Kaka D. Iralu
All the Indian state political parties that will be contesting the coming elections are saying that they are all for a political settlement between the Government of India and the various Naga factions. They have also said over the years that they would be most willing to vacate their elected seats if a settlement finally dawns. But what have all these political parties been doing ever since a forced election was conducted in Nagaland in 1964? All that they have been doing is enthusiastically participating in Indian elections which will never bring any solution to the Indo-Naga conflict. This is the fact, because it was the 16 Point Agreement (16 P.A.) that paralyzed the possibility of a solution to the Indo-Naga conflict. In fact it was the signatories of the 16 P.A. who compromised the unique status of Naga independence and made it into an issue of internal Indian affairs. But whatever the case may be, it must be remembered that the 99.9% Nagas of the Plebiscite (which was conducted by NNC) were not a party to this treacherous sell out. It also must be remembered that the Federal Government of Nagaland did not sent any representatives to represent them or the NNC in the signing of the 16 Point Agreement.
In the light of these facts, the Indian government can even arrest any collaborators of the 16 P.A. if they refuse to participate in the present Indian elections. India can do this on the grounds of insurgency and treason to the Indian nation because the signatories of the 16 P.A. have already appended their signatures to be a part of India. But the Indian government can never arrest any members of the plebiscite on the grounds that they are insurgents threatening the integrity and sovereignty of India. I hope that some sane Nagas are getting my point that, it was the 16 P.A. that has dumped many Nagas into the Indian bag (bosta!).
In this context, R.N. Ravi, the Indian interlocutor, had stated that “Election and solution are not interrelated.” Here I would disagree with Ravi because it is precisely the introduction and perpetuation of Indian elections in Nagland that has kept a solution of the Indo-Naga conflict in abeyance for all these past 44 years- 1964 to 2018.
In my opinion, for Nagas to hope for a solution while still going for Indian elections is like children playing the gunny bag race. In that children’s game, the participants inside gunny bags, race towards a line of sweets hanging in a line above their heads. Trapped within the gunny bags, they jump up and down until they get hold of a sweet then run back to the finish line to savor their sweets for awhile. Nagas of the 16 P.A. have been playing such a game to the boisterous applause of all Indians and the rest of the world! However, in the final analysis, Nagas can find a way out of those gunny bags and on to a solution by returning back to the NNC and FGN fold. This political institution and government of the Naga people have never betrayed the Naga mandate for a free and independent Nagaland. They did not participate in the 1952 or 1957 Indian general elections because they had never signed any document to be part of the Indian union of 1947 or the republic of India on Jan. 26, 1950. As for the repeated Indian elections in Nagaland, they have never participated in any of these elections. On the other hand, the NNC and FGN position has been one of peaceful resolution, rather than another bloody military confrontation. This was their position when they entered into a ceasefire agreement with the government of India in 1964. This was their position again in the 1975 Shillong Accord when the recommendations of the accord were brought to the Federal Assembly and the then President of the FGN referred them to A.Z. Phizo and the Central Executive Committee for a peaceful resolution. As for the arms of the Federal army, they were submitted to the custody of the Nagaland Peace Council in their pursuit for a peaceful solution.
In conclusion, any signature appended to be a part of India or the Indian Constitution is a damning signature because it would deprive Nagas from having a country they can call their own. Such a signature would reduce Nagas to become refugees in their own motherland and become subjects of another country.
