We bring warm greetings from the Office of the Naga Students Federation.
The Grim Story of AFSPA in Naga Homeland
The very India that prides itself to be the world’s largest democracy has adopted for itself the very repressive, oppressive and inhuman instrument to subjugate a people much against their will and aspiration.
The AFSPA (as amended in 1972 and 1986) has empowered the Indian military and paramilitary war machines with unlimited powers to extend their evil claws and judicial impunity to arrest, torture, kill and to commit everything inhuman.
For sixty years and more the Nagas have been suffering from the colonial mindset of the Indian Government and continues to suffer. We have seen almost all our villages and fields burnt down several times, our womenfolk and mothers disgraced, our menfolk arrested without warrant or jailed without trail, our histories re-written and our indigenous and cultural practices spat upon and degraded, by Indian armies.
The simplicity of our life and the joys of our living have been terribly exposed to the frustration of colonialism, the sinews of three-four generations have been made to crawl under the shadows of death and psychological warfare. And yet, we have never failed ourselves thus far.
Every time the dignity of livelihood, existence, freedom and happiness is trampled upon without any remorse by the Government of Indian agencies – these perpetrators receive medals, awards, and honour for every Naga the Indian Government war machines kill, arrest, rape, loot or torture and they continue to be free from any legal prosecution.
The AFSPA 1958, which has been imposed upon our birth-rights ever since Indo-Naga conflict started, protects and defends the Indian military and intelligence personnel for violating human rights and security, in clear contravention of existing international standings on war ethics, human rights, and entitlements, to which India is also a signatory.
It no longer remains a myth that the AFSPA rears the devil in the Indian armed forces personnel whose acts of impunity continues unabated as the draconian Act continues to shield them from being held accountable for their nefarious actions.
The federation would like to substantiate the sorry state of affairs of the Naga people under the AFSPA regime by chronologically citing some major atrocities perpetrated upon the Nagas by the ruthless Indian armed forces across the Naga homeland while being shielded by the repressive AFSPA.
1960: POCHURY BLACK DAY: 1960 (Phor village, Yisi village &Matikhrü village)
On 1st September, 1960, 6 (six) Civilians from Phor village were tortured to death, and on September 3rd, 1960 another 3 (three) civilians from Yisi village were beaten to death.
Whereas, another 9 innocent lives were taken by the 16th Punjab regiment and their death bodies were dumped inside the village chief’s house and burned down along with other houses and granaries. Within a span of one week 18 innocent lives were lost.
To this day 6th September is observed as “BLACK DAY” by the people of Pochury tribe.
9th December 1970: Cheswezy
18 girls and nine married women were mass raped by the Indian Troops and 53 women were molested.
11th July 1971: Yenkeli
Armies sacrilegiously raped four teenage girls at the pulpit of a church, for the nagas the church is a sacred institution and such profanity is not tolerated. Till today, the church remains forlorn. In 1956, before AFSPA came into force, this village was burned down to ashes and the whole villagers were made to hide in the jungles till 1959.
8th January 1987: Sheanghah Mokok
13 civilians from Sheanghah Mokok village were ambushed by the Indian armed force while returning from the field. 3 civilians were declared spot dead while 10 were gravely injured. Despite declaring themselves as civilians the Indian armed forces did not hesitate to shoot at them.
9th July 1987: Oinam
OPERATION BLUEBIRD was launched by the 21 Assam Rifles on 9th July, 1987 which lasted till October 1987. 27 Persons were killed, Three women were raped and five women sexually molested. More than Three hundred (300) persons were tortured by the 21 Assam Rifles. 125 residential houses were burned, 112 houses were dismantled, 6 Schools and 10 Churches were dismantled.
27th December 1994: Mokokchung
7 civilians were gunned down, another 5 were burned alive including one infant, and more than a dozen individuals went missing. 89 shops, 48 houses, 17 vehicles and 7 two wheelers were razed to ashes, excluding those destroyed by gunfire and shelling.
26th January 1995; Akuluto
A young mother, breast-feeding her 1 year old baby was shot dead while fracturing the arm of the baby.
5th MARCH 1995: Kohima
Kohima Town was under siege for 2 hours by the 16th Rashtriya Rifles consequent of a tyre bursting from their own convoy. 7 persons including two minor girls of three and half years and 8 years old child were killed, 22 persons injured by shrapnels’ and bullets, 15 physically assaulted and 22 persons were arrested and tortured. Out of the total victims, 14 were women.
15th AUGUST 1996: Tseminyu
The 17 Assam Rifles forcibly gathered the men folks from Tseminyu South village at RSA Ground and were brutally tortured at gun point. 1006 live ammunitions were reportedly fired and 3 hand grenades were hurled at the innocent civilians.
Miraculously none of which exploded. Four innocent civilians were killed including a student. Over the years, those who survived the incident gradually succumbed to their physical injuries.
16th July 2015: Wuzu
Two minor students, Master Tuzali and Miss Aso were killed and one pregnant mother named Esther was injured to the indiscriminate firing of the 46th Assam Rifles C’Coy of Akhegwo post under the command of Major Surinder Singh.
4th December 2021: Oting
While 8 innocent coal miners were returning home from a mining site, 6 civilians were brutally killed in cold blood in broad daylight while 2 were gravely injured by the 21 Para Forces of the Indian Army.
Another 7 civilians who belonged to the search party were mercilessly killed on that fateful evening. On the following day, another civilian was killed while protesting against the atrocious act perpetrated by the Armed forces.
The fact that the above mentioned dehumanizing and atrocious acts committed upon the Naga people by the Indian armed forces are the just tip of an iceberg with its base spread across the entire ocean floor. Given an opportunity, the federation is more than willing to present a detailed and comprehensive report to your kind self and your good office at any appointed time.
Our Demands:
Incidents of the Indian Armed forces subjugating the Naga people and even indiscriminately firing upon them is not unprecedented in our Naga Homeland as the GOI continues to suppress the legitimate peoples’ movement through military means even after having realized that the same will not reap in the desired dividends. It is at the least appalling to see those trained to protect the sovereignty and integrity of India indulging in target practices with the innocent Naga civilians instead of serving the very purpose for which they are trained for.
More so, the audacity of some Indian leaders coming out publicly to defend the atrocious acts and thereby legitimizing the murders, tortures, rapes, molestations etc upon the innocent Naga civilians and botched army operations has been deeply hurting the sentiments of the Naga people while also flaring up our emotions. This blatant attempt to finish the Naga race through an undeclared war cannot be accepted, come what may.
It is in this light that the NSF representing the aspirations and the voices of the Naga younger generations, spread across four Indian states and two international countries, place this representation containing three core demands, seeking your prompt attention and intervention.
1) Immediate justice for the Oting victims and expedite judgements and delivery of justice to all pending cases related to excesses committed by the Indian Armed Forces upon Nagas:
The Federation demands that the Government of India (GOI) sets up a court monitored committee to be headed by a retired Supreme Court/High court judge in-order to ensure that the Oting incidents are probed in a fair and impartial manner.
The Federation reiterate our stand that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) being set up by the government of Nagaland will not do justice to the wilful acts of the Indian Armed forces under the protection of the repressive AFSPA. More so, the GOI must admit to the utter failure of its intelligence agencies and publicly apologize to the Naga people for furthering their subjugation of the Nagas through its policy of militarisation. Justice should be delivered immediately to the victims of the gruesome Oting incidents and to all the pending cases related to the excesses committed by the Indian armed forces.
2) Immediate repeal of the draconian Armed forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958:
The Federation sees no rationale as to why the entire Naga homeland within India is tagged as ‘disturbed areas’ and the repressive AFSPA is thrust upon its people when the Indo-Naga political dialogue’s been held at the Prime Minister’s level is at a very crucial stage.
More so, the prevailing law and order situation in the Naga inhabited areas does not merit the Act which has only been used as a tool for psychological warfare against the Naga people. It is only because of AFSPA that the Indian armed forces continue to operate with impunity while forgetting all values & virtues that inhibits a sober soul.
It is, therefore, demanded of the GOI to immediately withdraw the atrocious AFSPA from our Naga homeland and also repeal the same without any excuses whatsoever.
3) Expedite Naga Political Solution: The Nagas in the course of standing for our unique history and pursuing our common goal have suffered enough. The sacrifices of many Nagas whether they are dead or alive, is not a struggle for Naga identity alone; It is also a struggle for self determination, a struggle against the imposition of alien culture and values upon us.
It is in this background that NSF made its standpoint crystal clear that economic packages or monetary assistance cannot purchase the rights of the Naga people. The envisaged solution must be mutually agreed upon on the negotiating table and not an imposed one. Rather, the GOI should not hesitate from allowing the Naga people to retain their legitimate rights.
Given the official recognition of the unique history of the Nagas by the GOI, The Naga people strongly urge your Hon’ble self to not compare or subject the Naga issue to any other political issues in the country and that the promise of a unique solution based on the unique history which is inclusive, honourable & acceptable is brought forth at the earliest. We appeal in the greater interest of the Nagas and other communities and the Indian Nation to impartially and honourably deliberate the issues emerging from the situation in order to usher in an era of PEACE through optimum utilisation of your political will.
NSF president,
Kegwayhun Tep,
NSF general secretary,
Siipuni Ng Philo
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