Nagaland Gaonbura Federation members with the Prime Minister Nerendra Modi at Delhi in 2017. (Photo Courtesy: NGBF)
Dimapur, November 4 (MExN): The Nagaland Gaonbura Federation (NGBF) has urged the Government of India (GoI) to announce the Naga political solution without further delay, stating that “the promise of early solution for the last two decades and lapse of one year after the conclusion of the formal dialogue has created void and apprehension in the mind of the Naga people.”
The move is as per the resolutions adopted in its annual executive meeting held on November 3 at Niathu Resort, Dimapur.
The NGBF further appealed to the NSCN [IM] to expedite the peace process and join hands for Naga political solution.
It expressed conviction that Nagas are fully prepared for a negotiated honorable political solution, and added that “We see no reason to further delay the signing of the Indo-Naga political solution/Agreement.”
The Federation stated that the Naga political issue is at the threshold of a new era and ‘loopholes from any side’ could lead to irreparable regret in the future.
In this regard, the NGBF appealed to Naga political negotiating parties and GoI to “abide by what have been declared to the Naga people and without delay translate into reality the 31st October 2019 decision...”
To backtrack from such well documented mutual understanding would be a betrayal to the Nagas, it asserted.
Meanwhile, the Federation also took strong exception to the ‘anti-Naga’ tag. It stated that the Gaonbura / village chieftains had, since the beginning of the Indo-Naga political conflict, been at the forefront of peace and diplomatic initiatives with the GoI and also among the warring Naga groups.
“It is therefore unprecedented and demeaning to brand the entire peace and early solution yearning Nagas, including 14 tribes and other civil societies as traitors and anti-Naga. This is uncalled for and the NGBF vehemently condemn the allegation,” it said.
The NGBF also clarified that the positions of Nagaland Gaonburas need no ‘recognition certificate’ from anybody.
“The significance of Gaonbura’s institution in Nagaland has been well documented and recorded even before the arrival of British colonial rule. But ignorant attitudes of some sections have fabricated Gaonburas as mere government agents, distorted our traditional legacy and trying to subdue the legitimate rights of the Gaonburas,” it added.
It further stated that in the post-solution era, the NGBF, within its ancestral and traditional jurisdiction “shall not tolerate or allow any anti-peace elements or forces to take shelter, use violence, threat, intimidation against individual Naga leaders, tribal leaders, or Naga citizens under any pretext or circumstances.”
Further, the NGBF appealed to the Indian security forces to refrain from raids in the villages in the pretext of patrolling protocol as it has resulted in creating ‘fear psychosis among the innocent public’.
