Rev Dr V K Nuh
It would have been a different story if the 16-points Agreement had not been accepted. It is now proved that both the giver and the receiver have made a grave mistake. After this 16-Points Agreement was signed, no conclusive solution had been arrived at.
Now for sixty years, Naga people have gone through insurmountable sufferings. Naga Churches, and the Civil Societies perused the Government of India for the last forty years that, the sooner it is solved the better so that India will be a peaceful country. No Prime Minister of India denied the uniqueness of Naga people’s struggle, but none had the political will to settle the long-standing Indo-Naga political crux. The Federal Government of Nagaland and the Government of India reached its first Cease-Fire in 1964. Six rounds of talk had concluded with the Government of India without success. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India affirmed this way, “Take everything except sovereignty.” Mr. Kughato Sukhai, then the Prime Minister of Federal Government of Nagaland said, “Take everything but give us sovereignty.” In between, they could not find solution. Today, peace talk is still going on between Government of India and the NSCN-IM. Three years back, NDA government’s Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee recognized the uniqueness of Naga history. Today, UPA government again recognized the unique history of the Nagas. Mr. Th. Muivah, Gen. Secretary of the NSCN-IM said, “Federal relations with India, Integration of all contingous Naga inhabited areas.”
A few days back Oscar Fernandes, Union Minister and leader for Indo-Naga peace talks visited Nagaland. His visit had sharp reactions from various quarters because he has no interest to talk to the people of Nagaland. We thought he had come with a specific purpose and to know more about the opinion of the general mass but contrary to that a negative attitude has been shown to the Naga people.
Talks have been concluded forty-two times but most of the writers said it would take time to solve the problem. Now it has been sixty years, leaders should find out solution because most of the documents for talk are in the possession of India. Developing and buying time tactics will not make the problems less; rather it will multiply the problems. One generation have gone but the problems remains the same. If Naga people demand court of justice demanding compensation from the Government of India for burning down 950 villages and for killing two lakh innocent people, will the Government of India be able to pay the price? If the expenditure spent for fighting the Naga resistance had been spent on developmental works then India would have been in a better position. If the Indian Government recognized Naga peoples rights in 1947, by now, India wouldn’t be having problems that is spreading and expanding to adjoining areas and the Nagas should not have been less than any other nations in Asia. With all these rights, will the Government of India be prepared to apologize to the Naga people for forced marriage to the Naga politics? History will not forgive unless wounds are healed through the right perspective. Naga people made six agreements for final political settlements but the Indian Government have no real political will to settle the issue. Any settlement made without the mandate from the Naga people and without unity between factions, any decision or agreement would be disastrous. There will be divisions, bloodshed. Unity must take process and not pre-condition. Reconciliation and Unity must go side by side.
(The writer is General Secretary, Council of Naga Baptist Churches)
