Ramachandra Guha
The Hindu
MY last column dealt with the tireless efforts of Jayaprakash Narayan to assure the Kashmiris a place of honour and respect in independent India. This column continues in the same vein, by recalling JP’s work to reconcile the Nagas to the India n Union.
It is not very widely known that the Naga “problem”, so-called, predates the Kashmir “problem”. The latter dates to the second half of 1947. However, it was even earlier, in 1946, that a group of Naga intellectuals formed a Naga National Council (NNC). This asked for “self-determination”, defined by one faction as autonomy within a soon-to-free India, but by another faction as the creation of a separate, distinct, independent Naga nation.
Away from media gaze
In the early 1950s, these varying definitions of Naga sovereignty contended with one another, but by the end of the decade the radicals had won the argument. A bitter civil war commenced, with Naga resistance fighters on the one side, and the Indian Army on the other. This was a conflict played out away from the gaze of the foreign and even domestic press, but it withal exacted heavy costs. Both the army and the rebels were accused of intimidating and harassing ordinary Nagas. Many people died, and many villages were also burnt.
Finally, in 1964, a cease-fire was declared between the NNC and the Indian Government. A three member “peace mission” was formed, consisting of the Anglican missionary Michael Scott, the Gandhian nationalist B.P. Chaliha, and Jayaprakash Narayan. Tragically, the mission collapsed within a year, and the rebels returned to the jungle. It was at this stage that JP wrote an extraordinary, if still little-known, booklet in Hindi, based on a speech he delivered in Patna on Martyrs Day, January 30, 1965. The booklet is called Nagaland mein Shanti ka Prayas (The Attempts to Forge Peace in Nagaland). While ostensibly about a dispute within a single small State of the Union, it is actually a meditation on the meanings of democracy everywhere.
Futility of violence
“In the history of every nation”, began JP, “there have been disagreements among the servants and leaders of the nation. Where democracy prevails, these disagreements are discussed and resolved by democratic means; but where democracy is absent, they are resolved by the use of violence”. However, history teaches us that violence begets counter-violence and, eventually, violence on one’s own comrades. Thus “when disputes arise, past alliances and friendships are forgotten, and allegations of betrayal, traitorous behaviour, etc. are levied on one’s opponents”.
JP then proceeded to recount the history of the civil war in Nagaland, the recourse to the gun of one side, then the other, and the brutalities committed by both. Then, in the spirit of his master, Gandhi, he asked each party to recognise and respect the finest traditions of the other. First, he told the Nagas that, among the nations of Asia, India was unusual in having a democratic and federal Constitution. Were the rebels to abandon the dream of independence and settle for autonomy within the Union, all they had to give up control over was the army, foreign affairs, and currency. In all other respects they would be free to mould their destinies as they pleased.
A distinct culture
Narayan recognised the distinctiveness of Naga cultural traditions. While both East and West Pakistan bore the impress of the Indic civilisation, “what we call Indian culture has not made an entry into Nagaland”. That said, JP thought that the Nagas could not sustain an independent country, what with China, Pakistan, and Burma all close by and casting covetous eyes on their territory. Why not join up therefore with a democratic and federal India? When New Delhi could not dominate Bihar or Bengal, how could it dominate Nagaland? Were the rebels to come overground and contest elections, said Narayan, they could give their people the best schools, hospitals, roads, and so on.
Finally, JP turned to educating his Patna audience about the virtues of the Nagas. He was particularly impressed by the vigour of their village councils. Anywhere else in India, he said, to construct an airport the “government can uproot village upon village” (sarkar gaon ka gaon ujhad de sakti hai), whereas in Nagaland it could not do without the consent of the local people. He was even more struck by the dignity of labour, and the absence of caste feeling. In matters of co-operative behaviour, said JP, the Nagas could teach a thing or two to the people of India. He gave the example of a magnificent church recently constructed in a village near Mokokchung: with a seating capacity of five thousand, it had been built entirely with local materials and local labour, much of it contributed voluntarily by men with B.A.s and M.A.s. Narayan contrasted this with the contempt for manual work among the educated, upper-caste elite of the Indian heartland.
Continuing relevance
Forty years later, Nagaland is observing another cease-fire. But a durable settlement remains out of sight. Which is why Jayaprakash Narayan’s little pamphlet retains its relevance. For, that elusive settlement between the Nagas and India can only be forged on the basis of a deep and sincere respect for the cultural, historical, and political traditions of the other side.
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