Our Correspondent
Chedema | February 2
Naga National Council (NNC) president, Adinno Phizo today said that NNC was formed at the right time for the Nagas and it preserved Naga identity.
“During the British rule, our country was called the Naga Hills, but at the time they (British) were leaving in 1947, they thought Naga Hills should join Assam as a Tribal District but the Nagas did not accept it. And NNC became prominent in the affairs of Nagaland after the British withdrew from our country,” Adinno said in her address at the 70th anniversary of NNC formation day (2nd February 1946- 2nd February 2016) here at Peace Hall.
Thanking Almighty God for guiding the Naga people throughout those years, she said “And we must always be grateful to Him that we became a nation through NNC on this historic day.”
Adinno said history begins from a battlefield and for the Nagas the last battle with the British was on November 22, 1879. Peace was agreed without a binding written agreement on March 27, 1880.
“Naga villages are stationary and each village has its own tradition that kept the people together. No village can imagine that outsiders/foreigners can come and occupy their villages because it is so attached to them. Therefore, when we love our country that much, the enemy cannot call us “stubborn”; for upholding the right of the Nagas,” the NNC president said.
She said, “In the 19th century when Whiteman first came to our country, according to their records, they came across two types of the Naga people and referred to them as “kilted Nagas” and “non-kilted Nagas” (not naked). Also their experience of the people were civilized and peaceful living. But later in the 20th century they changed their attitude and wrote about the Nagas as “savages”, “head hunters” and so on, and produced books about the people in the wild images. In the true sense, the Nagas were not “headhunters,” but when fighting took place they took their enemy’s head like any other country in the world as victors ignorantly in the past,” Adinno asserted.
Coming to the present, Adinno alleged that India was trying to weaken Naga’s right of freedom in all possible ways. “But with good guidance and by the grace of God, our spirit is strong,” she said.
She also quoted A.Z. Phizo, “Our Naga National Council is evolved from our democratic tradition or people’s consensus. It is the ultimate political institute of the Nagas and it is not a political party. Every Naga has a responsibility to uphold the Naga National Council.”
Yiesonii Veyie, former president Naga Hoho, Dziesevilie and Thepfulhouvi Solo also spoke on the occasion. The programme was chaired by NNC joint secretary Aciiyi Vadeo and it concluded with mass prayer.
