A pioneer of the ‘Naga Freedom Movement’, even in death Late Yongkongangshi Longchar remained virtually unconquered. In refusing to let his mortal remains be brought back home, Late Yongkongangshi was only upholding the sovereignty of the Naga people, a cause that remained dear to his heart till the end. For him it appeared that there was no question of coming back even if it meant languishing in a foreign land far away from home. To return would have been as good as surrendering to India. There is no doubt that like Late AZ Phizo, Yongkong, as he was more popularly known, sacrificed everything he had for the cause he believed in. For Yongkong, it was a mission for which he had been sent by the Naga people and until this mission was fulfilled, there was no way he could face the people, empty handed and dreams unfulfilled. More than anything else, the life story of Yongkongangshi is the story of the unflinching commitment that he had for the cause of the Naga nation.
For the Naga people, in more ways than one, the passing away of Yongkong has a number of poignant messages that needs to be understood and addressed. There is no doubt that Yonkong was a staunch believer of unity and had opposed tooth and nail the division among the Nagas and had remained independent of any faction. For him, loyalty, as a matter of principle, was to a higher cause and not to any particular leader or faction. The message that Yongkong had conveyed before his death that neither his bones nor ashes should be brought back to a ‘factionalized land’ is a stark reminder that all is not well in the land. For the Nagas, it is rather a matter of shame that it cannot honor its dead because of their own shortcomings. Yongkong’s refusal to be buried at home could well have been because of the inner turmoil that he saw in his homeland and the manner in which the Naga cause has been twirled by a deep seeded power struggle that refuses to see reason to this day.
Yongkong’s contributions to the history of his people will hopefully not go unnoticed. Especially for the younger generation Yongkong had what it takes to be admired as a ‘leader among leaders’ and as someone who sacrificed his self for something more worthwhile which he envisioned, i.e. the inherent right of the Nagas to be independent as a sovereign nation state. Late Yongkong will be remembered most for his unwavering faith in this cause which he defended even in his death. The appeal of freedom could not however bring much joy to a national leader such as Yongkong. For him freedom was undeniably linked to the unity of the Naga people and until this truth was realized, Naga people’s struggle would remain in vain. As much as Yongkong was concerned about the deployment of foreign troops in his home soil, he remained convinced that in order to save the Naga country or to lose it depended entirely on the Naga people themselves. This must be Late Yongkong’s indomitable message to the present and future generation of Nagas.
