DIMAPUR, SEPTEMBER 10 (MExN): The Naga Indigenous Peoples Alliance (NIPA) has submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi calling for “recognition of undivided Naga territory and grant of self-governing associate statehood to the Nagas.”
The memorandum appended by NIPA C0 Convenor, P Vanmi and Convenor, YL Ramgui said that it is “the most opportune time for the Prime Minister to fulfill the assurance made to the Nagas for a new era of freedom, mutual respect, friendship, partnership and prosperity” based on the August 3, 2015 Framework Agreement.
It stated that the prevailing crisis in the Indo- Naga political talk can be resolved only “when contents of the Framework Agreement are correctly construed and workout the competencies in detail by a competent, larger Indian negotiation team possessing legal and political expertise with broader international outlook and personalities.”
The NIPA asked that the Naga issue “be treated as an external matter of India as contained in the Framework Agreement 2015.”
It called for “cause dejure recognition of undivided Naga territory as an ‘Associate State’ to establish a new relationship with India by sharing sovereign powers between the two entities as envisaged in the Framework Agreement, 2015.”
The NIPA asked for ensuring a “broad and inclusive single Agreement of all Naga stake holders who are in dialogue with the Government of India.”
It also advocated upgrading the Indian negotiation team by inclusion of more members with political and legal expertise and representatives from Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) “led by an able interlocutor of high integrity with broader international outlook to enable the finishing touch of the detailed workout of Framework Agreement.”
It further asked the Prime Minister to actively pursue real and lasting peace through the principle of peace & non- violence until a win-win solution is mutually arrived at.
It said that the primary reason why Indo-Naga permanent solution could not be worked out till date is due to the “extremely rigid political stands adopted by the negotiating parties of both sides.”
The NIPA also said that the “recent trend of India’s unilateral abrogation and/or causing obsolescence of the outputs of her historical treaties/agreements has instilled a sense of insecurity to the Nagas for signing any agreement unless such agreements are so expressively put to detailed construction having defining and interpretative clauses with legal efficacy thereby leaving no room for ambiguity.”
The NIPA said that the Naga issue “cannot be put at par with Post-independent with intra-territorial problems of other ethnic minorities/peoples in India.”
This issue, the NIPA said “has to be dealt with once for all only by conducting a new Naga Referendum if at all required and not by negotiation. The underlying issues of negotiation, therefore, strictly confines to dejure recognition of Naga territory, finding a workable model of its new political status with international bearing and, sharing of sovereign powers (competencies) with India.”
It stated that the “recognition of the unique history and position of the Nagas in the Framework Agreement literally means India’s recognition of Naga territory and its nationality which is not an integral part of India.”
“The literal and grammatical interpretation of the principle finds universal cognizance in as much as FA signifies the recognition of the unincorporated Naga territorial entity whose political status will come to 1 step down from complete independence and 1 step up from complete merger in India as a full-fledged Indian state. In such a given position, Naga flag & constitution is the prerogative of the Nagas,” it claimed.
The NIPA said that the shared sovereignty concept which is the key principle of FA if correctly construed, “is considered the most workable and acceptable middle path win-win approach compatible to the changing contemporary reality of interdependence around the world.
