K Vadeo
Kedahge, Federal Government of Nagaland
Citizens of Nagaland,
I bring greetings to all of you on the occasion of the observation of the 70th Republic Day (69th anniversary) of the Federal Government of Nagaland. Today, I am reminded of what the NNC President, Gen (Rtd) Thinoselie M Keyho had said in one of his speeches about the declaration of the Republic of Federal Government Nagaland on 22nd March, 1956 at Parashen. On that day, all Naga leaders were present and made this declaration prayerfully with joyful tears. Therefore, this has become a very important milestone in the history of our Naga people.
With the setting up of our Government, we have also set up Naga Home Guard. It was for self defence only as its name indicated. Ours is a struggle against the external aggression of our great neighbour India. But India used all her might against these few people forming Naga Home Guards and had gone to the extent of taking up serious aid raid with powerful bomb like napalm bomb. In the sixties, continuous air raids were carried out by the Indian air force with six to eight jet fighters daily in Meluri area. Gavin Young, a British journalist who sneaked into the thick jungle of Meluri area through Burma at a time when one Dakota was shot down at Phor by the Naga army. Gavin Young himself had seen the plane, met and talked to the captured pilots and crews which he had reported in his small booklet entitled “The Unknown War”.
Since then, it was not only the Naga army but the whole Naga population suffered untold miseries with nobody to protect us, nobody to speak for us. Our people suffered the worst type of suppression through various means which we wish to avoid talking about it now. But in spite of all these sufferings, we survived, and for which we are grateful to our God, who is our Creator and our Sustainer.
Taking this opportunity I want to remind the people of Nagaland that our great leaders formed Naga National Council with a clear vision. At the beginning, it was a mass movement and not a political party in its strictest term. It was a political institution for our people. Our Yezabo says that every Naga, including those who were born yesterday, is a member to this political institution. The original vision of NNC was to uphold the right of the Naga people through democratic processes. It advocates nonviolence policy and, therefore, our elders did not hesitate to appreciate the Gandhian way of Non- violence. We had no intention to fight with India but it was Indians who themselves attacked the innocent villagers, even as the memorandum to the Simon Commission says that Nagas were never conquered by any outside forces before the advent of the British Government. Therefore, Nagas had proclaimed that they would like to live as before when the British Government decide to go away from his part of the globe. We are not against anybody. We speak for ourselves and we are protecting our own birth right. And for which, no one should feel bad with us. NNC maintains and will continue to maintain this position.
Friends, we all admit that NNC is the first platform built with the mandate of our people through many sacrifices. Today, many people had gone away from this popular base; many of them took the step not for any differences in political ideology but for the reason they know best by themselves. We will not blame anybody for it at the moment.
But we know that everything has its own time and limit. Therefore, I want to appeal to the good sense of all the Naga leaders to look back whether anybody has gained out of the differences and splits that have been taking place from time to time during the last more than three decades. Is it not high time for the Naga leaders to look to a secured future for our people? If you agree with me, the platform that was built by our leaders with people's mandate remains the same as ever.
Let us think to come together again on that platform. This will be the only solution to the confusions that have been created in our motherland today by various agencies. Whatever may be the case, this coming together on the mandated platform is the last option for the Nagas, and there is no other option. Further delay will give chance to our adversaries to dismantle the very fabric of our oneness further with no medicine to cure it. Further delay also may compel NNC to speak the hard truth.
Let us pray to God that He will grant us wisdom to all of us so that we do not commit any further mistake but to realise our priorities for the achievement of the vision of NNC. Kuknalim.
