On the eve of ‘77th Naga Independence Day’ on August 14, leaders of several Naga groups have sent out greetings on the occasion.
Sending out his salutation to Naga patriots who sacrificed their lives in the struggle since 1953, NNC president ‘gen.’ (retd) Thinoselie M. Keyho traced the rise of the Naga movement under the NNC to the Naga Club which played a role in highlighting the Naga aspirations through a memorandum submitted to the Simon Commission on January 10,1929 at Kohima.
As a result of the memorandum, he said a small portion of Naga area was kept under British rule and outside the Reformed Scheme of India Act 1935.
Keyho reiterated that NNC owns this unique history of Nagas adding, there will be no compromise and no one will be allowed to hijack this unique history. Keyho also made a special appeal to all his former colleagues now in different camps to rally together again under the slogan- “Nagas are one nation, one people” under the banner of NNC.
NSCN (I-M): Q. Tuccu Yaruiwo (President) NSCN (I-M) in his message, described the day as a “momentous occasion to remind us who we are as a people.” He also paid tributes to well known Naga historical figures such as– T. Aliba Imti, T. Sakhrie, A.Z. Phizo, Khodao Yanthan, Gen. Khole Konyak, chairman Isak Chishi Swu- who gave their everything for Naga independence.
Tuccu also recalled that Mahatma Gandhi had reiterated that “Naga have every right to be independent” and said Nagas are “heavily indebted to him for his courage to stand up for the historical rights of Nagas. He also paid tributes to the Mahatma for being a “sagacious leader of great insight”.