It is indisputably clear that the land of 20,202 hectares for the present ‘Intanki National Park’ was freely donated by Old Beisumpui Village. This fact was acknowledged by the recipients of the said land i.e. British Colonial Government by observing all the terms and conditions imposed by the Village in the early 1920s when J.H. Hutton was the then Deputy Commissioner of Naga Hills District of Assam.
The acknowledgement was clearly reaffirmed today by the successive recipients of the said land i.e. the Government of Nagaland in its affidavit in opposition in the Hon’ble Guwahati High Court, Kohima Bench, under WP (C) No. 217 (K) of 2009, by declaring “The Old Beisumpui Village were the original owners of the land covering the present Intanki National Park till it was donated to the Governor in Council in the year 1923 for declaration as a ‘Reserved Forest”. Thus when the donor and the donee have acknowledged the donation of the land, the matter ends then and there itself. And Old Beisumpui Village is a member of Tenyimi Peoples’ Organization (TPO). Let no one try to create confusion with self-serving intentions by fraudulently misinterpreting facts established in official records.
Therefore, the mischievous repeated attempt to meddle with the indisputable historical and legal accounts of the donor and the donee by the self styled Inavi /Hevuto Village, a third party, is highly questionable, condemnable and objectionable to all the right thinking persons.
The TPO did not have any hand with regard to the ‘exchange of land’ between Beisumpuikam and the Government of Nagaland, however, it is hereby clarified that the former made the proposal and the later accepted it and not vice versa. The matter is privy to the duly Government recognized Beisumpuikam Village on one hand and the state Government of Nagaland on the other. But any villager from Beisumpuikam who crosses an inch of land beyond the defined area exchanged, shall be treated as criminal intruders without any prejudice and partialities. The TPO is against all encroachers without any exceptions and discrimination whatsoever. This should be clearly understood to understand TPO’s fight to preserve Intanki for the purpose for which it was created in the first place.
Coming back to the crux of the matter on Intanki National Park, our concern is simply that while Inavi /Hevuto Village is persistently claiming that the learned Mr. T.C.K. Lotha, the then Home Commissioner, allowed Mr. Invavi and his men to establish Inavi Village in ‘Hazadisa’, today they are trying to establish their Villages deep inside the Intanki National Park, approximately 15 km away from ‘Hazadisa’. This is simply an act of sheer criminal intrusion and it encourages many others to follow their example which is not good for them or for the rest of the Nagas. Had Inavi established his Village at ‘Hazadisa’ as was permitted by the Government we would have no objection. Ironically, Inavi/Hevuto Village is not trying to do so as was permitted and we have been compelled to raise the issue of intrusion for the benefit of ALL Nagas, meaning the future generations having a preserved eco-system as their common heritage and for their survival.
The stand of TPO is to promote human rights, to protect victims of gross violation of human rights, to educate and advise our Naga communities about their birth rights, as well as their legal rights and duties and to encourage and help the communities to value and care for the common good above personal benefits sought to be achieved at any cost disregarding the dire consequences for our fragile society. TPO’s stand on Intanki National Park should be thus understood and not misinterpreted by anyone for their own purposes.
Michael S. Gorbachev, former President of the USSR and today Chairman of Green Cross International, has warned, “We are the guests, not the masters, of Nature and must develop a new paradigm for development and conflict resolution, based on the costs and benefits to all people and bound by the limits of nature herself rather than by the limits of technology and consumerism”.
According to Bittu Sehgal, Editor, Sanctuary Asia, “Nature feeds the birds in the sky, the fish in our waters and the deer and tigers in our forests…..the Government does not feed the people of the Indian subcontinent- nature does”.
When the forests are gone, water and wildlife will soon follow. Intanki National Park is not for human beings to degrade with thoughtless selfishness and impunity but for the security and general welfare of the coming generations. This is the reason why TPO is appealing to all, to come forward and co-operate to safeguard its wildlife and the priceless assets of pristine Nature preserved for millions of years within its wonderful eco-system.
May we therefore, earnestly request all the Tribal Hohos to recall their fellow community members from the Intanki National Park? We sincerely urge upon one and all not to underestimate the dangerous long-term consequences and to think and act for the larger interest of our people and of mankind instead of being driven by short-term temptations to which all of us are vulnerable. We need to help one another to rise to a higher level of self-limitation together if we are to survive. There is enough in the world for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed. We need to care enough and share enough so that everyone will have enough of our severely limited resources.
Finally, let us all bear in mind that “What is right is right even if nobody is doing it. And what is wrong is wrong even if everybody is doing it”.
Benjamin Lorin,
General Secretary, TPO
Z M Sekhose
President, TPO
The acknowledgement was clearly reaffirmed today by the successive recipients of the said land i.e. the Government of Nagaland in its affidavit in opposition in the Hon’ble Guwahati High Court, Kohima Bench, under WP (C) No. 217 (K) of 2009, by declaring “The Old Beisumpui Village were the original owners of the land covering the present Intanki National Park till it was donated to the Governor in Council in the year 1923 for declaration as a ‘Reserved Forest”. Thus when the donor and the donee have acknowledged the donation of the land, the matter ends then and there itself. And Old Beisumpui Village is a member of Tenyimi Peoples’ Organization (TPO). Let no one try to create confusion with self-serving intentions by fraudulently misinterpreting facts established in official records.
Therefore, the mischievous repeated attempt to meddle with the indisputable historical and legal accounts of the donor and the donee by the self styled Inavi /Hevuto Village, a third party, is highly questionable, condemnable and objectionable to all the right thinking persons.
The TPO did not have any hand with regard to the ‘exchange of land’ between Beisumpuikam and the Government of Nagaland, however, it is hereby clarified that the former made the proposal and the later accepted it and not vice versa. The matter is privy to the duly Government recognized Beisumpuikam Village on one hand and the state Government of Nagaland on the other. But any villager from Beisumpuikam who crosses an inch of land beyond the defined area exchanged, shall be treated as criminal intruders without any prejudice and partialities. The TPO is against all encroachers without any exceptions and discrimination whatsoever. This should be clearly understood to understand TPO’s fight to preserve Intanki for the purpose for which it was created in the first place.
Coming back to the crux of the matter on Intanki National Park, our concern is simply that while Inavi /Hevuto Village is persistently claiming that the learned Mr. T.C.K. Lotha, the then Home Commissioner, allowed Mr. Invavi and his men to establish Inavi Village in ‘Hazadisa’, today they are trying to establish their Villages deep inside the Intanki National Park, approximately 15 km away from ‘Hazadisa’. This is simply an act of sheer criminal intrusion and it encourages many others to follow their example which is not good for them or for the rest of the Nagas. Had Inavi established his Village at ‘Hazadisa’ as was permitted by the Government we would have no objection. Ironically, Inavi/Hevuto Village is not trying to do so as was permitted and we have been compelled to raise the issue of intrusion for the benefit of ALL Nagas, meaning the future generations having a preserved eco-system as their common heritage and for their survival.
The stand of TPO is to promote human rights, to protect victims of gross violation of human rights, to educate and advise our Naga communities about their birth rights, as well as their legal rights and duties and to encourage and help the communities to value and care for the common good above personal benefits sought to be achieved at any cost disregarding the dire consequences for our fragile society. TPO’s stand on Intanki National Park should be thus understood and not misinterpreted by anyone for their own purposes.
Michael S. Gorbachev, former President of the USSR and today Chairman of Green Cross International, has warned, “We are the guests, not the masters, of Nature and must develop a new paradigm for development and conflict resolution, based on the costs and benefits to all people and bound by the limits of nature herself rather than by the limits of technology and consumerism”.
According to Bittu Sehgal, Editor, Sanctuary Asia, “Nature feeds the birds in the sky, the fish in our waters and the deer and tigers in our forests…..the Government does not feed the people of the Indian subcontinent- nature does”.
When the forests are gone, water and wildlife will soon follow. Intanki National Park is not for human beings to degrade with thoughtless selfishness and impunity but for the security and general welfare of the coming generations. This is the reason why TPO is appealing to all, to come forward and co-operate to safeguard its wildlife and the priceless assets of pristine Nature preserved for millions of years within its wonderful eco-system.
May we therefore, earnestly request all the Tribal Hohos to recall their fellow community members from the Intanki National Park? We sincerely urge upon one and all not to underestimate the dangerous long-term consequences and to think and act for the larger interest of our people and of mankind instead of being driven by short-term temptations to which all of us are vulnerable. We need to help one another to rise to a higher level of self-limitation together if we are to survive. There is enough in the world for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed. We need to care enough and share enough so that everyone will have enough of our severely limited resources.
Finally, let us all bear in mind that “What is right is right even if nobody is doing it. And what is wrong is wrong even if everybody is doing it”.
Benjamin Lorin,
General Secretary, TPO
Z M Sekhose
President, TPO
