Kolezo Chase
I believe that the purpose of the present peace process is to lay down the foundation of understanding the real issue that became the cause of the long protracted conflict between the two conflicting parties – the two countries – India and Nagaland (Indo-Naga problem). We can have true understanding only through dialogue over the table by hearing one another out to the fullest extent possible with patience and sensitivity and to do that a peaceful atmosphere is needed. As such, I look upon the present peace process as a step that seeks understanding of the issue rather than finding a solution for a final settlement of the problem that has been confronting the two countries for more than sixty years. The Representatives of the government of India , I believe, should be free from the concept that the NAGAS are demanding Independence and sovereignty from the Union of India and the Representatives of the Naga people, being conscious of the uniqueness of the history of the Naga national struggle for their national survival as a nation among the family of nations in the world, can clarify our position that we have not started a war against Indian Union for separation as the Nagas had made their National stand very clear not to become part of Indian Union after the withdrawal of the British from this part of the world . Since there was no agreement of Union between the two countries – India and Nagaland – the question of separation did not and does not and should not arise. This will simplify the problem of misunderstanding created by India under Nehru’s regime which ordered a full scale war against the Nagas. The whole people of India cannot be held responsible for the policy adopted by Nehru who was not only the Prime Minister at that time, but also became the ruler of India after the withdrawal of the British. We need the present generation of Indians to understand this and it is encouraging to see that many of them are gradually becoming aware of it.
It would be too premature and too hasty to jump to conclusion to say or to hope that this peace process is the final stage that, at any cost, should conclude the whole chapter of the history of a people who have the right to preserve their national Independence and sovereignty without external interference. Let us remind ourselves of the history of Israel from the time of Moses until now; it is still not yet settled. The National right of existence of a people stands as long as there are stars in the sky. Settlement probably is not even the appropriate terminology to be used in the case of Indo-Naga problem. Even if the Indo-Naga problem is solved we will continue for other settlements with other neighbors and for that matter with even India. If the right of the Nagas is denied by the GOI, it is not the denial of only the right of the Nagas but it is tantamount to the denial of the right of nations in the world as Nagas deserve as much as India deserved to become a free Nation State. Therefore the issue in question is not whether the government of India is willing to grant the Nagas Independence or not, nor is it a question of whether the Nagas would accept a status below an Independent Sovereign nation state and some thing above the present statehood installed by India. The statehood was created as a settlement as well as to justify India’s act of aggression and her claim over Nagaland as part of Indian Union. The creation of an Indian statehood was the only way for India to justify herself in the eyes of the International communities for the use of force against the Nagas and keep them divided to eclipse the Indo-Naga problem from the knowledge of International communities.
Any Peace process is important, as peace is the only way to bring the conflicting parties to a dialogue for discussion on the issue in question that it may be fully understood. But to my observation, the fact of the case seemed to have been either avoided or ignored. Bypassing the most challenging fact of the issue is an act of evasion of the truth in dealing with the problem . Whether one likes it or not the facts of the case must be openly discussed if we genuinely want to reach an honorable understanding i.e. what is yours is yours and what is ours is ours between the two countries. If history teaches us anything at all, the history of the statehood in Nagaland for almost half a century should have taught all of us that what Mr. Nehru conceived to be a quick settlement of the problem became the bedrock of Naga division as well as an obstacle to the understanding of the Indo-Naga conflict. This has divided the Nagas into overgrounds and undergrounds, causing a Naga problem at home while the Indo-Naga problem is erroneously and synonymously called Naga problem or Naga political issue. Before the creation of the statehood we were called Naga Hostiles and the Nagas working in the then District administration were called Loyals, and GOI has been more than happy to treat the Indo-Naga conflict as a Naga Underground problem / problem of insurgency after the formation of a Nagaland state under the Indian Union. Anyway it is worthy of note that the national right of existence of a people is not wiped out because of dissensions in the nation. It is time that we understand that the Indo-Naga conflict is not an internal affair of either India or of Nagaland. It is a conflict between two countries – India and Nagaland. We do say Indo-Pakistan problem or Sino-India problem but not Indo-Pakistan political problem or Sino-India political problem. No matter how free and independent a country may be, it always has its own internal political problems / political issues. It looks strange to me that many of us seem to be longing for a solution or a settlement. I ask myself, have we started our National struggle for a solution? It looks like many of us are more concerned about a solution than making our national right known to the people of India, the land of Gandhi who honored the right of the Nagas. Even the first and last Governor General of India, Raja Gopalachari, told the Nagas that they have the right to be independent. They honored the truth. The truth shall free both India and Nagaland from the long standing conflict. Only talking with the GOI is not enough without talking on the basis of people to people by the Nagas to the people of India at whose expense a long war has been waged against the Nagas and a costly corrupt colonial-like State maintained all these years in Nagaland. It is a sorry state of affairs. Anyway GOI can manage that easily without making its people feel the pinch. But how long can it sustain this type of affair? It looks like a cheating business. The people of great India have the right to know the truth about the Indo-Naga conflict in which not only the Nagas but many fine young Indian soldiers too have lost their precious lives. The media too has been projecting the Indo-Naga conflict to the people of India as a constitutional problem created by a group of Naga undergrounds fighting to secede from the Union of India by demanding and fighting for independence all these years. But when we face the truth and honor it with acceptance, Nagaland can become a Switzerland of the East and India’s global IMAGE will be gloriously enhanced as the greatest Democratic Country in the world and her position in the geopolitics of South and Southeast Asia too will be greatly enhanced and she will emerge as a role model in the international arena as well. Believe it or not, it will surely happen. When this honorable Understanding is reached, the relation between Nagaland and India will be much superior to and far more trustworthy than the present relation between the Indian state in Nagaland and New Delhi. AS for the Nagas we must posses the spirit of independence and sovereignty within ourselves and live it out in our daily practical life. I feel in my soul that the Nagas are uniquely a blessed people with a blessed homeland. Above all the greatest opportunity we have is that almost all of us are now believers of Christ who said “The Kingdom of God is within you.” I believe it is true because Christ had said it. If we have that within us, each of us will find himself at peace with the other and we will all feel ourselves united in our faith that God has given us a homeland independent and sovereign and free that we will have no fear of one another and the talk of reconciliation and unity will become a thing of the past. Because while we were yet non-believers of Christ we were united and had already demonstrated our Unity and Oneness to our adversaries in the past. The present factional struggles for political power, extortion and killing among ourselves are an abomination to our God. We have become an anachronism in our own situation. We need to let go the self in us to heal our souls and revive our conscience to free our Homeland.
Let us think lightly just for a minute. How about running the affairs of our Homeland by ourselves free from any external interference? The population of our homeland is probably lesser than one fifth of the population of the big Indian metropolitan city of Kolkata. So running the affairs of our homeland could be four times easier than the running of the whole affairs of this big city. Because we are all now believers of Christ. Oh! Am I dreaming? Yes, indeed I dream and so what? A joke? Strange as it may seem I live my dream, for to me, he who dreams well but does not live his dream in his life is only a tragic idealist, good for nothing except preaching what he does not live for in real life. With humility I confess – living my good dream in real life is not so easy and dreamy at all as it needs the best in me all the times. It’s a hell of a battle you can win only on the last day of your life. We know many of us will ask where we will get money to run our own affairs. A good realistic question indeed. Here we are talking only about the Indian paper currency raining over the Indian state in Nagaland like manna coming free from New Delhi. Yes, we need money. But we should not forget the truth that money is not everything, but everything is money and we are blessed with everything in our Homeland. We are scared and not so sure of ourselves at the moment because of the state of dependency created by a foreign power in our homeland. Anyway we know now that no country can be absolutely independent of other countries in terms of economy. What our Homeland has for us is more than what India has for her one billion people. The land of Gandhi, India and our Homeland, Nagaland, a land of believers of Christ can have the best mutual relation between us as two countries. We will need men led by God from both the countries for this to happen. It is possible. It will need Courage, Truthfulness, Great Understanding and Trust without political trickery.
We have to rediscover ourselves. The whole of India was taken over within a short time by a naughty street boy of England who came to India as an English trading company soldier. But when the British came to our homeland a general of the British army was involved and fought for years even just to take a single village and “ No treaties or engagements had been made with any of the Naga tribes” in spite of our defeat. In the case of Hindustan, the Hindu King, Porus though was defeated in the battle by Alexander and yet so courageously replied that he wanted to be treated like a king when Alexander the Great asked him how he liked to be treated and he was treated so as he wished by Alexander the Great. Everything is clear in the history of our homeland. God forbid we mess up the whole thing for the present. We can see everything clearly when we all subdue the difficult little “ Self “ in ourselves. My peace and unity with you is not within you , it is within me. My peace with you comes from how I treat you and how I feel about you within my heart. I feel God is more interested in how I treat you and how I feel about you within me if I want you to be at peace with me. Therefore peace and reconciliation among our people will come from how and what we are within our hearts towards others; it goes far beyond handshaking and embracing one another and actually not only from how and what we are outwardly towards others but from how clean we are inside our own hearts towards one another. My little experience in life is when I am truly clean within myself I can also clearly see the dirt inside others which helps me to be cleaner. For the moment I like to say that all our ways have been clearly established. We can follow it faithfully and fearlessly only with an unshakable faith and clean selfless hearts within us without hate and fear. Our destination is not beyond the horizon; it is within us that we do not see, because the SELF within us has blinded our vision. We also seem to be forgetful of our past, so fully drunk with the present and our vision for our future is blurred. From the early eighties until now we have killed more Nagas than Indian occupational army soldiers. It is a shame. Had we have the fear of God in our hearts and walked the path of obedience to Him with true love for our God-given Homeland this would not have happened. If we have the courage to kill, we all can have more courage to love one another; if we have the courage to die we can also have more courage to live selflessly for our Blessed Homeland. Let us not turn away from Him who led us all the way even when we were yet non-believers. Let us not get fed up with what we have become today. Our brokenness is our great opportunity to return to Him. He will lead us today again as He had led us in the past “Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives,” and actions. Everyday is a new opportunity for us to change for the best for the future of our people and our God-given Blessed Homeland, Nagaland.
May I be allowed to conclude by quoting , “ We affirm that the Nagas are a nation and that we have every right to exist as a free nation. We believe that Yahweh is a God of freedom and that it is His will that His people should live in freedom. The exodus event in the Bible stands as a living example of how God willed that His people Israel should be liberated from the bondage of foreign rule in order that they might live as a free people and decide their own destiny. Our faith and commitment to Jesus Christ compel us to denounce the path of violence in our struggle for freedom.” (In search of a theological statement by A GROUP OF NAGAS—THEOLOGICALY TRAINED CONCERNED PEOPLE Page5, 10 March 1995).
