Hopes NSF and Naga Club will ‘come together in the spirit of maturity’
KOHIMA, OCTOBER 16 (MExN): The Kohima Village Council (KVC) today informed that it has decided not to participate in either of the centenary celebrations for the Naga Club, scheduled to be conducted separately by the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) and the Naga Club.
This was decided in a meeting held on October 15, which included the descendents of 8 signatories of the Memorandum to the Simon Commission from Kohima Village, informed a press note from KVC Chairman, Dr Neiphi Kire and Secretary, Zeneizo Rutsa.
The meeting reportedly resolved that the “history of the Naga Club must be factually recorded for posterity.” The KVC said that there is an “erroneous understanding” that the Naga Club was formed by Nagas who were in the Labour Corps and fought in World War 1 (1914-1918). Instead, it said that the Naga Club was “actually formed by a few salaried people comprising of Masters, interpreters, clerks of the Deputy Commissioner’s Office of the then Naga Hills before the arrival of the Naga Labour Corps.”
“The Naga Club was formed on 7th January 1918 while the Naga Labor Corps arrived from France only by June 1918 and they formed the Naga Elders Union. Therefore, the Naga Club was not formed by the returnees of Naga Labor Corps,” the KVC supplemented. It however noted that the signatories of the representation letter to the Simon Commission included Captain Dr. Khosa Zinyü, who was a Labor Corps returnee.
“On receiving news of the arrival of the Simon Commission, the members decided to write a representation which was drafted by Ruzhükhrie Sekhose. This visionary and inclusive document, asking to be left alone to determine their future by themselves and not to be included within the reformed scheme of India, set the political aspiration and goal for the Nagas for the first time,” it said.
“As we enter a new Centenary for the Naga Club, it is indeed regrettable that the Angami Public Organization (APO) could not broker peace between the Naga Club and the Naga Students Federation (NSF), two of the most experienced and intellectual Naga bodies,” the KVC lamented. It informed that the twin celebrations involve formal ceremonies “which are almost replications of each other including unveiling of respective monoliths to mark the momentous occasion.”
“The very act of commemorating 100 years of Naga Club by erecting two monoliths makes a mockery of the vision of the Naga Club and also diminishes the solemnity of the occasion,” the KVC viewed.
The KVC added that it fails to see any reason why there could not be a joint celebration of the event “when the main objective in observing the Centennial Celebration of Naga Club remains the same for both the Naga Club and NSF.”
It however expressed hope that “good sense will prevail and the two organizations will come together in the spirit of maturity, give and take, and preserve the vision of the Naga Club and Simon Commission, encompassing all the Nagas before causing further permanent damage.”
