Dimapur, October 17 (MExN): The People's Army of Nagaland (PAN), a breakaway group of the Yung Aung-led NSCN (K) on Saturday stressed on the need for all Nagas to “profoundly introspect and recollect our own political history,” to make better choices contemporary realities at this crucial juncture of Naga polity.
A statement issued by PAN Lt. Gen. Niki Sumi recounted the historical fact of how the Nagas, in unison, went to foreign lands to help in the war efforts during the World War-I which culminated in the formation of Naga Club and the subsequent submission of political memorandum to the Simon Commission as a single unified Naga Nation.
He also recounted how Nagas as a unified Nation stood up to the tyranny of Nazis along with allied forces in the World War II war which consequently led to the formation of NNC, a unified Naga political group which declared Naga Independence, a day before Indian Independence, with God's endowment of wisdom and foresight.
Sumi however lamented that “with the emergency of a coerced Indian union, Neo colonialism reared its ugly perfected archaic policy of Divide and Rule and thus the Indian Government sowed seeds of division among the Nagas, the very imperial British policy they so detested and vehemently protested against.”
He said that the Indian Government, in numerous instances, at the most crucial moment of political talks, had “openly espoused their inklings and insidious sincerity of playing one tribe against the other.”
The divisive ploy of propping up one tribe against the rest have always been a consistent Indian policy, he said citing instances of the ‘The 16-Point Agreement,’ ‘6th Round Talks,’ and ‘The Shillong Accord,’ which were signed under the leadership of various Naga tribes.
He lamented that the Nagas have “yet again succumbed to Indian Government's Divide and Rule Policy by dancing to their tune, by sidelining the NSCN IM's demand of Yehzabo and Flag which is more of worth than the servile acceptance of the other Naga political groups' demand of a piecemeal monetary solution to a political issue.”
“Inscrutably we, the Nagas have consciously or unconsciously encouraged tribalism among ourselves,” he added. “ It’s a factual irony that despite our knowledge about all the facts of history yet we are so obstinate and complacent that we are trying to repeat the ills of our own history rather than discernibly learning from our own History and progressing towards our sacred Goal of a sovereign Nagaland for Christ,” Sumi stated.
As such, he said that it is high time for all Nagas to carefully tread these tumultuous political times and do right by the sovereign political rights of all Naga inhabitated areas.
