei former president UNC