Thomas
NNC Member
I applaud Dr Anui Saiyniu, Founder of Lahe Academy, for organizing a Zoom meeting with the Eastern Naga youths on May 16, 2026, the 75th Plebiscite Day, in which many youths enthusiastically participated in the meeting.
I was given the first chance to speak in the meeting, and he (Dr Anui) took the second. I expressed the unique history of the Nagas, which means the Nagas had never fallen into any foreign domination in human history. The youths may want to know what the rule of the British, and now India and Burma. It happened in history, but the Nagas had no agreement with them to surrender our sovereignty, but they came to rule us, which can take the form of occupation.
To maintain the unique history continuously, the Naga National Council (NNC), which was formed on February 2nd 1946, rejected the proposal of the Crown Colony for Mongoloid Racial groups, and declared the age-old Naga Independence on 14th August, one day ahead of India, four months and 20 days ahead of Burma. To reaffirm the declaration, the NNC conducted the National Voluntary Plebiscite on May 16, 1951. In which the 99.9% of Naga people overwhelmingly voted to remain independent, as in ancient times. Also, the Naga people had given an immutable mandate to the NNC to protect Nagaland and speak for the future of Nagaland. This was a pledge and final verdict of the Naga people for their future Nagaland.
Today, we are reaffirming the pledge of our people in those days the 75 years ago, by commemorating the 75th Plebiscite again. That means, if any other unmandated organisation, like NSCN sell out the sovereignty for shared-sovereignty, it will not affect unique history of the Naga nation.
Youths of today have to understand that if they use the political terminology, such as demand for self-determination, demand for shared-sovereignty, they make sovereignty and a unique history disappear. The political terminology of self-determination, used by colonially subject people to demand self-determination from their Colonial master nation, as they have no self-determination or Independence. But the Nagas are an independent nation, we have already. No need to demand it again.
Our issue is not like the communist revolution in China, which began in 1927, nor is it like the socialist revolution in Russia, which started in 1917. But it is the same with the Ukrainian conflict with Russia. A big nation, Russia, invaded the small Ukrainian nation in February 2022, 31 years after it became an independent nation, and they are resisting the invasion. Also, a small Naga nation was invaded by a big nation, India, and Burma in 1955, 8 years later, the Nagas declared their age-old Independence. We are resisting the invasion. The Ukrainian does not demand self-determination or a demand for shared-sovereignty. Also, the Nagas do not demand them, but to recognize our sovereign independent nation and the withdrawal of the foreign occupational armed forces from Nagas is the need of our nation.
As India and Burma invaded Nagaland, we had a problem with them. To solve the problem with them, no other political organisation can bypass the NNC, which declared the age-old Naga Independence to keep a unique history. Because the NSCN can tell and write the Naga national history, but cannot speak that the NSCN declared Naga Independence in 1947 or conducted a Plebiscite in 1951. Even though they speak, no one believes them. Because everyone knows the fact that the NSCN was born in 1980. As we have to keep a unique history, we need to solve the conflict based on the Declaration of Independence and conduct a plebiscite.
We, therefore, have to support the NNC by all Nagas in order to solve the conflict. After we solve the problem, the Nagas can go with NSCN and forming a Nagaland Nationalist Party whatsoever, that will be for a the political game. But now, we should not be confused or mix the NNC with the political party or factionalism. The NNC is not a political party but the Naga national institution.
I think the youths of today, particularly, the supporters of NSCN, failed to research the true history of the Naga nation, because they say, the NNC surrendered, the Naga nationalism restarted with the formation of NSCN in 1980. So, I urge them to study the true events of the Naga nation, and to accept what truth is. That will lead to reconciliation and to achieving our national goal.
