Morung Express News
Dimapur | September 30
While strongly affirming that integration of the Naga ancestral homeland is the natural aspiration of the Nagas, the Nagaland Baptist Church Council has nevertheless pointed out on the need to first win over the ‘immediate neighbours’ and the people of India boldly and openly. “The Church is of the opinion that the ‘journey of conscience’ to Delhi taken up by the Naga civil societies led by the NPMHR in 2001 was the best approach”, the NBCC states on the issue of integration as contained in the booklet ‘Proposal for Healing and Reconciliation of the Naga People’, which was released on September 29, Friday on the occasion of the program to launch the ‘Healing and Reconciliation movement’.
“First of all Nagas must be transparent. With humility and sensitivity, it is conceivable our neighbors who are also equally aware of the changing trends will respond to work out a settlement that will be right, honorable and best for all concerned”, the NBCC states while hoping that this approach will produce what it terms as ‘unexpected openings that can become dependable foundations for solutions which can come from the neighbors within the region making it possible for Delhi to act’.
As such referring to the ‘journey of conscience’ undertaken in 2001, the NBCC advocates that similar journeys must be taken to other areas across India to win the people of India without whose understanding and support it will be difficult for Delhi to make tough decisions.
On integration, the NBCC further states that when the State of Nagaland was created, the Naga inhabited areas could have been integrated with Nagaland without too much difficulty if the Naga leaders had simply insisted that they could not accept anything if integration was not part of the settlement.
“Nehru would have done anything to satisfy the Nagas who were ready to stand with him at that time and the Congress party government in Assam and the Union Territory government in Manipur would have obeyed his word”, the NBCC states.
Pointing out that today, integration has become complicated, the NBCC made the observation that “for reasons best known to them, the Naga negotiators (NPC) rushed back to Kohima without going beyond mentioning it as an item of the 16 points while still in Delhi”.
As such, on returning to Kohima, the NBCC states that those Naga leaders were too preoccupied to do anything on the issue worth mentioning apart from the resolutions passed in the Nagaland State Assembly calling for integration.
While asserting that the integration of their ancestral homeland is something that is the rightful aspiration of the Naga people, the NBCC advocates that Nagas on their part must realize the reality “that they will have to evolve the right solution by sufficient people to people dialogue”.
