Dimapur, July 6 (MExN): The Naga Students’ Union, Delhi (NSUD) took out a rally today from Jantar Mantar to Parliament street, New Delhi in protest against what it termed as “the Indian State’s engineered violence towards the innocent civilians of the Zeme Naga in North Cachar Hills by the Dimasa militants with the help of the Assam Rifles”. A press note issued by Zuben Ovung, General Secretary, NSUD and Ayung Sayai Convenor, Rally Organising Committee while informing about today’s rally has urged both the Dimasa and the Naga people to shun violence for peaceful co-existence in the region. According to the NSUD, the protest rally was attended by over 1000 students, Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR), Democratic Students’ Union (DSU), Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO), Hmar Students’ Association, Delhi, Eastern Nagaland Students’ Union, Delhi, Ao Students’ Union, Delhi, Manipur Students’ Association, Delhi (MSAD), well-wishers and sympathizers. Solidarity messages of the Naga Hoho, Naga Students’ Federation, Zeliangrong Baudi and the Tangkhul Katamnao Saklong (TKS) were read out in the public meeting held at the venue, it was informed.
The Convenor of the Organising Committee of the rally, Ayung Sayai, stated that the Nagas are not against the Dimasas. “The Nagas would only like to ask the Indian Government as to why communities are pitted against communities, tribes against tribes through its agencies like Assam Rifles and other Indian armed forces. We appeal both the Dimasa and the Naga people to shun violence for peaceful co-existence”. The NSUD functionaries strongly stated that the ongoing violence is not the first instance of the Indian State Divide and Rule policy of pitting community against community, tribes against tribes.
The NSUD while describing the dealing of the Assam Rifles with different communities in the NC Hills as “biased” went on to allege that the so-called ‘friends of the hill people’ has always been the number one human rights violators in the North East Region. The NSUD pointed out that the NC Hills violence was the latest example of Indian State’s obnoxious policy of repressing the Nagas in a deliberate move to derail the peace process with a deep-rooted policy of suppressing the Naga National Movement. “In the process of Indian State’s sinister design of creating environment of hate and violence, the innocent civilians of Dimasa tribe have been made a scapegoat, who were otherwise co-existing peacefully along the Naga communities in the region”, the NSUD stated while demanding that the Indian Government stop fanning communal disharmony and hatred by respecting identities, histories, cultures, land rights of the people, polities and beliefs. “We want friendship with the Dimasas”.
The NSUD also criticized the Indian Government for its intention to fuel crisis to the ongoing ceasefire between the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) and the Government of India (GOI) by allowing to take a decision by the Manipur Cabinet to deploy thousands of the Indian Reserve Battalions (IRB) and Commandos in the hill districts of Manipur with the initial implementation at Ukhrul and Senapati districts of the Naga areas. “It is a clear breach of ceasefire agreement, and grave violation of political conduct perpetrated by the Indian Government upon the Nagas”, stated the NSUD while strongly voicing its displeasure of using peace processes by the Indian Government as another way of countering the so-called insurgency in the North East. It also stated that, IRB was no more than a state terror machine infamous for staging fake encounters in Imphal valley and killing of Prof. Islamuddin, Dean of Students, Manipur University on 25th of May, 2009. The NSUD cautioned the public to be on high alert because many more of such or worse instances may be unfolding for the Nagas and the rest of the North East people in the near future.
