Sergeant Major Pezangulie on guard duty was the first to see the Indian army desperately trying to cross the Dzuza River in search of General Viyalie Metha’s camp in the jungles of Viphoma. This was in the first week of October 1975 just one month prior to the signing of the Shillong Accord on Nov. 11, 1975. The Commander in Chief’s camp was situated just above the Dzuza river with only six soldiers left to guard him. These were very hard times for the Naga army where Indian army operations involving thousands of Indian soldiers were encamped in the jhum and paddy fields of Nagaland in search and destroy operations. To put it in the words of one of the Naga soldiers: “It was a time when the Indian army footprints seemed to outnumber the footprints of wild animals and cows.”
According to some estimates, nearly two lacks Indian army and paramilitary forces were in operation in Nagaland at this time of the war. Most of these soldiers were operating in the Angami and Chakhesang regions as all the Naga soldiers and civil workers in the other regions had either been wiped out or surrendered. As for the Angami and Chakhesang regions, in every household in every village, a red flag was flying and a lantern was burning in every house where a member of the Naga army or civil wing was still alive and hiding in the jungles. Twenty four hours curfew was also in operation in most of the villages in order to prevent the Naga soldiers from procuring rations from the villages or the villagers delivering them to the soldiers in the jungles. In many villages like Khonoma and others, Light armored tank shells and mortar shells were being randomly fired into the jungles where the Indian army was not in operations. With President’s rule in Nagaland and National Emergency in the Centre, the AFSPA, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the secret Joint Directive for counter Insurgency Operations in Nagaland 1973 were all in operation in Nagaland. These Acts had branded the NNC, the FGN and the Naga Army as unlawful associations and made any Naga civilian who helped them punishable by seven years imprisonment.
In that scenario, some weeks earlier, Pezangulie had asked for leave and was granted a weeks leave. But when he tried to go home to his village Chiedema, after skirting many army patrolling parties, he discovered a BSF ambush party near the village waiting for any Naga soldier who might come home driven by starvation. Jumping below the road and waiting until nightfall, he made his way back to camp in the dim moonlight of the night. He did not know then that Biseto Medon, the Home Minister of the Federal Government was also at that same time hiding on another side of the village. Biseto had headed towards his own village because the jungles were all full of army operations. With him was one lone soldier Lieutenant Ruguoselie. As they lay hidden just below the village parameters, one patrolling party stopped just above their hiding spot and a soldier’s urine nearly splashed on them as he peed nonchalantly and walked away. Just across the valley, on the banks of the river Dzuu, Zashiei Huire, the President of the FGN was also hiding with a few of his soldiers. Communications were totally down and most of the inmates in these camps were either starving or surviving on occasional half meals which some brave villagers still delivered to them despite the fact that they could be imprisoned for seven years if caught. Even as early as August14, General Viyalie was able to celebrate the Naga Independence day with only bamboo shoots and four of his soldiers. On this solemn occasion, Sgt. Major Pezangulie served as the Parade Commander while Privates Vitsore, Asina and Vidisa gave the gun salute and General Viyalie Metha received the Salute on behalf of the Naga army.
Coming back to the attack scene of the C-in-C’s camp near Viphoma, Sergeant Major Pezangulie quickly counted the number of the attacking force. He counted seventy one of them and thought that they must be from the Gurkha Regiment. They were just about a catapults range from the hidden camp and were all helplessly up to their waists in deep waters. Pezangulie quickly sized up the situation and realized that they could easily be shot while helplessly trapped in the deep waters. He ran back to the camp and sought permission from the General. But the General calmly shook his head and said, “I am convinced that God had put this entire troop into the mercy of our guns and also that we can not only wipe them out but also capture all their arms. But we must consider the possible reprisals on the neighboring villages as we will not be able to do anything to avenge them later on.”
Pezangulie and his other five friends were very disappointed because an earlier request to attack the 4th NAP search party that was camped in an open field near their camp was also turned down by the General. In that former request they had planned to attack the NAPs while they were fast asleep in the open jungles totally unaware that The Naga army C-in- C’s camp of only seven soldiers had been hiding in the same spot for the past one month.
But however disappointed they were, deep inside, they knew that their General had made the right decision because by that time, the Naga army had been reduced to bands of five to ten soldiers desperately trying to hide as columns of the Indian army totally encircled them in search and destroy operations.
Later on these last gallant soldiers and civil workers of the Naga army who were able to stay hidden up to the signing of the Shillong Accord were branded as the “Tenyima Traitors of the Shillong Accord. These accusations were heaped on them by their own colleagues who were able to find prior sanctuary in the Eastern Naga regions of Burma.
As for the Indian army search party, they never discovered General Viyalie’s camp and just walked past the camp in their futile search operations. The fact was, they were at least able to track the General’s party’s tracks right up to the edge of the river but never discovered any tracks leading out of the opposite bank. They never discovered how their illusive enemy’s tracks simply disappeared from the river because they did not know that their enemy had, from the river, climbed unto bamboo trees and disappeared from the air to the upper banks of the river!
(In case some Nagas still think that The Shillong Accord was not signed under duress but as an act of betraying the nation, they can further read pages 309 to 327 of my book The Naga Saga for more details of the pre- Shillong Accord scenario.)
Kaka D. Iralu
