The Forum: The name of the forum is ‘The Global Naga Forum.’ It is a platform of Nagas from different walks of life living in different parts of the world. We are bind by our common aspiration and the desire to work for our people and the future. Through this discussion and dialogue among us, we wish to contribute towards achieving the political aspiration of our right to self-determination.
The Objective: The objective of the forum is to;
1. Amplify the voice and story of the Naga struggle through various mediums and media.
2. Connect the Nagas across tribes and borders and also to the world through our story.
Our story: The Naga story is of resistance and resilience of a people who continue to defend their ancestral land ever since it was affected by colonial expansion and, military expeditions and experiments by both British and India, leaving a chequered history and memory of war ravaging our lives. From the time of our ancestors (1830 onwards) till today we are still battling for our traditional sovereignty and rights over our land and future. Our contiguous land and people of more than 60 tribes with distinct culture and dialects have been split and placed under different political system and administration affecting and impacting our everyday relationship and fellowship. There is no Naga home that has not suffered for resisting a forced occupation.
The Movement: The Naga movement started in the form of memorandum (1929, 1946, 1947), resolution (1950, 1957) plebiscite (1951), boycott (1952, 1953) besides continous call for dialogue to both British and India. These democratic expressions of the Naga people to determine their own destiny was meted with brutality, militarization and repressive Ordinances and Acts, pushing the Nagas to organize into armed resistance.
Efforts to establish peace and bring solution through various agreement, peace talks and accords have not been successful and today, the Naga movement is one of the oldest movements the world has. It is also now known for its longest ceasefire in the history of conflict. While the negotiations continue with glitches, there is no clarity on the process, power and the expected outcome of the political talks, the Naga political groups are engaging with the Government of India.
But the impact of these protracted conflict, ceasefire and negotiation has cost us more than our homes and lives. It is beginning to affect the way we understand land and freedom. The imposed geographical borders and barriers have started to seep into our minds and conversations allowing differences to work against our collective vision for a free and dignified nation when we should be celebrating our differences as vibrant and distinct people.
The Vision: We believe that we have a role and responsibilities towards these dynamics, peace, Justice, and healing in our land. Our collective aspiration to live as one can even in our differences be accomplished by remembering our history as a people and allow that to guide us towards our vision that does not discriminate and oppresses; knows justice; listens to the poorest to plan our national policies; allow youths to grow without being judged; give space to women to plant and practice democracy; let children grow without any form of violence and abuse; let men make fair decisions free from coercion and prejudice; allow people of different race and religion live peacefully; allow compassion and humanity to grow as a virtue of every citizen.
These are not written down but our values and philosophies around our traditional practices that have been passed down to us clearly reveal them, through our songs and stories, our forest and economy organization, and we must reclaim them as a people.
The Process: The forum can be instrumental in consistently and strategically advancing our political aspiration and assertion in cohesion with the objective. We can build onto the ongoing efforts and of the past and actively campaign and advocate for our cause through;
a. letters, memorandum, and petitions to the various leaders, organizations, and agencies.
b. Appeals for solidarity and support from neighbors and struggling peoples.
c. Organizing conferences, seminars, and talks on relevant issues.
d. Commemoration of Naga historical days: January 10: Memorandum to Simon Commission: May 16: Naga Plebiscite Day, 14 August: Naga Independence Day
e. Any other activity the group thinks appropriate with new development and changes.
Working Guidelines:
1) There can be two or more coordinators to both moderate and anchor the discussion in the group.
2) In case of any events and programme to be organized a team may be formed for the specific tasks and disband after completion.
3) Every note/document/petition to be shared and agreed by the group before going public or viral.
K U K N A L I M
Media Cell:
Global Naga Forum (GNF)
