Er. A. Akaho Assumi
Sughuna, Nagaland
When we say we are a people we mean the Nagas; not the place wherever they are today. Let us know that we are not responsible for the divided house of this great and proud people, the Nagas. However, It is deeply demoralizing to know that selected few Nagas presume themselves as the genuine indigenous Nagas because they are economically better advantaged by political arrangement of outside peoples. ‘Nagaland’ state today is not ‘Nagas’ Land. It is a piece of ‘Nagas’ Land called Nagaland. Every Naga, pushing aside the seemingly endemic feeling of being one tribe or other tribes, there too is the strong sense of being Naga. This phenomenally elemental in every Naga born has collectively endured the brunt out of common inspiration: Naga’s refusal to be governed by other forces other than their own Village Republic tendency. When seriously scrutinized, the splintered state of Naga today steams from this imperishable aspiration. We are conked out and yet we have failed to fix the responsibility to the ones who tore us like this today.
Nagaland, it was, no doubt, created by few educated persons under a turbulent and entirely militarized situation under duress. The NNC Leadership then A.Z.Phizo strongly condemned the so called 16-point agreement saying, “Who are these people to enter into agreement with India. We have come this far with bloodshed. Who mandated them?” The Nagas had already suffered massive human tragedy as an outcome of determined decision with insight to upkeep Naga people’s emancipation as a free Nation. Deliberate assumption of disguise and advocating statements such as “Nagaland state” is the best thing to have happened for the Naga people” is, therefore, no less infamous than the people who proclaimed this declaration.
Nagas all over are wondering as to why an answer to their tremendously unfortunate socio-economic and political situations today be the brain child of the 16th point draft proposal to which they are least connected today, save other Nagas outside states! This Indian state, Nagaland, is no longer the heart of the matter if Government ‘must’ set up and strengthen partnership with the Nagas. Government of India today has all the good reasons to be serious with India’s Naga case because another momentary fix this time round will intensely intrude with India’s much larger interests in South East Asia which are at the same range of concern unbelievably related with North East India now. The Nagas and India must foretaste the reward of shared future and collective responsibility to give rest, peace and progress to the peoples in the eastern side of the subcontinent by engaging them while keeping watch over and ‘ acting east’.
The Nagas when all of them are together can be very happy people. Our beloved Motherland endowed with incredible natural wealth, all that a free people or a nation can ever dream about, is also away from other calamities and unfortunate human catastrophe continuously besetting other peoples of the globe. They though far advanced in technology, amidst economic aplenty, progressive political institutions and tall establishments in all spheres of their lives; they have more reasons to worry. Above all, to be a people God cares so much and we know He does! A wonderful life is promised only when ‘the Naga’ puts Him in the forefront. Today we fear ourselves more than we do fear our adversaries. This catch-22 onus lays on us. Some of us do apprehend that other tribes’ leadership will let others down. We do in advance fright that some of us will be uncomfortable under unfair and domineering mentality. The once proud and fearless Naga is now relegated to mystified and unstable people because we have been educated by adverse and destructive agents to use us, and we not realizing that even now. Today we are clearly observing the same reproachful instruments offensively attempting to pull down our solidarity bases to disclaim their rights to actively get involved in making decision that will impact our future course. It is therefore exceptionally shameful that so called freshly formed groups and noisy individuals who are all out to dismantle Naga mass-based establishments through its nasty methods of misgivings and indoctrinations in order to belittle what has been achieved by the Government of India and the Naga leaders in order to deliver common Naga aspiration by sealing the final deal. Their activities are seen as potential disturbance towards motivated and sustained quarrels of our own people. It is also offensively unfair to translate disagreement of opinions as enemies and promote hostility. Those people abetting vicious turns of radicalizing disagreements among the Nagas must remember the truth that GoI clearly understands what it means to be in serious engagement with the Naga issue. In the days past, GoI might have erected stopgaps to stunt growth of Naga solidarity by insinuating few educated Nagas; they used to be in big trouble then. The sincere admittance of Indian Prime Ministers to the Naga case and the ‘situations’ under which the Nagas are living today does never refer to the current Nagaland state. The bulk of the issue is that unless GoI gets down to the matter of the fact, its vast geographical and political situations in the frontier regions to which the Naga case, as observed outstanding and significantly linked with much bigger issues, has now become a subject with more deeper sense of shared responsibility today. Leaders of both parties understand this seriousness as they had come very close together…….to understand and appreciate one another…….not the people who are cooking up conspiracy of sabotage. The idea to stabilize their individuals’ interests and highly narrow-minded ideology at the expense of Nagas’ future by inciting hate and warpath by selected few need be denounced. Such ridiculous ambition of some individuals in current Nagaland state prevents upcoming generation from foretasting what they have too long deserved. Such narrow and primitive notion exhibits the very elements that thrive on destruction and bewilderment.
Let us learn from the lesson hate has taught us and withdraw our accusing fingers pointing at our own most revered and tall leaders who have given us promise of a free ‘Nagas’ Land by giving up their personal and sectarian opinions. Every human has his own shortfalls. Our God we proclaim, our religion we profess never sanctions hate campaign based upon wrongs of fellow humans. That is always violence-driven. We ought to reestablish with our God; we need atonement through understanding and recommitment focused on next generation as we solemnly transfer the future today to tomorrow.
