New Delhi, OCTOBER 24 (MExN): The 13th Morung Dialogue by the Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR), Delhi Chapter was organized on October 20 in Delhi on the Theme, “Imagining a Just Naga Society.”
“The Nagas are at another historic crossroad today. The path we choose today will direct our destiny. NPMHR holds to the idea that dialogues and discussions are the way to chart out a path for ourselves,” a press statement issued by NPMHR said.
Dr Lorin, Principal, Tetso College and Gam A Shimray, Secretary General, Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) were the main speakers of the day. Naga elders, Dr P. Ngully, L. Adani (former UNC President) and Seth Satsang (former ANSAM President) were also present at the Dialogue.
According to the statement, Dr Lorin initiated the dialogue by stating that, “the unity of the people based on peace and justice is most important to the Nagas at this juncture”. He outlined the political history of the Nagas from the Simon Commission to the 3rd August 2015 Framework Agreement (FA) and the present political talk perceived to be at the verge of conclusion, it said.
He pondered as to why the Nagas has signed so many Accords and Agreements in the past many years but expressed encouragement that the Nagas have traversed and come so far with ‘determination and commitment,’ it added.
Gam Shimray, as per the statement, examined the FA briefly and why it is interpreted differently by the two negotiating parties. He analysed the present Naga society and the possibility of establishing a just Naga society and institutions for the Nagas in the same principle of consent making use of the establishment of Naga customary laws and traditions, it said.
While the two negotiating parties blame each other for departing away from the established FA, Shimray observed that this confusion and differences in interpretation can be traced back to the many characteristics and contents left undefined, it added.
He stated that India has its own conceptions of the terms used and itself founded on a very poorly constructed understanding of state and constitution.
This has affected the interpretation of the FA. Therefore, there is no common understanding of the terminologies and political terms used in the FA.”
According to Shimray, Nagas are defined by way of community living. The societal order is based on consensus and ‘consent agreement – to be in agreement’ is deeply rooted in the Naga tradition, the statement said.
“Our laws are not based on legislations but on consensus. Any political party is truly durable if it is consensual in nature. This truth principle needs to be protected and promoted. Consensus decision making also means respecting diversity. The individual sovereignty is lived and respected in the Naga society. This makes everyone equal. Our society gives right to any individual to register a complaint and fight for any wrong. The majority is not necessarily always in the right. This legitimizes the consensus decision making process. The lack of this consensus is what went wrong with the FA. There was no consent. The terms used were not agreed upon in the way one thinks and therefore the differences,” he added.
Shimray, the NPMHR’s statement informed, ended by saying that sovereignty lies with the individual. Constitution is only a consequence of individual sovereignty. Therefore, the Indian concepts of rights cannot define us nor be applied to us, he asserted.
