As the planned Naga Reconciliation meeting slated for February 29, 2012 finally arrives, there is an air of expectancy in the minds of many ordinary Nagas. The public mood however appears to be a mixed one—mostly optimistic we should say with a yearning for a new day and yet cautious, knowing the familiar stories of failure. As for this newspaper, once this all important day ends and we go back to write our report for the next day’s edition, we want that it will be a story of hope. Despite our youth and exuberance as a young newspaper ours is a deep rooted belief in a better future for the Naga people. This is something that we want to see during this lifetime. Many of our elders—those who have struggled to lead the Naga cause, their time is running out—not their morale or conviction in the cause but in the physical life, they are reaching their sunset years. So perhaps the February 29 public meeting could be the very few opportunities left for the Naga comrades to reason together and unite. The Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR), which is behind this Naga Reconciliation Meeting, has in a press note informed that it was going to share with the people its experiences in the reconciliation meeting. We hope that FNR will do more then just this because the focus should be on a forward looking agenda—uniting for a solution and how to go about doing this.
The Naga national groups must go to Delhi in one voice. We can achieve our goal once we are united in our purpose. This Naga reconciliation meeting is going to be no ordinary gathering. It is going to be a historic moment in time and we need to seize this God given opportunity—to heal the wounds of the past and to renew our spirit so that this will allow us to arrive at a shared future. Then the other thing is that unless the Naga national workers regroup themselves, further delay could lead to more division and mutual suspicion among the Nagas. Also if Nagas want to avoid falling into the familiar bait of the so called ‘packages’ and financial largesse, which can easily distract and blind us, then wisdom demands that the Naga national groups come together quickly and take control of the political process. This will ensure that the peace process is not hijacked by circumstances like it happened in the past agreement.
As mentioned earlier, while we talk of uniting for a solution, the other challenge before the Naga Reconciliation meeting will be on how to go about doing this. The February 29 meeting should be that time for the Nagas to apply their collective wisdom to explore and find a way that best addresses the challenge of coming to a meeting point. A national unity government in the present Naga context may or may not work but we have nothing to lose even if we make an attempt to broker some form of a power sharing arrangement. No one will disagree that the mandate of the Naga public is for all Naga political groups to work together to resolve the political issue with India. Peace talks with the Government of India will take care of itself if Nagas speak in unison and through a common platform. An inclusive national unity government is something that must be worked and agreed upon. This can take forward the political negotiation with the Government of India to its logical conclusion. The opportunity is here today and the time is running out.
