Kohima, August 10 (MExN): The Naga National Council (NNC) on Tuesday asserted that the Naga people are not a minority group or an Indigenous People of India but free people who live in their own land.
Quoting AZ Phizo in a press statement on Tuesday, NNC Joint Secretary Acüyi Vadeo said the word ‘tribal’ which is often used to describe the Naga people, was “the dirtiest word in politics” and an insult to the people.
Noting that some educated Nagas often refer to Nagas as a minority group and an Indigenous people in India, the NNC asserted that Nagas are a distinct people living in their own land—Nagaland. “Because Nagas are not Indian and Nagaland does not belong to India. We, Nagas are a Nation in our own birthright and tradition. Therefore the Naga Nation will never accept such thing that was and is non-existent,” the statement read.
The NNC stated that historically, every Naga village had its own democratic way of life and AZ Phizo brought every Naga village under one umbrella of the NNC and declared Naga independence on August 14, 1947, one day ahead of India’s independence. The NNC then conducted the Naga Voluntary Plebiscite on May 16, 1951 where 99.9% of Naga people voted to remain a sovereign Nation and the Naga people, led by the NNC, “proclaimed the Federal Government of Nagaland (FGN) on March 22, 1956 at Parashen through a federation to govern all Naga territories and raised Naga Army to defend our people and Nation as the Indian Army invaded our country in 1955,” it stated.
It said that the ‘undeclared Indo-Naga war of ten years’ came to an end by signing of an International Ceasefire Agreement between the FGN and the Government of India in 1964 and was officially effected on September 6, 1964 through the efforts of the Nagaland Peace Council and Peace Mission members. The NNC/FGN therefore upholds this Ceasefire Agreement up to this day, it added.
Further, the NNC stated that the Naga people sent AZ Phizo, who was the President of NNC, abroad in 1956 “to make known the invasive situation in Nagaland to the world.”
It said that Phizo, in his notes titled as ‘Nagaland as a Country,’ had written that “Nagaland is an ancient country, as old as any other ancient Country in South East Asia,” and that the Nagas are not migratory people. “The organization of the Naga way of life is such that Nagaland had never been conquered by its neighbours at any time in human history,” it said.
Quoting Phizo, it also said that Nagaland enjoyed a form of ‘pure democracy’ and that “The political foundation of Nagaland is firm and strong as it is based on the consent of the people as a whole.” It said that the political system evolved from the Naga peoples’ way of life “and it has been proved from hundreds of years of experience that we have perfected what we need, and that we need nothing better or higher a system than Pure Democracy.”
Maintaining that Nagaland is ruled by the people’s authority, the NNC further stated that “Land belongs to the people individually or collectively as private and personal property and it does not belong to the state.”
“We are thankful to our forefathers who have laid the foundation for us to stand upon with dignity and without fear and we look forward to the future without worry or anxiety. We know that we have reached our goal for our nation to continue to live in real Human freedom without giving offence to anyone in the country and this freedom nobody can take it away from us,” it asserted, quoting Phizo.
Stating that some Nagas have knowingly tried to confuse the people by saying that Nagas should not repeat the past events but rather to move forward for development, the NNC cautioned that the “Naga nation cannot be put into the ocean of the enemy for someone’s personal gain,” as it is a God gifted land that should be preserved and protected.
“Nagas will not force anyone who wants to live in the so-called Nagalim. But the true Nagas will always live in Nagaland as a free people,” it added.
