Since the signing of the ‘Framework Agreement’ between the Government of India (GoI) and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) on August 3, 2015, various authorities including the honorable Home Minister, GoI, RN Ravi, the Interlocutor, Officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs, GoI and the authorities of the Assam Government including the honorable Chief Minister of Assam had been time and again expressing opinions after opinions against the history of the Naga people.
The fact of the history is that since the creation of Nagaland as the 16th. State in the Union of India based on the ’16 Points Agreement’ made between the GoI and Naga People’s Convention (NPC) in 1960, there has been no boundary demarcation between the State of Assam and Nagaland in spite of the facts of Agreement Points No. 12 and 13 that the Inter-State boundary between the two States shall be undertaken in accordance to the Constitutional Provision of Article 3 and 4 of the Constitution of India ‘in due course of time’.
The deliberate failure by the GoI to address this pertinent point of political agreement with the Naga people for all these decades is nothing but to forcefully usurp the ancestral Naga lands approximately measuring to 5000 (4,974.16) square miles under the illegal occupation of the State of Assam.
The Naga people, in no point of time in our history had ever usurped, encroached or claimed other peoples land in our neighborhood.
Although, Nagaland as a State was created based on political agreement of 1960, Naga people joined the Union of India based on the first political agreement made with the then Governor and Premier of the then undivided Assam Province Akbar Ali Hydari and Gobinath Bordoloi as the representative of the Constituent Assembly of the Government of India in June 26-29, 1947 at Kohima with the then undivided Naga National Council (NNC) on the basis of the agreed Point No. 6. Boundaries: ‘That the present administration divisions should be modified so as:-
(i) to bring back into Naga Hills District all the Forests transferred to Sibsagar and Nowgong Districts in the past; and
(ii) to bring under one unified administrative unit as far as possible all Nagas. All the areas so included will be within the scope of the present proposed agreement. No area should be transferred out of Naga Hill without the consent of the Naga National Council.
This is the sole political consideration of the Naga people joining the Union of India.
Having deliberately failed to include this political agreement in the Constitution of India by the Constituent Assembly, the Constitution which was finally adopted in 1950, and the Naga people under the leadership of undivided NNC conducted ‘Plebiscite’ on May 16, 1951 so as to secede from India as an Independent Nation State.
This is the genesis of the Naga National movement for self determination of Naga people.
Since the time immemorial, Naga people had been living in our own God given land without any dispute whatsoever with any community or nation. From Ahom period from 13th. century onwards, people living in the Brahmaputra valley and the Nagas had clear boundary demarcation respecting each other’s dominion. In fact, the Ahom Kings had awarded certain areas in Rengma, Lotha, Ao, Phom and Konyak regions called ‘Naga Ghat’ or gifted areas to Naga people. In the later part of British administration, during 1922-23 financial records, from 23 Naga Ghats taxes had been paid by the tea planters to Naga owners of these Ghats.
After the treaty of Yandaboo in 1826 between British Imperial Government of India and Burma, the British administration penetrated to North-east region of India and by 1837, British Government started levying taxes from Naga villages in Rengma areas. By 1841, the British Government created Rengma Naga Hills and started direct administration over Naga people and then established the first Sub-divisional headquarters at Asaloo in 1852 for administration in Naga areas. It was followed by establishment of separate Naga Hills District in 1866 headquartered at Samagooting, the present Chumukedima and the boundary was defined in 1867 which was comprehensively defined again Vide ‘Foreign Department No. 3386 P, dated 24th. December 1875 covering all the Naga areas from present Sibsagar district to North Cachar Hills, presently Dima Hasao District in Assam which was again rectified Vide Foreign Department Notification No. 988 E, dated 23rd. April 1884.
The British Government, after having demarcated the Naga country from south, west and north for its day today administration, systematically transferred Naga land to Sibsagar and Nowgong Districts (there was no Diphu and Golaghat Districts those days) Vide the following Notifications: i) Transfer of Tracts No. 5646, dated Shillong 9th. December 1898; ii) No. 2491, dated 28th. February 1890; iii) No. 1430, dated 11th. April 1901; iv) No. 988 R, dated 24th. February 1903; v) No. 3874 J, dated 6th. September 1907; and vi) No. 2435 R, dated 26th. September 1923. After the systematic transfer of Naga lands, rich and fertile lands were declared as Reserve Forests so as to systematically exploit all the mineral resources including Petroleum products, Coal reserves, forest products and to establish Tea industries in the Naga territories. Under these transfer of tracts, following 21 Reserve Forests were covered: i) Langting Mupa Reserve Forest: NO. 3454, Dt. 17/08/1915; ii) Krungming Reserve Forest (under present Kachari areas); iii) Nambor Reserve Forest : NO. 5, Dt. 17/10/1878; iv) Addition to Nambor Reserve Forest : NO. 5, Dt. 17/10/1878; v) Upper Daigurung Reserve Forest : NO. 4, Dt. 18/01/1883; vi) Lower Daigurung Reserve Forest : NO. 4, Dt. 18/01/1883; vii) Kaliani Reserve Forest : NO. 47, Dt. 05/08/1887; viii) Mikir Reserve Forest : NO. 5, Dt. 17/10/1887; ix) Diphu Reserve Forest : NO. 25, Dt. 13/04/1887; x) Rengma Reserve Forest: NO. 25, DT. 13/04/1887; xi) Daldali Reserve Forest : Nowgong R. F. NO. 2502, Dt. 22/10/1923; xii) Dhansiri Reserve Forest : Nowgong R. F. NO. 3454, Dt. 17/08/1915; xiii) Lumding Reserve Forest : Nowgong R. F. NO. 3454, Dt. 17/08/1915; xiv) Desema Reserve Forest : Nowgong R. F. NO. 3454, Dt. 17/08/1915; xv) Kaki Reserve Forest : Nowgong R. F. NO. 3454, Dt. 17/08/1915; xvi) Geleki Reserve Forest : Sibsagar R. F. NO. 847R, Dt. 22/02/1918; xvii) Tiru Reserve Forest : Sibsagar R. F. NO. 847R, Dt. 22/02/1918; xviii) Kakodanga Reserve Forest : Sibsagar R. F. NO. 367, Dt. 30/06/1910; xix) Desoi (Tsurang) Valley Reserve Forest : Naga Hills R. F. NO. 235 TR, Dt. 19/02/1918; xx) Desoi Reserve Forest: Sibsagar R. F. NO. 45, Dt. 21/11/1883; and, xxi) Doyang Reserve Forest: Sibsagar R. F. NO. 28, Dt. 31/07/1888.
Therefore, Naga people had never ever claimed other people’s land nor shall we give away even an inch of our ancestral land that is under the illegal occupation of the State of Assam.
Naga lands under Assam State was never a disputed area as willfully and unilaterally enforced by the Government of Assam with the tacit approval from the GoI through the imposition of ‘Assam Disturbed Area Act, 1955’ and ‘Armed Forces(Assam & Manipur) Special Powers Act, 1957 during 1967 in the occupied Naga areas in Assam.
The Government of Assam cannot simply over-look the history of Naga people over its territories nor can the Government of India prolong its deliberate attempt to allow the Assam Government to forcefully occupy the ancestral, traditional, historical and political Naga lands in Assam.
The present ongoing litigation process of ‘Civil Suit No. 2 of 1988’ in the honorable Supreme Court of India filed by the then AGP Government of Assam in 1988 has taken 3 decades now without any tangible ruling. Taking this pending case as being subjudiced, the successive Government of Assam have made all the Naga territories in Assam as a buffer-zone for settlement of people of questionable origins allowing various militant groups to operate against the hapless Naga people living in the border areas.
While applauding the recent positive development of the 6 Naga National Political Groups for signing an agreement to enter into a political dialogue with the GoI on 17th. November 2017, the Naga people are expectantly awaiting the acceptable and honorable political resolution sooner or later. But any political resolution without restoring the ancestral, traditional, historical and political Naga lands under the illegal occupation of Assam to its rightful owner, the much awaited political solution may become unacceptable to the Naga people.
Hukavi T Yeputhomi, Chairman, United Naga tribes Association on Border Areas (UNTABA) Imsumongba Pongen, General Secretary, United Naga tribes Association on Border Areas (UNTABA)
