By the time a Naga student is in high school, he will be well acquainted with the facts that Nagaland became a full-fledged state of the Indian Union in 1963 and that Mr. P. Shilu Ao became the first Chief Minister of Nagaland. We are all aware of the facts that Nagaland became the 16th state of the Indian Union in 1963 and that, ever since then, elections have been held in our state to elect our representatives to the state legislative assembly of Nagaland.
These facts and events are now a part and parcel of our history and there is nothing wrong in knowing these things. In fact, our school going children need to be well aware of these important chapters in our history. However, in knowing and studying about these facts and events, we often tend to ignore, neglect and totally forget the extraordinary circumstances under which Nagaland became the 16th state of the Indian union. Along with the above mentioned facts and events, I sincerely believe that we need to be well aware and acquainted with the extraordinary circumstances under which our state was born. But sadly enough, our high school textbooks do not contain much information about the turmoil and plight experienced by the Nagas between the time India got its independence in 1947 and the birth of the state of Nagaland in 1963. The result being that our high school children often fail to realize the extraordinary and unique circumstances under which the state of Nagaland came into existence.
The state of Nagaland was created through the 16th Point Agreement signed between the Nehru government and the NPC (Naga People’s Convention). This 16th Point Agreement had been earlier drafted by some of the Naga leaders with the intention to find a compromise to the ongoing political turmoil in the Naga hills.
The Nagas had declared their independence on 14th August 1947 and they were all out and adamant in their aspirations not to be a part of the new independent India. It was this stand of the Nagas that compelled the Nehru government to deploy large numbers of paramilitary forces in the Naga hills as Nehru was not at all willing to acknowledge the genuine political aspirations of the Naga people. And the Indian army resorted to brutal use of violence to subjugate the Nagas leading to untold miseries and plight of the Nagas. Thousands and thousands of Nagas were about to perish, Naga women were no longer feeling safe and secure even in their own kitchens and courtyards and army outposts were being set up at the outskirts of almost all the Naga villages.
It was these difficult times that compelled some of the Naga leaders (calling themselves members of the Naga People’s Convention) to draft the 16th Point Agreement and present it to the Indian government for acceptance and necessary action thereof. The Indian government also had been looking for an opportunity to weaken the Naga national movement by resorting to the policy of divide and rule and this 16th Point Agreement drafted by the NPC provided the ample opportunity to the Nehru government to do so.
Moreover, the Naga separatist leader AZ Phizo had already reached London in June 1960 and therefore Nehru realized that an international organization or a powerful nation becoming involved or interested in the Indo-Naga conflict cannot be ruled out. Therefore, Nehru needed to be ready with a situation to project to the world that the Nagas had willingly agreed to be a part of the Indian union. Once again the 16th Point Agreement drafted by the NPC came to the rescue of the Nehru government to do so. Thus, Nagaland became the 16th full-fledged state of the Indian union.
Many people today feel and say that these leaders of the NPC saved the Naga nation and people by drafting and signing the 16th Point Agreement thereby bringing about the birth of the Indian state of Nagaland. These people feel that the NPC leaders did a commendable job by drafting and presenting this Agreement to the Indian government. However, I sincerely believe that if it were not for the prevailing situation in the Naga hills created by our demand for an independent and sovereign Nagaland, the Indian government would have never agreed to this agreement drafted by the NPC. Therefore, even if a person is grateful for the creation of this state of Nagaland in 1961, the real credit here should go to those Naga leaders and people who demanded and fought for the restoration of Naga independence and sovereignty and not to the NPC leaders. This is so because if it were not for the stand taken and the voice raised by leaders like Phizo, the Indian government led by Nehru would have never agreed to these points of agreement presented to them by the NPC. In other words, the Nehru government was not at all willing to let the Nagas live as an independent and sovereign nation. But any other political arrangement was to be acceptable to the Nehru government as long as the Nagas would be left within India’s armpit. And this was the situation that was manipulated and exploited to the utmost by the NPC leaders.
The fact that Nagaland became the 16th full-fledged state of the Indian Union in 1963 is something too good to be true. At that time, the Naga population is believed to be not more than 400,000 whereas the population of the other states of India in existence at that time ran into millions. Moreover, the question of comparing the new state of Nagaland to the other then existing states also certainly does not arise because, in terms of both of size and population, the newly created state of Nagaland was much smaller to even the districts of the other states in existence at that time.
I am also certain that when Nagaland was created as a full-fledged state of the Indian Union in the early 1960s, many Nagas would not have known and realized what this full fledged statehood status within the Indian union would mean and imply for them. I am also certain that many politically alert Indians living in mainland India must have wondered what their own government was trying to do up there in the Naga hills. This is so because the manner in which India came to occupy the Naga hills and subjugate the Nagas was a clear case of naked aggression and nothing else. The creation of Nagaland as the 16th state of the India union under these circumstances clearly establishes the fact that the case of the Nagas was very different and totally unique from any other situation India might have been facing at that time. It also establishes that fact that the Nehru government was well aware of the genuineness of the Naga national movement and that this 16th state of the Indian Union was certainly created not only to placate and appease the Nagas but also to divide them and to create the impression to the outside world that the Nagas had willingly conceded to be a part of India.
Especially for those people who are grateful for this statehood status which we enjoy within the Indian union, I would like to mention that the birth of Nagaland as the 16th state of the Indian union in 1963 has further divided our people and brought about many complications which should not have arisen in the first place. The area presently covered by the state boundary of Nagaland is only about 16,579 sq. km whereas we all have come to know that the real Nagaland should be much bigger than this. In fact it is said that the total area inhabited by the Nagas between the borders of India and Burma should be not less than 100,000 sq. km. If this is so, than the present area covered by our state is not even one-fifth of the total area inhabited by the Nagas in this region of South-East Asia.
So, whom shall we blame for this distortion of our land area and boundary? Of course, I certainly cannot rule out the involvement of the Nehru government in this. I think the Nehru government knowingly did this. And what about the NPC leaders who drafted the 16th Point Agreement and brought about the birth of our state? Did they say anything about the boundary of the new state that was about to be created or did they just leave the matter to the discretion of the Indian government? I sincerely feel that if the NPC leaders had at least taken the initiative to ensure that the new state of Nagaland cover all the lands of the Nagas, than we would not have been facing many of the problems which we are facing today. In fact, this failure on the part of the NPC leaders to ensure that the new state of Nagaland cover all the lands inhabited by the Nagas has far undone the benefits and developments that the creation of this state of Nagaland has brought for us. Considering the kind of situation faced by the Indian government with regard to the Naga issue at that time, I believe that the Nehru government might have even created a state of Nagaland covering all the lands of the Nagas if the NPC Leaders had dared to be very particular and careful enough with regard to the boundary of the Nagaland state that was about to be created.
Therefore, the full-fledged statehood status which we enjoy within the Indian union today might have brought about many benefits and developments for us and it was nothing short of a miracle that we became a full-fledged state within the Indian union as early as 1963. But let us also not forget that this has come at great price and sacrifice……
These facts and events are now a part and parcel of our history and there is nothing wrong in knowing these things. In fact, our school going children need to be well aware of these important chapters in our history. However, in knowing and studying about these facts and events, we often tend to ignore, neglect and totally forget the extraordinary circumstances under which Nagaland became the 16th state of the Indian union. Along with the above mentioned facts and events, I sincerely believe that we need to be well aware and acquainted with the extraordinary circumstances under which our state was born. But sadly enough, our high school textbooks do not contain much information about the turmoil and plight experienced by the Nagas between the time India got its independence in 1947 and the birth of the state of Nagaland in 1963. The result being that our high school children often fail to realize the extraordinary and unique circumstances under which the state of Nagaland came into existence.
The state of Nagaland was created through the 16th Point Agreement signed between the Nehru government and the NPC (Naga People’s Convention). This 16th Point Agreement had been earlier drafted by some of the Naga leaders with the intention to find a compromise to the ongoing political turmoil in the Naga hills.
The Nagas had declared their independence on 14th August 1947 and they were all out and adamant in their aspirations not to be a part of the new independent India. It was this stand of the Nagas that compelled the Nehru government to deploy large numbers of paramilitary forces in the Naga hills as Nehru was not at all willing to acknowledge the genuine political aspirations of the Naga people. And the Indian army resorted to brutal use of violence to subjugate the Nagas leading to untold miseries and plight of the Nagas. Thousands and thousands of Nagas were about to perish, Naga women were no longer feeling safe and secure even in their own kitchens and courtyards and army outposts were being set up at the outskirts of almost all the Naga villages.
It was these difficult times that compelled some of the Naga leaders (calling themselves members of the Naga People’s Convention) to draft the 16th Point Agreement and present it to the Indian government for acceptance and necessary action thereof. The Indian government also had been looking for an opportunity to weaken the Naga national movement by resorting to the policy of divide and rule and this 16th Point Agreement drafted by the NPC provided the ample opportunity to the Nehru government to do so.
Moreover, the Naga separatist leader AZ Phizo had already reached London in June 1960 and therefore Nehru realized that an international organization or a powerful nation becoming involved or interested in the Indo-Naga conflict cannot be ruled out. Therefore, Nehru needed to be ready with a situation to project to the world that the Nagas had willingly agreed to be a part of the Indian union. Once again the 16th Point Agreement drafted by the NPC came to the rescue of the Nehru government to do so. Thus, Nagaland became the 16th full-fledged state of the Indian union.
Many people today feel and say that these leaders of the NPC saved the Naga nation and people by drafting and signing the 16th Point Agreement thereby bringing about the birth of the Indian state of Nagaland. These people feel that the NPC leaders did a commendable job by drafting and presenting this Agreement to the Indian government. However, I sincerely believe that if it were not for the prevailing situation in the Naga hills created by our demand for an independent and sovereign Nagaland, the Indian government would have never agreed to this agreement drafted by the NPC. Therefore, even if a person is grateful for the creation of this state of Nagaland in 1961, the real credit here should go to those Naga leaders and people who demanded and fought for the restoration of Naga independence and sovereignty and not to the NPC leaders. This is so because if it were not for the stand taken and the voice raised by leaders like Phizo, the Indian government led by Nehru would have never agreed to these points of agreement presented to them by the NPC. In other words, the Nehru government was not at all willing to let the Nagas live as an independent and sovereign nation. But any other political arrangement was to be acceptable to the Nehru government as long as the Nagas would be left within India’s armpit. And this was the situation that was manipulated and exploited to the utmost by the NPC leaders.
The fact that Nagaland became the 16th full-fledged state of the Indian Union in 1963 is something too good to be true. At that time, the Naga population is believed to be not more than 400,000 whereas the population of the other states of India in existence at that time ran into millions. Moreover, the question of comparing the new state of Nagaland to the other then existing states also certainly does not arise because, in terms of both of size and population, the newly created state of Nagaland was much smaller to even the districts of the other states in existence at that time.
I am also certain that when Nagaland was created as a full-fledged state of the Indian Union in the early 1960s, many Nagas would not have known and realized what this full fledged statehood status within the Indian union would mean and imply for them. I am also certain that many politically alert Indians living in mainland India must have wondered what their own government was trying to do up there in the Naga hills. This is so because the manner in which India came to occupy the Naga hills and subjugate the Nagas was a clear case of naked aggression and nothing else. The creation of Nagaland as the 16th state of the India union under these circumstances clearly establishes the fact that the case of the Nagas was very different and totally unique from any other situation India might have been facing at that time. It also establishes that fact that the Nehru government was well aware of the genuineness of the Naga national movement and that this 16th state of the Indian Union was certainly created not only to placate and appease the Nagas but also to divide them and to create the impression to the outside world that the Nagas had willingly conceded to be a part of India.
Especially for those people who are grateful for this statehood status which we enjoy within the Indian union, I would like to mention that the birth of Nagaland as the 16th state of the Indian union in 1963 has further divided our people and brought about many complications which should not have arisen in the first place. The area presently covered by the state boundary of Nagaland is only about 16,579 sq. km whereas we all have come to know that the real Nagaland should be much bigger than this. In fact it is said that the total area inhabited by the Nagas between the borders of India and Burma should be not less than 100,000 sq. km. If this is so, than the present area covered by our state is not even one-fifth of the total area inhabited by the Nagas in this region of South-East Asia.
So, whom shall we blame for this distortion of our land area and boundary? Of course, I certainly cannot rule out the involvement of the Nehru government in this. I think the Nehru government knowingly did this. And what about the NPC leaders who drafted the 16th Point Agreement and brought about the birth of our state? Did they say anything about the boundary of the new state that was about to be created or did they just leave the matter to the discretion of the Indian government? I sincerely feel that if the NPC leaders had at least taken the initiative to ensure that the new state of Nagaland cover all the lands of the Nagas, than we would not have been facing many of the problems which we are facing today. In fact, this failure on the part of the NPC leaders to ensure that the new state of Nagaland cover all the lands inhabited by the Nagas has far undone the benefits and developments that the creation of this state of Nagaland has brought for us. Considering the kind of situation faced by the Indian government with regard to the Naga issue at that time, I believe that the Nehru government might have even created a state of Nagaland covering all the lands of the Nagas if the NPC Leaders had dared to be very particular and careful enough with regard to the boundary of the Nagaland state that was about to be created.
Therefore, the full-fledged statehood status which we enjoy within the Indian union today might have brought about many benefits and developments for us and it was nothing short of a miracle that we became a full-fledged state within the Indian union as early as 1963. But let us also not forget that this has come at great price and sacrifice……
