Z Lohe
The local papers published the Nagaland Home Commissioner’s order dated August 16, 2022 based on the National Highway Act 1956 and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act 1984 including Indian Penal Code (IPC) restricting open public “bandhs, strikes, agitations involving blocking National Highways and public roads in the State as a mode of agitation to press for (redressing) their grievances.” “…agitation to press for certain local demands, calls are given for disturbing celebrations of ‘National Days’ or forcefully preventing law-abiding citizens from participating in such celebrations and functions.”
On the eve of the 75 years celebration of India’s Independence Day, the NSCN (K-YA) and ULFA jointly called for boycott. It is therefore obvious and relevant that such an order restricting anti- national elements from disturbing the set national day celebrations by the Government is correct and is in the public interest.
Nevertheless, such an order of the UDA Government intending to totally curb the voice of the aggrieved individual or a group of the aggrieved individuals seeking for redress through peaceful agitation in Nagaland is against the spirit of democracy. The very order, as I understood, implies that the general public has no right to disagree and to criticize the decisions and actions of the Government however detrimental it may be. There is no law which permits the established Government to take the public for a ride as though the people are lesser human beings having no right to oppose and expose the wrongdoings. Rather, the Constitution of India provides the basic and fundamental rights for every citizen of India. One has the freedom of speech and expression, freedom to assemble peacefully, and the citizens have the right against exploitation. The very order is, therefore, against the spirit of the Constitution of India.
No matter how transparent and honest an established Government of a State or of the Union may be, it is humanly impossible to usher in a perfect governance. There are always both natural and unnatural tendencies to commit errors in governance whereby any citizen or section of citizens is/are aggrieved. When so, the aggrieved party has the democratic rights to seek for redress through peaceful agitations. Such demonstrations are natural too to cause inconveniences to the targeted authority or to the general public for a limited period of time. And if at all no such inconvenience is caused to the concerned authorities, how will the aggrieved party attract the attention of the redresser? And if the attention of the authority is not drawn by such agitation, how will the aggrieved party ever attain redressal?
Is not the very order of the Home Commissioner, Government of Nagaland an overlapping notification when there has been such existing laws as quoted and not requiring repetition or addendum?
Was the successful public rally on the 5th of August, 2022 at Dimapur town the eye opener as well as the eyesore to UDA Government? Had the facilitation of the UDA Government been sincere, transparent and effective, the political solution would have evolved by now. Yet, since the UDA’s facilitation goes ‘flip-flop’ most of the time, the citizens of Nagaland are made to feel unrepresented lest they themselves present their plight to GoI through such public involvement. And the said public rally was nothing more than the earnest demand of the public for early political solution from the negotiators and particularly from the GoI. If the UDA is genuinely for solution, and it is believed so since it has never made any official statement against the political solution there was no difference in its objectivity between the UDA Government and the Dimapur rallyists for the fact that the rally was solely for early political solution. Therefore, the UDA is supposed to be pleased with the show of public strength on that day rather than being alarmed.
What prompted the UDA Government to suddenly become so apprehensive about public agitations in the democratic State-Nagaland? Does UDA Government have the hidden agenda that no right message be sent to GoI from the general public out of such rallies as for the political solution is concerned? At this juncture, if one places one’s ego above solution, no matter how one professes, it comes to naught.
Well, much to the consternation of the rulers, the governance of UDA Government has been in shambles. So much injustices have been done to the citizens of Nagaland over the years. Some few decades ago, the Opposition bench accused the Treasury bench that ‘developments are made in heaven and bills are made on earth.’ Similarly, the rulers have been at their best in attempts to camouflage their anti-people activities with HiFi public statements similar to that of the hiding of the Ostrich.
It is therefore undemocratic and unacceptable of such order of curbing the public agitations which are peaceful. The UDA Government being ultimatum fueled and agitation fueled Government, unless democratic agitations are there, the suffering and the suppressed public will be forced to live in the 17th and 18th centuries slavery age. The elected members have the mandate to rule the State for 5 years and yet they are not voted to take the citizens to be their slaves. I, for one, stand for democratic and peaceful agitations of any kind as my rights are enshrined in the Constitution of India. I stand against the autocratic rule because I am neither a Russian nor a Chinese, but I am a Naga and an Indian citizen.
