As a writer who had followed the Naga army right from 1956 to the present, I would like to present the following facts to the Naga public in appreciation of one of the most outstanding army in the world.
1. When the Naga army was formed in the 1950’s as the Safe Guards and then the Home Guards, it was only a rag tag army of courageous and determined soldiers. It became the Naga army only on 3rd Jan. 1964. At its initial stages, among its ranks of officers, there was not a single Military Academy trained officer who was trained in the modern arts of military warfare. Most of their officers were class six seven passed students instructed by some Naga soldiers from the Naga Regiment in Assam and elsewhere. They also did not have any modern weapons like Tanks, Artillery or even Mortars. But in spite of all their draw backs, armed with only some derelict Second World War rifles of a few Bren guns and Sten guns, they were able to hold back a modern army that was assisted by heavy artillery, light armored tanks and even Jet fighters. As to the numbers of this invading Indian army, even at the initial stages, their numbers were over 53,000 troops. The Naga army simply increased their armories with the seized arms of their slain enemies. This rag tag army subsisted in the jungles on almost half rations and starvations though out nineteen years of fierce fightings (1956 to 1975. In these 19 years of fierce battles, they slipped into East Pakistan and even China many times to bring back guns and ammunitions on their backs. They went in batches of hundreds and even thousands but always fought their way back to Nagaland across international boundaries.
Despite their heroic effort and sacrifices, they were not able to defeat India’s mighty armies. But the opposite is equally true- that the Indian army also was never able to defeat the Naga Army in the battlefield. Their fierce battles came to a stalemate when an inter-national Cease Fire was finally agreed to in 1964 by both the parties in conflict.
Now, for a rag tag army like the Naga Army to be able to achieve such an international cease fire with the second biggest army in the world is no mean feat of military achievement. Here, every Naga citizen should salute the personnel of the Naga army for their undefeatable spirit of patriotism to the nation. Never shall their names be ever forgotten in the annals of military history.
Other armies of other nations also have their own unique achievements. For example the Afghan guerrilla fighters under their War lord Sha Masoodh were able to force the Russian army back to Russia from Afghanistan. They were however able to achieve this splendid victory due to the heat seeking Stinger Missiles that were supplied to them by the United States. With these missiles, they were able to blow off the Russian Helicopters and fighter planes from the skies of Afghanistan. Equally splendid was the victory of the Vietnam soldiers who were able to drive out the mighty American forces from Vietnam. But here again, the Vietnam army was assisted by all kinds of modern weapons massively supplied by Russia. In the case of the Naga army whatever arms they could procure from other nations like the then East Pakistan and China were only the arms and ammunitions that they could carry across international boundaries on their bare backs!
2. Another great feat of our Naga army was their successful crossing of the uninhabited and unthrodden Hukwang valley in western Burma. This valley was feared for its impenetrable thick jungles and dangerous terrains. Even the Japanese army who were considered the best foot soldiers in the world was afraid to cross this valley in their quest for the conquest of India in the Second World War. The Japanese army had conquered almost the whole of south East Asia mostly on foot by 1944, and the shortest route for conquest of India would be through the Hukwang valley. But fearing death through starvation, disease and hardships, they came through the Arakan.
On the other hand, our Naga army, not only once, but several times hacked their way across this endless forest. On many occasions, they even had to fight all across the thick jungles for several months. Some of the Naga soldiers who trekked across this valley described their experiences as like walking across a spring mattress as the forest floor was so thick with centuries of decomposed leaves. They also told me that sometimes they walked for weeks not seeing the sun’s light even during daytime. This was because of the tall giant trees that covered the whole valley with their leaves and thick foliage. One of their heroic trips is mentioned in my book “The Naga Saga “under the title, “A journey into the jaws of death”
We Nagas as a nation have a courageous army of which we can all be proud of. At Sakraba, on 3rd January, it was indeed very moving to see all those elderly Generals, Brigadiers, Colonels and even Majors in full uniforms still refusing to surrender. Let us all remember that what we are today is all because of their sacrifices yesterday.
