John Pao
Senapati District
No society can harmoniously organize itself to progress without following certain rational principles. These principles guide the conduct, behaviour, and relationship of the members for the collective welfare of the society. One can divide society into groups or factions without following any rule. However, to rejoin the broken pieces together, we need certain principles without which we cannot rejoin them. We have broken Naga society into pieces, both at the public and Naga National Workers level, for many wrong reasons. Now, without having the right reasons, no amount of calls for unity can bring them together. Therefore, pragmatism demands the rational principles on which we can unite.
Factionalism or division is not limited to national workers alone; it is more prevalent among the Naga public. The Naga public has reduced "the Voice of the people is the voice of God" to the voice of an exclusive group - a tribe or conglomerate of tribes. Yes, some conglomerate of tribes claims to represent the mandate of the “stakeholders.” But who is a stakeholder of the Naga National Movement? Is it not every Naga village is a stakeholder of the Naga National Movement? Other than a conspirator, who can debunk this fundamental truth? That being so, then, do the "stakeholders" really represents the collective will and wishes (voice) of the Naga public or only of a section of the Naga public? Today, the bitter truth is that there is not a single civil organization (a conglomerate of civil organizations) that carries the mandate of the collective voice of the Naga people – the “voice of God”. The voice of collective interest endorsed by all the Naga tribes irrespective of size or geographical location constitutes the ‘voice of the Naga people’ and not otherwise.
It is not the size of the Nagas that drives them to, collectively, fight against, mighty nation, India; however, it is Nagas' inalienable Rights. True, during the struggle, some unfortunate people have betrayed the cause but digging it out will not serve the purpose today. However, we cannot ignore the legitimate rights of others while fighting for our legitimate rights. Every Naga family has paid enough to protect our collective rights. No exclusive civil organization, how big it might be, can alone decide or dictate the destination of the Nagas. Nagas cannot be defined by geopolitical boundaries but by what they are and who they are.
Unfortunately, we have reduced Naga Hoho and Naga Mother Association to nearly a minority voice on one pretext or the other. The Naga public has lost the "voice of God." So, the real issue with the Naga public is how do we regain that "Voice of God"? How long could we pretend to say "our group" alone represents the ‘voice of the people’ and hence the “voice of God”? We can fool fellow human beings but not God. Can the Naga civil organizations come to a common platform to build the voice of the people? The Nagaland Fourteen Tribes have taken a very positive step towards this end. Let us hope and pray that the fourteen tribes do not end with their resolution alone but widen their horizon to create the collective voice of the Nagas. We have to collectively decide for our future, for good or for worse. Any organization advocating divisive ideology among the Naga public by capitalizing on the alleged mistakes of a faction is immoral. The Naga National Organization and the public are not the same no act of dividing the public can be justified by the mistakes allegedly committed by a Naga National Organization.
Every Naga National Organization is working for the cause of the Nagas, of course, it will be wrong to assume all the groups have equally contributed to the National cause. Creating a new faction is a liability and not an asset to the Nagas. Defection is not nation-building. Many Presidents and Prime Ministers over Nagas are a shame and not pride to Nagas. It is wrong for a faction to undermine the legitimate right of others on whatever ground. The contribution to national cause is for empowering the people, not for domination or division. After fighting against India for about 70 years as one family, it will be a betrayal if any faction attempts to retreat from our collective commitment to ‘one people one nation’ on any pretext. Leadership should be purely based on merit and not otherwise. Every Naga National Organization must remember their limitations and mistakes so that they do not repeat but correct them before too late.
No Naga National Organization can ignore the collective voice of the Naga people because it is the supreme authority. True, we have given the mandate to NSCN-IM to negotiate with the government of India but it does not mean they can ignore the collective will and wishes of the Nagas. Yes, unification of factions should be based on the fundamental principle of fairness. The public must give what is due to each faction according to its contribution to the national cause. The public must graciously acknowledge any concrete political achievement made by any faction at any level through rigorous arm and political engagement with the government of India. The faction that contributes more to the national cause desires more appreciation from the Naga public. Any faction that struggles to bring more benefit to the people desires solid support from the public. Before giving such solid support for strengthening the bargaining of the negotiators it is unfair to give a final judgment about the endeavour. Success or failure is another story.
In any Zero-Sum Game (one party gains at the cost of the other party) of negotiation between two selfish players (groups), the best strategy for a player is:
A) Strengthen your bargaining power by threat and plant aggressive misinformation into opponent’s group
B) Weaken your opponent’s bargaining power by dividing them
R.N. Ravi has shrewdly used zero-sum game strategy (India gains at the cost of the Nagas and not win-win) against Nagas to weaken the bargaining power of NSCN-IM for separate Flag and Constitution with threat and aggressively feeding the Nagas with misinformation and dividing the Nagas by making another agreement (Agreed Position) with 7-NNPGs, on the same political issue, on 17th, November 2017, after signing a historic agreement (Framework Agreement) on 3rd August 2015. The Framework Agreement was signed with a majesty proclamation to the whole world by no less than India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi: “The agreement is a shining example of what we can achieve when we deal with each other in a spirit of equality, respect, trust and confidence…We mark not merely the end of a problem but the beginning of a new future…We will not only try to heal wounds and resolve problems, but also be your partner as you restore your pride and prestige… It is a lesson and inspiration in our trouble world.”
Logically, socially and politically, making two agreements for the same political issue itself is the testament of the process of dividing, sawing divisive seed into Naga society and complete negation of Narendra Modi’s international sermon “a lesson and inspiration in our trouble world.” It exposes the true colour of the Great India’s Honesty and Integrity to the whole world.
The data available in the public domain does not support India’s belief in honouring Commitments given in the Agreement. So, only fools will trust India's commitment to an agreement without incorporating such an agreement into the constitution of India. Now, guaranteeing it within the Constitution of India alone cannot be trusted. The unilateral abrogation of Article 370, a bilateral agreement between India and Jammu and Kashmir, is an eye-opener to all the Naga intellectuals about the danger of dishonouring any bilateral agreement by India at any time. Who can guarantee that one day India will not misinterpret any agreement according to its interest or abrogate it on the ground of ‘Existing Reality’? The available data clearly show India has the habit of tempering or tinkering agreement and Never honours it in toto. Therefore, to be on the safe side, any agreement with India should be guaranteed by the Indian constitution and the international community. The Naga Flag is not a piece of cloth, nor is the Naga Constitution a piece of paper. These two elements are Naga’s political identity which will guarantee India’s commitments to agreement by the Indian constitution and international community. We have tasted the honesty and integrity of the Indian government from past agreements for about 75 years. Enough is enough Nagas cannot afford to take 99.9 % political risk.
The hope and future for next-generation Nagas and the welfare of the present generation lie only in the unity of the Nagas. Working for Reconciliation for Naga Unity is for collective interest, whereas resisting or working against Naga Unity is for vested interest. It is logical or natural for those enjoying undue advantage from the existing socio-political system to resist any idea of change and use any means to perpetuate the status quo, for it serves their interest. Therefore, resisting the idea of changing the present division of Nagas on the line of political boundaries might only serve the interests of those selfish-rich individuals both in the long and short-run at the cost of the general Naga public, especially the weaker section of the society, exactly like now.
Not supporting, but only those who work make mistakes. Therefore, the public must give attention to the positive contributions of each faction and not to the negative aspects because positivity breeds positivity and negativity breeds negativity. Wise people see opportunity from every problem whereas unwise people see only problems in every problem. If we start looking at things around us with ‘BUT’ we will end up with unmanageable ‘BUTS’ but if we start with small ‘YES’ we will end up with big ‘YES’ from everyone.
The solution to the Naga internal problem might largely depend upon our ability to establish the 'Voice of God" and acknowledge what is due to each faction. And the strength of our ability lies in our ability to be in the shoes of each other and accept the truth of the matter and not in justifications. The chaos in Naga society is the symptom of the leaders' mind-sickness. In this regard, the Advanced Naga Tribes Leaders have the onus responsibility of first showing the way for other Nagas to follow.
