Along Longkumer
Morung Express News
Even though there has been no visible sign of forward movement in the Naga peace process, there is every indication that one of the substantive issues in the negotiating table — the unification of contiguous Naga inhabited areas — is now being seriously discussed within the power centers in Delhi. The aftermath of the July 22 trust vote in Parliament, necessitated by the withdrawal of support by the Left Front over the Indo-US nuclear deal, has meant that not only is there a guarantee to take a re-look into the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) vis-a-vis the redrawing of territorial boundaries but there are now powerful lobbies that can be mobilized to push the case for the unification of Naga-inhabited areas.
Outer Manipur Member of Parliament Mani Charenamei disclosed that he was in touch with several allies within the Congress led UPA government. A significant political development is the reported ‘endorsement’ from the Samajwadi Party (SP), which is the UPA government’s most powerful ally. The General Secretary of the SP, Amar Singh, known to have the ears of both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi is reported to have studied in detail, a memorandum submitted to him on unification of Naga areas. After going through the memorandum, Amar Singh reportedly forwarded his ‘recommendation’ to senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee.
“I am positive and hopeful because the SP is the biggest partner of the UPA”, says Charenamei disclosing that he had received a letter from the SP General Secretary informing of the latter’s missive to the Congress high command on the issue. It may be mentioned that a rare mention of the Naga peace talks was heard in the floor of the Lok Sabha just before the July 22 trust vote was to take place. On that occasion, the Naga MP had appealed to the Prime Minister of India to take up the Indo-Naga peace talks “in the right earnest” pointing out that the aspiration of the Naga people must be fulfilled.
For those who missed it, the Naga MP had explicitly pointed out in his speech before the Trust Vote (beamed live on national television) that he had been assured by the UPA government that the Common Minimum Programme of the UPA will be re-examined so that the demand for territorial redrawing of boundaries can be taken up through the available constitutional process. Both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi were seen applauding and thumping their desk after the brief address on the floor of the house by the Naga MP.
Making the case for getting a government-sponsored bill introduced in Parliament, the Member of Parliament from Outer Manipur categorically cleared the air by saying that redrawing of territorial boundary was not an “unconstitutional act”. “No executive or political power has got the authority to violate the constitution”, the Naga MP from Manipur says making reference to provisions related to territorial redrawing of boundaries mentioned in Article 3 and 4 of the Constitution of India.
Charenamei is however aware of the limitations and says there is still a lot of work to be done. But he is keeping his fingers crossed hoping for the right time and more importantly a favourable political climate that will give a push to the unification of Naga areas. He also clarified that he was only acting as a pressure group of the Naga public “ventilating the wishes of the Nagas for a peaceful and lasting solution to the Indo-Naga political issue”.
It may be mentioned that one of the hurdles of the Indo-Naga talks has been the CMP and in particular the Left parties being opposed to any redrawing of territorial boundaries. Ahead of the trust vote, the Outer Manipur MP besides meeting the Prime Minister, was handed a letter of assurance signed by Congress trouble shooter Pranab Mukherjee that the CMP will be re-examined besides another letter endorsed by Oscar Fernandez referring to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) resolution on reorganization of States.
Meanwhile, there are also reports that the Government of India is wary about disturbing the 11-year-old Naga peace process and wanting the parleys with the NSCN-IM to continue, the government is working overtime studying various pros and cons of previous accords signed between the Nagas and the Centre. While it will be too intricate to get into the specifics vis-à-vis the Indo-Naga political talks at this juncture, yet the obvious assumption is that no matter how difficult it may be for Delhi to address the issue, constitutional propriety would demand that the reorganization of territorial boundaries is both permissible and possible. The only thing lacking is the required political will.
The writer is former Editor of The Morung Express and presently the Chief of Bureau
