Heightened focus of political issue caused Nagaland to falter: SC Jamir

Morung Express News
Dimapur | April 18

For more than 6 decades, the Naga political problem and the related issue of sovereignty has remained a staple of the Naga contemporary narrative. The heightened focus on the political issue alone has only caused Nagaland to falter in other essential areas, said Dr SC Jamir. The 5-time Chief Minister of Nagaland and former Governor of 4 Indian states made the observation at a lecture delivered at a World Heritage Day programme organised by the Department of History, Immanuel College, Dimapur, on April 18.  

The organiser’s chosen theme for the lecture was Naga Political Struggle vis-à-vis contemporary political realities. Jamir though took the liberty, re-titling his lecture to “Naga Political struggle vis-a-vis contemporary political reality.” 

While stating that sovereignty alone cannot fulfill the needs of a people, he asserted that it has to be supplemented by economics/economy, education, science and technological accomplishment, socio-cultural growth, along with physical and social infrastructure.” Have we ever thought of the economic sphere of the state? Have we ever discussed about the educational problem of the state? Have we ever discussed about the social problems of the state? We have totally neglected all these issues…” he said. 

According to him, nothing is clear in the present Naga polity. Having a clear idea of the problems “we are facing today” requires understanding the genesis of the Naga political history and what is happening today by adopting an objective approach independent of opinion for or against any political group. 

As opposed to one Naga Political entity— in the form of the NNC at the beginning, he said that the Naga movement has fragmented into different groups. He though maintained that the Naga People’s Convention (NPC), and the subsequent creation of Nagaland state via the signing of the 16-point Agreement, was necessitated to salvage the Nagas from annihilation. In his words, it was a “choice between survival and annihilation.” 

If the Naga people have to survive, he said that the Nagas have to move and adapt to the political and social realities of the contemporary world. “Let us be attuned to the changes of the 21st century,” he said.  On the contrary, he held that the past is consuming the present narrative, rather than being a participant in India’s economic growth. He said, “If you make use of today, the present, then this present alone can create a better future and this present alone can give and make us a history, a good history for the state.”

FA and AP
In the question and answer session that followed the lecture, Jamir was asked on “the most favorable solution” for the Naga political problem. He responded, “I think we have to give sanctity to the agreements” with the NSCN (IM) and Working Committee, Naga National Political Groups (WC, NNPGs). 

He said that though content of the Framework Agreement with the NSCN (IM) has not been made public, whatever may be in the agreement must have been incorporated only after thorough deliberation by both the parties. 

“Therefore, whatever has been agreed upon by NSCN (IM) and WC NNPGs, we have to endorse it,” he said, while adding that the Nagaland Legislative Assembly should also pass a resolution endorsing the two agreements. 

To another question relating to fostering Naga unity, he said that the “only medicine” is thinking like a Naga and not as a single tribal entity. The Nagas fragmenting into different political groups and tribal blocs has been the outcome of tribalism, vested interest, jealousy and narrow-mindedness,” he said, adding, “In the name of sovereignty we have killed ourselves. Sovereignty was killed by us, not by others.”