Dimapur, January 4 (MExN): The Naga Rising affirmed the need for the Government of India to get serious and take political initiative towards an honourable and mutually-acceptable solution to the Indo-Naga political issue by being “sincere and honest in acknowledging the history and situation of the Naga struggle.”
On Tuesday, the TNR which describes itself as an ideological body reflecting the aspirations of the future generation, raised concerns over recent reports published by The Indian Express which stated that the Framework Agreement (FA) signed on August 3, 2015 was the ‘key hurdle in the way of a Naga peace accord.’ It said the ‘alarming’ report had “exposed the complete failure to genuinely understand and properly manage” what was described as a ‘historic agreement’ by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The TNR contended that the development “has put serious doubt on the ability of both the Government of India and NSCN (IM) to put together a peace agreement, negotiations for which has spanned more than two decades.” It said that there were several ‘loopholes’ in the way the peace process is being managed by all sides and called for ‘course correction.’
Based on the report that the NSCN (IM)’s interpretation of the FA ‘has held up the process being finalised,’ the TNR viewed that the GoI cannot absolve itself of blame. Holding PM Modi “equally accountable for the failure in managing the fallout of the ‘historic occasion’ and agreement,” it said that the PM is also answerable for making a public spectacle of the event and “not delivering on his words to the Naga people.”
Stating that the “letter and spirit of the FA has not been reciprocated” by the GoI, the TNR viewed that the ownership of the FA does not belong to the NSCN (IM) alone but it is a bilateral document involving the ‘two entities.’ The same applies to the Agreed Position of November 17, 2017 with the NNPGs.
The recognition of Nagas as a separate entity in both the agreements is a matter of fact and not fiction, the TNR asserted.
The TNR also said that the GoI “should be respectful of the historical and political rights of the Nagas and not impose a counter-narrative to further the ideological designs of a Hindu rashtra of one race, culture and religion as is being advocated by the Hindu Right.”
“The suspicion towards Christian Nagas is perhaps a reason for the hard-line stand of the Modi government including its reservation on the issue of integration, a separate flag and constitution,” it maintained.
Further, the TNR stated that the Naga issue predates India’s independence and the memorandum submitted to the Simon Commission in 1929 was a clear expression of what the Nagas desired. The GoI should not treat the Naga issue as ‘cultural’ or the NPGs as some cultural bodies, the TNR said, maintaining that the Naga position or status is ‘political’ in nature and should not be compared to an NGO or registered society.
The TNR said that the recent indiscriminate killing of unarmed civilians in Oting was “a direct outcome of the meandering policy that is without political will and direction to genuinely understand and solve the Naga problem.” This, it said, was evident by the security establishment’s grand designs “to superimpose a military style assault on the Naga peace process and neutralize the truth about the historical and political rights of the Naga people.”
“The hard earned peace process and the Naga people’s investment and trust over the years to find an honourable solution should not be undermined by the Modi-led government,” the statement read.
