Working Committee (WC), Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) has clarified that it was not an agent or tool of Government of India (GoI).
Referring to such a “preconceived notion”, the committee in a statement asserted that it comprised of remarkable Naga leaders from different Naga tribes and political entities, “all with great patriotic dreams and visions inherited from forefathers”. It said its leaders understood that Nagas could not remain enslaved to the past. Mentioning that lessons learnt from the past was sufficient, WC pointed out that Indian military invasion and occupation brought much misery to the people in the early decades, while Naga leaders’ ego and pride wiped out a generation in the later decades.
The statement explained that seven Naga political groups were together because Naga people desired unity, stressing a divided people could not build a nation.
WC existed because it was the call of the Nagas and the future must be secured. There were no ego problem, personal ambitions or desires among NNPG leaders either for present or post solution period. There was constant consultation on all major issues with Naga civil societies, tribal hohos, hereditary village elders, intellectuals, the church and peace mediators. All political matters were then thoroughly deliberated within WC prior to talks, the statement added.
According to WC, after 57 rounds of political dialogue in a span of three years, GoI and Nagas were now on the threshold of a new beginning. With an acceptable and honourable solution, it said it believed a robust future lied ahead for “our children”.
With 90,000 Naga youth registered as unemployed in Nagaland and asking question on his/her wretched social and economic condition, the committee asked who was responsible for this mess.
After 22 years of political talks, when a Naga from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam or Manipur declares that Nagaland will cease to exist and replaced by people’s government of Nagalim, WC stressed it was time for Nagaland tribes and inhabitants to wake up from slumber and pinch themselves if they were alive. It also meant Nagaland tribes had grown weak, timid and weary from shouldering Naga national cause since the conflict began. Decades of serving and sharing meals in the morning and at night with Naga brethren from other Naga areas in the name of Naga cause was a thankless job, it added.
Calling upon Nagas not be carried away by propagandas being churned out to confuse “our people” and to ensure demographic invasion of Nagaland, WC asserted that Nagaland could not accommodate Naga brothers from other States without integration. The committee asked Nagaland inhabitants who thought otherwise to demonstrate their generosity by demarcating their own fertile lands first, subject to approval by their tribes, for donation to landless brothers from other Naga areas.
Nagas had killed each other enough in the name of freedom, while in the name of negotiation for 22 years Nagas had faced much hardships, including unlimited taxation and extortion. Apparently the issue of constitution and flag were raised only in the 21st year of negotiation, while GOI was firm that these were issues that Nagas could pursue post solution. Naga tribes, GBs and civil societies had urged for an early solution, pleading contentious issues be kept for future democratic process.
Now, if this appeal of Naga tribes went unheard, WC cautioned that it would mean the negotiation was not for the people and therefore Nagaland should be left undisturbed because It was unwise to play emotional, sentimental and patriotic card at all times, without tending to wailing and dying generations of Nagaland.
Referring to New Delhi recognising political and historical rights of Nagas to “self-determine their future in consonant with their distinct identity in November 2017, WC said this was one historical document that resonated the assertion and sentiment of Mahatma Gandhi that Nagas had every right to be independent and clearly evoked the spirit and essence of May 16, 1951 Naga plebiscite.