Earlier, on Jan.27,2002 and Feb.15&18,2003, under articles titled as “The illegality of Indian Elections in Nagaland and “The 16 point Agreement- The greatest betrayal in Naga history,” I had extensively written about the betrayal of Naga history by Nagas and the illegality of Indian elections in Nagaland. I will therefore not repeat what I have already written. In this present article, I only wish to state why I do not participate in the Indian Nagaland elections. Any reader interested in seeing my afore mentioned second article can go to my website which is http://nagas.sytes.net/~kaka/.
Coming to the topic, the following historical facts are the reasons why I do not participate in the Indian elections in Nagaland.
Half a century has passed since the 16 Point Agreement was signed in 1961.Going back into history, in 1961, Nagaland was a wasteland of burnt villages and broken lives as more than 53000 Indian troops moved into Nagaland in 1955 and occupied almost every Naga village with an army outpost. After the 1957 Amnesty offer, most villagers came back to their burnt villages only to be again herded into the concentration camps of 1957-58. By 1960, most of the villages had been hastily rebuilt. But the war was still going on in all its fury. And in the midst of all these turmoil and sufferings, The Naga People’s Convention (NPC) delegates met the Indian Prime Minister Nehru in Delhi on July 27, 1960 with their 16 Point Agreement draft and subsequently Nagaland became a fully fledged state under the Constitution of India in 1961.
That the NPC and the 16 Point agreement brought some benefits to the Nagas in the past 52 years cannot be denied. However it also cannot be denied that had the NPC not interfered in the NNC affairs, Nagas may have become independent today with the help of other neighbor nations and be even ten times economically and politically more advanced than what we are under India today.
Historical facts behind the Naga People Convention and the 16 Point Agreement that brought Indian elections into Naga country:
The actual historical facts are one where from Feb 1946 (Formation of the NNC) to March 1956, the whole Naga nation for ten years, solidly stood together to affirm and defend their sovereignty and independence. As for the NPC, it came into existence only ten years later in March 1956 under the guidance of S.M.Dutt the then Deputy Director of the I.B. Shillong (For details, see “My Years with Nehru”; B.N Mulik, p310). The formation of the NPC was only after the 53000 Indian troops had moved into Nagaland in Oct 1955 and had burnt Nagaland to ashes with hundreds of thousand perishing in the holocaust.
As for the members of the NPC who later signed the 16 Point Agreement, many of them in fact, actively participated in carrying the Plebiscite papers to their respective villages and ranges, when the Naga National Plebiscite was conducted in May, 1951.Tragically, or may be treacherously is the more appropriate word- by 1961(ten years later), they had forgotten all about their Plebiscite and were now willing to do business with India even if it meant selling away the deaths of over 100000 Nagas who had died for their Plebiscite and a whole nation that had suffered terrible sacrifices for the same.
As to how the NPC was conceived and organized by the Indian Intelligence Bureau, Mulik went on to write:
“Dutt conceived the brilliant idea of mobilizing those members of the NNC Executive Council who had broken away from Phizo… and convening an all tribal conference of the Nagas with their help. Dutt was fully supported by us in this move and I personally kept the Prime Minister and the Home Minister informed and they were also quite taken up with this idea and wanted this to be done. This conference was to be called at Jakhama in the Naga Hills District in the beginning of March 1956. It was also planned that this conference would depose Phizo from the Presidentship of the NNC and denounce the Federal Government…” (For fuller details; read Mulik’s book as well as “The Naga Saga” pp15-19)
As for Phizo and the 99.9% Nagas of the Plebiscite, they refused to surrender to the treacherous betrayal of the 16 Point Agreement. From London, Phizo continued to plead with the Naga People’s Convention not to go any further and conduct an election in Nagaland. In letters after letters running into thousands and thousands of words, he pleaded with the NPC members not to go ahead with the Indian Elections in Nagaland. In one such letter he had written:
“If we simply barter away the birthright of our posterity due to fear or through selfishness, we shall have committed an unpardonable sin…”
In another letter he wrote:
“But for Shilu Ao or any other Naga to compel our people to do things against their will, and that with the force of the Indian army, it is most unthinkable. We shall never agree to such a betrayal…”
In one of his last letters, dated December 5, 1963, Phizo even went so far as to write:
“The so-called Interim Body will be burying the Nagas alive if the proposed election takes place…”
(For details of Phizo’s quoted words, see “Reminiscences of Correspondences with A.Z.Phizo”, pp.13, 25, by S.C.Jamir, March 31, 1998).
However, the Naga People’s Convention and the Interim Body in collaboration with the Indian Government went ahead with the first election in Nagaland on January 10-16, 1964.
As to how this first election was conducted, let me just quote an NNC report from longkhum village dated13th Jan 1964.
“After suppressing for 28 hours, on 13th January 1964, the innocent villagers were flocked together and led to polling station. A strict roll call was conducted demanding each of the villagers to cast their votes for the new state at gun point.”
If any Naga wishes to confirm these facts, ask any old men in any village and they will tell you how in contrast to your enthusiastic participation of today, they were in their times, forced at gunpoint to vote for India. Some of them may even show you bullet wounds that they received when they tried to flee from this forced election.
As for me, because of all these historical facts, to walk to the polling booths and cast my vote for the Indian elections in Nagaland is to walk over the blood and tears of my own kith and kin and justify India to rule over us. In this present disgusting period of Naga history, seemingly alone, what can I do? But at least, my non-participation in the elections will be my silent salute to all our fallen heroes who had sacrificed their yesterday so that we can have a country we can call our own. Long live- Free Independent Nagaland.
Kaka D. Iralu
