Turf wars are fought by Gangsters who claim certain territories in a city or region as their own private territory of operations. These gangsters are rich Drug Lords or gun dealers with a lot of money, guns and brutal killers. They are the worst of criminals and show no mercy in eliminating their rival gangs in these turf wars.
I want to ask our national leaders whether we are fighting against invasion forces who have forcefully occupied our national territory or fighting among ourselves after dividing our national lands into factional territories and turf zones? I ask this question because for the past fifteen years or so, we have not heard or read about a single enemy slain in battle but only of many of our own soldiers killed in internal territorial wars. It was indeed very disturbing to read in the local papers, one faction justifying their slaying of their own blood brothers on the grounds that the other faction had “come into our kitchen.” This obviously means that the other faction had advanced right into the heart of their territory. The question I am compelled to ask is: Who has given these factions, the authority and power to divide our common national lands into “our territory’ and “their territory,” and kill one another over territorial intrusion charges.
As far as our one and only Yehzabo is concerned, the Naga territories are defined as “all the territories inhabited by the indigenous Naga tribes.”(Article 1) As for citizenship, very man or woman in whose veins flows Naga blood is a citizen of Nagaland. Each citizen is free to roam and settle in any region of Nagaland after giving due recognition to the regional authorities. (Article 6) Therefore, under our Yehzabo of Nagaland, the land is one and the people are also one.
Contrary to the provisions of this Naga Yehzabo, there is also of course the Indian Government demarcated “designated camps” and areas for the various factions. I hope our national leaders are not recognizing and defending these Indian demarcated areas as if the Indian Government is our landlord and they have to defend their own India apportioned areas.
In short, what in the world has happened to our national struggle for freedom and liberty from external oppression? Has our noble struggle, under the miss- guided leadership of some of our own leaders, degenerated into turf wars of this faction against that faction or this tribe against that tribe? A game- a petty personal game- where our leaders are shedding precious Naga blood for protecting their own India apportioned territories?
Kaka D. Iralu
