A Naga flag flutters in the wind as the 80th Naga Independence Day commemoration programme was held on August 14 at Naga Solidarity Park, Kohima.
NSF, ENSF leaders call for unity on Naga Independence Day
Morung Express News
Kohima | August 14
The 80th Naga Independence Day commemoration programme was observed on August 14 with calls for Naga unity, preservation of the community’s collective identity and an early, honourable settlement to the Naga political issue.
Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) president Mteisuding described the occasion as a significant day for the Naga people and said the community had continued to live with dignity despite decades of political conflict and challenges. He reminded young Nagas that the NSF was established not merely to represent students but also to carry forward the aspirations and rights of the Naga people.
Mteisudang said Naga leaders and visionaries came together in 1946, leading to the formal formation of the NSF on October 29, 1947. He said the federation had since remained engaged with issues affecting students, young people and the wider Naga public.
He said the present generation owed Naga leaders who had sacrificed their lives and time for the Naga cause a deep sense of gratitude. He recalled the July 19, 1947 meeting between a Naga delegation led by AZ Phizo and Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi. He referred to Gandhi’s reported assurance that the Nagas should not be forced into the Indian Union if they did not wish to be part of it.
Mteisudang said the historical developments surrounding the period continued to form an important part of why Nagas observe August 14 as Naga Independence Day. He said the day should not be reduced to a ceremonial gathering but be remembered as a historic moment in the Naga political journey.
The NSF president called on the Government of India to honour the commitments made towards finding a solution. “We call for the finalisation of an honourable settlement based on the principle of coexistence,” he said. He further appealed to all Naga political groups to set aside differences and work towards a settlement that would be mutually acceptable and beneficial.
Mteisudang also referred to a resolution adopted during the NSF’s second Federal Assembly at Jhumpa village in present-day Western Karbi Anglong, Assam, saying the federation had resolved to strengthen the unity of Nagas across administrative boundaries and protect their collective identity. He also called on Naga political groups to refrain from recruiting non-Nagas into the Naga political movement.
The NSF president also called for Nagas to put aside tribal and individual differences and work towards a shared destiny. “First Naga, second Naga and last Naga,” he said, urging the people to remain committed to “one destiny, one aspiration, one people and one determination.”
Meanwhile, Eastern Naga Students’ Federation (ENSF) president, Nuhemong Yimchunger spoke of the distinct identity, heritage, culture and customary practices of the Naga people.
He said Nagas had faced repeated attempts to overpower or divide them but had continued to stand firm, crediting the courage, conviction and sacrifices of past leaders for keeping the Naga identity alive.
Referring to the geographical and administrative divisions among the Nagas, the ENSF president said the common aspiration of the people had never been confined by political boundaries. He urged the younger generation to carry forward the sense of unity and patriotism instilled by their elders and to continue working towards the common aspirations of the Naga people.
He also cautioned Naga leaders and organisations against remaining in their comfort zones, saying the future generation would judge the present generation by the choices it made today.
He said the Naga aspiration may take time to realise, but maintaining unity, love, harmony and care for one another would keep the common dream alive. The celebration, he said, should serve as a reminder that the Naga struggle was not the responsibility of any single tribe or individual but a collective responsibility of the Naga people.
“We still have a fight to fight- not as individuals, but as Nagas,” he said.
