My attention was drawn to the article 'Rejoinder to Thepfulhouvi Solo’s write-up' by the NSCN-(I-M) in your news daily and wish to share my opinion. I have also read what Mr.Thepfulhouvi Solo had to state in response to the article. We being Nagas and being a part of the struggle for Sovereignty in our own big and small ways have the right to share our opinions and criticize or praise. Just as the world would have been a boring place of people with same faces, we would not be able to ascertain the pros and cons of any decision we take up until there is someone with a different idea. The cause of the Nagas do not rest upon the shoulder of just one faction or individual but on the shoulders of every Naga, Young and Old. I do not know or have never met Mr.Thepfulhouvi Solo but his article was justified and it speaks the minds of the common man who are unable to raise their opinions for one reason or the other.
I would request my Fathers and Mothers of the NSCN factions (I-M, K, Khetovi-Kholi) the NNC and the FGN, to log on to the networking site, Facebook (The Naga Blog) and read what your children has to say and what they think of you all as Freedom Fighters. In my opinion and the opinions of my fellow Nagas, no faction has the mandate of the people unless Unity and Peace is achieved between the factions and they stand with one voice. Just as the NNC (as stated in the article) are to be blamed for the signing of the Shillong Accord of 1975, the NSCN should also to be blamed for not fixing the blunder committed by the former but going ahead and forming a new faction. Everyone has to remember that the forefathers, fathers, brothers and sisters of every individual Naga have shed their blood for a just cause we believe in. Many of us live with the scars of bloodsheds and sacrifices made yet have never given up on the struggle. Why should the voices of the governed and the common man who made such sacrifices be ignored? If our 'Cause' is so great that we can murder our own brother in cold blood, why are we not able to shed our pride and egos to sit down together for once, forgive and forget? Even if the interim government proposal goes through fine, there is no doubt of a greater bloodsheds and killings within ourselves! There may even be a civil war! There is no hand which is not stained with another brother's blood, we are all to be equally blamed for what is happening today. The violence and killings within us today foretells a vivid picture of our own destruction and extinction.
Today, unlike the past, there are many Naga writers and intellectuals apart from Kaka D.Iralu and Thepfulhouvi Solo in our society whose views, whether positive or negative play a vital role. Will the NSCN also term them as trouble-makers and obstructionists for sharing their opinions? Will my article also get another rejoinder with accusation of being misleading? The respect we have for Naga freedom fighters should not be mistaken for 'fear'. Just as in a family there are bound to be differences, we Nagas with the number of tribes, are bound to differ in matters. Please remember that many Naga students, intellectuals, professionals and wage workers in different nooks and corners of mainland India and even overseas are fighting for our freedom in their own little ways, such as getting into debates and justifying our struggle, educating the ignorant and garnering support for our cause. Let us accept and use 'praises and criticisms, thoughts and ideas' for bridging the missing links in our judgements and to ponder upon. May God bless us all.
Manhei K.
'A Concerned Citizen.'
Delhi
