Speech of Gen. (Retd) Thinoselie M Keyho, President, Naga National Council on the occasion of 63rd Naga Republic Day
Dear Nagas, It is only because of the grace of the Almighty God, the rights of the Nagas are protected till date for which we give thanks to Him. On this 63rd Republic Day of the Naga Nation, I on my own behalf and on behalf of the Naga National Council bring greetings and salute all the Nagas who are at home as well as in far away land in the services of the Nation.
Government of India had seen and is aware of the inalienable rights of the Nagas very well. Therefore, India is avoiding any peaceful and meaningful dialogue with the Nagas to settle the “Issue”. All these years, India has been provoking the Nagas with the intention to crush them through brute military power and thereby to invade and take over Nagaland.
The attempted invasion of Nagaland by the Indian Armed Forces had compelled the Naga National Council (NNC) to declare Nagaland as a Republic and accordingly formed the Federal government of Nagaland (FGN) on 22nd March, 1956 and since that day; the Nagas have been defending Nagaland against Indian invasion. The war has been going on for the last 62 years.
It was not by our own power or through our strength that the Nagas could fight the mighty Indian army in war or negotiate with the Indian Government during peace time thus far, but it was only because of our Almighty God’s plan and purpose for the Nagas. I have full faith and confidence that God’s plan is for Nagaland to be an independent sovereign nation among the nations of the world. It is because of this plan that God has granted wisdom to some of our leaders to lay down the foundation of our nationhood while the Indian and many of our neighbors were not aware of it. God has been our pillar and because of this, till date India could not defeat us!
However, in order to let the world know his strength and power and to test the patience and perseverance of the Nagas, God has been putting hurdles in our ways and in these tests, many Nagas had fallen and many had failed miserably.
The first and the most arduous hurdle faced by the Nagas thus far is the 16 – Point Agreement. Government of India thought that Nagas can be easily intimidated to surrender with the sole objective to invade Nagaland. But on seeing the courage, resoluteness and toughness of the Nagas, they changed their approach. If the Indian Government is serious to solve the Naga issue through peaceful negotiation, then it should have negotiated with the parties which were struggling and fighting with the Indian Government, the parties involved in the case, i.e. the Naga National Council and the Federal Government of Nagaland. Unfortunately, leaving aside the parties in the dispute the Government of India chose to negotiate with the “Naga People’s Convention” (NPC), a group nurtured by the Indian agents and signed the 16 – Point Agreement under the Indian Constitution which gave birth to the present illegitimate State of Nagaland.
In signing the 16 – Point Agreement, the Indian Government has committed a serious blunder. The approach and the attitude of the Indian Government towards the Nagas were very wrong. The agreement instead of becoming a solution turned out to be an obstruction to the Naga issue. How can a solution be found without the involvement of the parties engaged in the dispute? The Agreement has clearly indicated the evil designs of Indian Government. Through the agreement, the Indian Government introduced the “Divide and Rule” policy and divided the Nagas. The Indian Government started to play with the Nagas through this State and in the process those who are within the Nagaland State are conveniently being used by India without their knowledge.
The Indian Government rewarded the present state to those who sided with them with the intention to take over the land under the guise of this statehood. Nevertheless, this statehood may turn out to be a trap, a snare and a poison for the Indian Government. This statehood may be a cause of embarrassment for the Indian Government in future. The Naga issue has no connection with the Indian Constitution; however, it was the Indian Government who connected the Naga issue with the Indian Constitution. On the basis of this, the Indian Government has been occupying Nagaland for the last seven decades or so. Nonetheless, how long can they hold to this interpretation? Sooner or later the truth will be out.
The second hurdle for the Nagas was the “Shillong Accord” of 1975.
Through this Accord, the Naga National Workers which was once united under the umbrella of NNC and FGN was divided into two groups- ‘pro’ and ‘Anti’ Shillong Accord of NNC and FGN. Thereafter a group left NNC and FGN and formed the NSCN & GPRN. The national workers kept on disintegrating and now Naga National Workers disintegrated into 9 (nine) different groups out of which presently seven groups are negotiating with the Indian Government. The current negotiation that is going on between the Government of India and the 7 (Seven) Naga groups will at the most reach an “Interim Settlement” only, devoid of “Sovereignty” which is the basic issue to be addressed to.
In this scenario, nothing worthwhile can be achieved. It is a well known fact that Government of India will never settle the “Naga Issue” in the right perspective. Moreover, with the disintegration of Nagas into various groups, humanly speaking, there is no hope.
However, thinking of the past and pondering upon the words of God, we still have hope of achieving our goal for our God is a God who does miracle when man failed and that is why we call him our God. Our God is the God who forced the Egyptian to let the Israelite go to Canaan, He can let the Nagas be free from the clutches of the Indian Government!
Therefore, I once again appeal to all the Nagas to have faith in God and keep on interceding with God for the Nagas. We will surely be victorious one day.
KUKNALIM!
