SC Jamir
A great event takes place in the fullness of time. And that time is determined by the Almighty. This I believe is going to happen in the history of Nagaland and for its people. The signs of the times show that this is the most momentous moment for the Nagas to act now or never. A great reconciliation and a permanent settlement to the decades old Naga political problem stares at everyone’s face. This great act is the great reconciliation and it is to be crafted by one and all. It is true that the Nagas are confronted with too many complex challenges and at present they are in a fix to which way to embark upon. They have to reconcile with the political, economic, social and cultural realities of the world. They have to first set their house in order by reconciling among themselves. No other external agencies but the Government of India alone can bail out the Nagas from their predicaments. There should not be any illusion about this reality.
The third of August, 2015 marked another important milestone in the long and tortuous struggle of the Nagas for an honourable settlement of the vexed Naga political problem. The peace accord signed between the NSCN (IM) and the Government of India in the presence of the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister was declared by the P.M himself as “historic.” The “framework agreement” for peace, as it was described later in official circles, has been received by all sections of people in the State with a sense of cautious optimism. Having suffered from decades of violence, bloodshed and disruption to their normal lives, they now sincerely yearn for peace to prevail and the fruits of development to be reaped. But the Naga people ask- “What is this Framework Agreement of 3rd August 2015 ?” What is its significance and its salient features? It is obvious that the landscape and texture of Naga polity would be determined by the framework agreement, provided it is mandated by the people. Since this accord was signed in the presence of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, it is presumed that Naga solution will be within the Constitution of India. In other word, sovereignty and integration will not figure in the framework. The government of India should also come out clearly as to whether the framework was signed between two different political entities or otherwise? Shared- sovereignty is another issue that needs to be expounded further by the government of India to enlighten the Naga public. In a democratic country like India, while working out any frame-work for the political future of the people, it shall have to be in their knowledge and with their consent. In 1959, the Naga Peoples Convention which was held at Mokokchung town, deliberated freely the 16 Point memorandum to the presented to the Government of India for three days after which it was unanimously approved by the representatives of the sixteen tribes of Nagaland. Why not follow the same democratic procedure for the framework agreement also. Should an attempt is made to keep the content of the framework agreement secret from the stakeholders would it not amount to trample on their constitutional and legitimate rights? In a democratic polity, where the people are supreme, they can neither be ignored nor taken for a ride.
An historical perspective: It must be remembered, however, that this agreement is but one among a series of such accords arrived at between the Government of India and representatives of the Naga people including, at times, sections of the Naga Underground. That, in spite of all these efforts, permanent peace has eluded the State is a pointer to the complexities of the problem and its dimensions. It is, therefore, necessary to delve a little into the historical background of the problem and understand why a permanent solution to it has proved elusive. Throughout their history, the Nagas have been proud of a fierce sense of independence, a distinct identity and a rich tradition and culture. The uniqueness of this identity was acknowledged by none other than Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who, in a statement on the 5th of August, 1946 had declared, ‘’ Widest possible freedom and autonomy should be granted to the tribal territories so that the tribal people may move onwards in accordance with their respective traditions and customs…. I do not understand why an administrative and judicial system should be imported into the Naga territory from outside. The Nagas should have full freedom to administer themselves with the help of rural panchayats and tribal people’s courts.” It should be remembered that the Naga movement for independence preceded the freedom of India as, along with the freedom movement of the country, the Nagas were also demanding a separate homeland for themselves. Thus, when the Simon Commission visited Kohima, the Nagas submitted a Memorandum on 10th January, 1929 stating that they should be left alone to determine their own future after the British left India.
With no sign of either the British or the Indian leadership agreeing to their demand for independence, the Naga National Council was born in 1946 and almost an entire population rallied under its banner. What followed was unimaginable violence and bloodshed that gripped the Naga Hills for years.
The Nine Point Agreement of 1947: Amidst all this, the first serious attempt towards peace was made through what is called the Nine Point Agreement of 1947, popularly known as the Akbar Hydari Agreement, arrived at between then Governor of Assam and representatives of the NNC. The Agreement stipulated a fair degree of devolution of powers and authority to the NNC in matters relating to the executive and judicial domains and land in particular, but fell through over differing interpretations of clause 9 regarding the period of validity of the Agreement.
The 16-Point Agreement of 1960: This Agreement is, without doubt, the most epochal of all efforts towards finding a permanent solution to the Naga political problem. It led to the creation of Nagaland as the 16th State of India, quite unlike other States which came into being on the basis of recommendations of the States Re-organisation Commission. Here was a State born as a result of a political agreement between the Government of India at the level of the Prime Minister of India and the Naga People’s Convention representing the Naga people. In addition to Statehood, the Agreement ensured special constitutional safeguards for the rights, customs and traditions of the Nagas through Article 371 A of the Constitution of India.
Unfortunately, this arrangement was not acceptable to certain sections of the people, particularly in the underground, who continued to harbour aspirations for a sovereign and greater Nagaland. Since there was no let-up to violence, a ceasefire agreement was arrived at in 1964 with the Underground Federal Government followed by six rounds of political talks but to no avail.
The Shillong Accord, 1975: Then came the Shillong Accord of 1975 signed between the Governor of Assam and Nagaland on behalf of the Government of India and representatives of the Underground. This was rejected by a faction of the UG which broke away to form the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) in January,1980 and vowed to continue an armed struggle for independence and integration of all Naga-inhabited areas into a sovereign entity called Nagalim. Later, in 1988, the NSCN itself split into two warring factions, one led by the late Isak Chisi Swu and Th. Muiva and the other by S.S. Khaplang. Ceasefire agreements were entered into with these two groups in 1997 and 2001 respectively and were in force until March 2015 when the one with the Khaplang Group was unilaterally abrogated by the group itself.
A Lesson to be learnt: There is an important lesson to be learnt from all the efforts for peace briefly outlined above- that no attempt to find a solution to the long-standing Naga problem can be successful unless all sections of the people in the State were taken on board. This sobering experience should also be brought to bear on the current phase of dialogue with the NSCN (IM). This is not to doubt the sincerity of the Government of India to hammer out a lasting solution to the Naga problem but to impress on the need for transparency and inclusion. The people of Nagaland realise that the Central Government headed by a visionary Prime Minister and commanding a massive popular mandate is in a unique position to offer to them an honourable settlement acceptable to all. They have a vital stake in any final settlement and should, therefore, be part of the dialogue through a representative mechanism reflecting various shades of opinion. It is similarly incumbent on the NSCN (IM) to take the people of the State into confidence on the contours of a final settlement being negotiated by them with the Government of India.
Suggestions to be considered: While the shape of a final settlement will depend on the process of dialogue currently on and the extent to which it embraces various shades of opinion, it may be necessary to make a few worthwhile suggestions to be considered at this stage.
i) Point 7(4) of the 16-Point Agreement provided inter alia that no Acts of Parliament shall apply to the State of Nagaland in relation to the ownership and transfer of land and its resources unless the same has been ratified by the Legislative Assembly of the State. This provision was further reinforced by Article 371 A of the Constitution. In later years, there have been differing interpretations of the exact scope of the phrase “land and its resources”-whether minerals and natural gas would come within its ambit. The Government of Nagaland and its legal counsels have given an affirmative opinion on the subject while the Central Government has taken a contrary view. It is recommended that the latter adopt an accommodative position in the matter since it has an emotional connect with the people of Nagaland. Besides, absolute ownership over land and its resources and the concomitant right to exploit minerals and gas will have a positive bearing on the financial position of the State which is resource-starved. A clear endorsement of the State’s position in this matter should accordingly be part of the final accord.
ii) The other important part of the final settlement should be declaration of a general amnesty for the men in the underground and an honourable rehabilitation package for them. Their services may be best utilised by recruiting them in special battalions of any of the paramilitary forces.
iii) In view of the increase in population and the need for greater representation of the Nagas in Parliament, the State should have two members each in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
iv) A Pan Naga League and under it a Tribal Research and Cultural Centre should be set up with full Central assistance and located in Dimapur in Nagaland.
Political Settlement with a robust Economic Package: At the time of signing of the 16-Point Agreement in 1960, it was clearly recognised that Nagaland as a State would not be economically self-reliant. Clause 11 of the Agreement thus stipulated that- To supplement the revenues of the State of Nagaland there will be a need for the Government of India to pay out of the Consolidated Fund of India as Grants-in-aid as follows:
1) Lump-sums as may be necessary each year for the development programme of Nagaland.
2) A fixed recurring sum (annual subvention) for meeting the costs of administration of Nagaland. Fifty six years after the signing of the Agreement, the situation has not changed much and Nagaland continues to be a woefully revenue-deficient State of the Indian Union. No doubt, with liberal assistance from the Centre, the State has made appreciable progress in the sphere of infrastructure and social sector development. Yet, Nagaland lags behind its sister States in many spheres. An important reason for this has been its rugged and mountainous terrain spread over 16,579 sq. km and its relative inaccessibility from the mainland.
Nagaland has 11 districts. Of these, four, namely, Tuensang, Mon, Kiphire and Longleng are quite far-flung (with the first three sharing long international borders with Myanmar) and economically backward. Three other districts, namely, Phek, Zunheboto and Peren have also pockets which can be called underdeveloped i.e Meluri in Phek; Aghunato and Satoi in Zunheboto and Tenning in Peren.
Agriculture which is the mainstay of people’s livelihood is primitive relying mostly on ‘jhum’ cultivation and is, therefore, not productive. Although, some areas in Kohima and Phek districts have beautifully developed terraced fields, slash-and-burn cultivation is the norm in most parts of the State. It is no surprise, therefore, that Nagaland depends on imports from other parts of the country to meet its food grains requirements.
With no industries and a weak services sector, the State’s revenue base is understandably very low. To compound matters, Nagaland has nearly 100,000 government employees whose salaries and wages account for 44.54% of its revenue expenditure and 30.66% of the total expenditure on the Consolidated Fund as per 2015-16 BE. The total outstanding liabilities of the State stood at a whopping Rs 8285.00 crores in 2014-15 (RE). (Source: Economic Census-2016, Directorate of Economics and Statistics).
In the field of education, the State can be said to have done well in terms of spread, although quality needs a lot to be desired. This is due to a lack of adherence to qualifications at the time of initial recruitment and absence of orientation and training thereafter. The percentage of literacy at 79.5 compares very well with the rest of the country. However, what is worrisome is the large number of educated unemployed youth numbering about 80,000. For a small State like Nagaland, this is a sizeable number and the problem, if not tackled early, might be explosive. In fact, the problem of unemployment for the State as a whole is quite endemic with the non-working population accounting for 50.77% of the total. (Source: Economic Indicators 2013, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Govt. of Nagaland) The State’s public health coverage in terms of spread is good with 11 hospitals and 543 CHCs, PHCs, Sub-Centres. However, making qualified manpower and life-saving drugs available in remote areas remains a huge challenge. The situation relating to rural water supply can be considered to be satisfactory since almost all villages have their own catchment areas and source of supply. The problem, however, is quite acute in urban areas, particularly during the winter months.
Nagaland faces an acute crunch with regard to power. As against its own installed capacity of 26.34 MW, the State’s current peak demand is 120 MW. This is met from the NE grid. However, in view of difficult terrain and adverse weather conditions, there are problems in transmission and the supply of power is very irregular. Also, seventy five of its villages/ habitations are yet to be electrified.
Road connectivity remains one of the biggest hurdles to the State’s development. Of the total road length of 12032 kms, 828kms are National Highways and are maintained either by the Border Roads Organisation or the State PWD. Of the remaining 11204 kms, 7673kms remain unsurfaced making them near inaccessible during the monsoon months.
The narrative above clearly brings out the two most important factors that stand in the way of all round development of Nagaland-poor infrastructure and idle manpower. It is also obvious that these cannot be tackled with the current level of funding, including Central assistance, available with the State Government. It is, therefore, suggested that as part of the final settlement of the Naga problem, Government of India constitute an Expert Group under the Niti Ayog to recommend a special economic package for the State to overcome the problems of poor infrastructure and unemployment.
India’s Act East Policy and its implications for the North East and Nagaland: At the 12th ASEAN-India Summit held in Myanmar in November 2014, the Prime Minister announced India’s resolve to transform its Look East Policy to Act East Policy. One of the main pillars of this policy shift would be enhanced connectivity between India and the ASEAN countries, not just by land and sea but also by air. Institutional, digital and people-to-people connectivity was to be the other pillar of the policy. This would mean free movement of people; particularly professionals; creation of regional value chains to increase economic inter-dependence for mutual benefits and recognition of each other’s educational qualifications and degrees and such like. Once this policy gets implemented fully, the North East in general and Nagaland in particular will witness heightened economic activities with businessmen and multi-national companies coming in to the region in large number along with scholars, students and tourists. There is a genuine fear that this may lead to a submergence of local identities, inter-marriages among local girls and outsiders and religious conversions. Any final accord on the Naga political problem, therefore, should take cognizance of this likely problem and provide adequate safeguards.
Naga Aspirations and Changing Reality: Like all indigenous peoples of the world, the Nagas had a dream and an ideal. This does not mean that today’s generation in Nagaland is averse to change. It has been witnessing the emergence of India as a global economic and political super power and wants to be part of this success story. For nearly sixty years, the Nagas have learned to live with the reality of Indian democracy, participating, in record numbers, in election after election and braving bullets in the process. By and large, they are inclined to shed their past ideological baggage and face up to reality. All they want after years of violence and bloodshed is peace in and development of their beautiful homeland. This provides the Government of India with a unique opportunity to at last find a lasting solution to the Naga political problem. This is possible, if it is approached in a fraternal spirit as a dispute in the family and resolved with a sense of pragmatism and benevolent accommodation by the big brother. It may be prudent for all concerned parties to learn from the following sage saying: “We may not be able to change the direction of the wind but then we can always adjust our sails.”
