Nagaland: Rh Raising reflects on 50 years in Naga movement

NSCN (I-M) member of collective leadership and special emissary, Rh Raising, said that his 50 years of national service was sustained by faith in God and unwavering commitment to the Naga national cause.
Speaking at a thanksgiving celebration commemorating five decades of his involvement in the Naga movement, Rh Raising expressed gratitude to God for guiding him through dangers, imprisonment and battlefield hardships, stating that survival through such trials strengthened his faith and resolve.
He recalled joining the movement on December 30, 1975, in the aftermath of the Shillong Accord, which he described as a period of deep confusion and distress for the Nagas. He said the accord was widely understood as a roadblock rather than a solution to the Naga issue.
Raising also recounted the long march undertaken in December 1976 from the Wung Tangkhul region headquarters to the then general headquarters in the East, where he joined revolutionary leaders Isak Chishi Swu and Th Muivah. He noted that only a few of those who participated in the march are alive today.
Describing revolutionary life as fraught with constant danger, he said repeated military offensives and eight years of imprisonment only strengthened his faith and conviction, adding that imprisonment was part of a revolutionary’s journey.
He asserted that the Naga national movement could not be stopped as long as it was anchored in faith and truth, and maintained that resistance would continue until the end.
Rh Raising said he had represented the Naga issue at various international platforms, including the United Nations Earth Charter meeting at The Hague in 2000, where he highlighted human rights conditions in Nagalim even during the peace process.
Highlighting his role in the peace talks, he said he had been a member of the Naga talk team since 2000 and credited the Framework Agreement with the Government of India to the sacrifices of the Naga people, NSCN members, and sustained engagement by successive Indian prime ministers.
He reaffirmed his commitment to the Naga cause following his induction into the Collective Leadership as Special Emissary and thanked leaders, civil society members, church leaders and well-wishers for attending the thanksgiving programme.
Raising said he was honoured by the presence of NSCN (I-M) chairman/yaruiwo Q. Tuccu; ato kilonser Th. Muivah and his wife Ikhris Muivah, deputy ato kilonser ‘lt gen.’ (Retd) V.S. Atem and his wife Pamyola Vashum, along with members of the collective leadership and steering committee led by convener Hutovi Chishi. He also acknowledged the presence of kilo kilonser K.P. Huray, other kilonsers, Longvibu Naga Army ‘lt. gen.’ Honreishang Shadang, senior army officers, public leaders, civil society leaders, church leaders, village authorities, residents of Wungram and Mount View Colony, and others who attended the thanksgiving programme marking his 50 years of national service.