Expanding the Identity Naga Nation and Threat to Integrity of Neighbouring Indian States
- Part 4 -

H Bhuban Singh *

Division Of The Movement

The abduction, torture and killing of T Sakhrie by his own people saw the splitting of the movement into two with the majority of the Nagas finding themselves literally between the devil and the deep blue sea—on the one hand, the Indian troops harassed, tortured, raped and herded villagers into concentration camps and burned their granaries, and on, the other hand, for the first and severest time in the history of Naga movement for self determination, Nagas began to hunt, torture and kill fellow Nagas which, understandably, divided the sympathy of the Naga people.

The movement too, was divided and it fell into disarray. Several thousands of Nagas were killed; thousands more were tortured in the most inhuman manner; and the rest—the innocent public—suffered in the agony of having their loved ones killed and tortured. Theirs was but to live in perpetual fear. They feared the Indian army, and they also feared their own people in the jungles. They neither liked the hammer nor the anvil.

And the sorry part of the whole saga of suffering was that there was nothing the world could do. Human rights awareness in these parts of the world in 1950s was almost absent and the innocents cried in silence and shed unseen tears.

The insensibility of the whole thing became simply mind boggling but a clear conclusion dawned on the people. If the insanity was allowed to continue any longer, the very survival of the Nagas as a people would be put on the very brink of annihilation. The people could not work their fields. They could not live their normal lives. And since agriculture was, as is, the mainstay of the Nagas, the spectre of a widespread famine loomed large on the horizons.

Hell On Earth

It became obvious that we had overestimated our strength and that the Government of India underestimated our capabilities to fight a long-drawn battle. At the same time, it also became painfully obvious that the public have suffered enough—too much blood had been shed and too many precious lives have been lost. Wives became widows and children became orphans; there was not a single family in all the Naga villages which had not lost a near and dear one to the atrocities of either Indian Army or the Naga undergrounds. The movement had become a nightmare for the Nagas.

The then prevailing situation in these hills was worse than the Hobbesian State of Nature where the worst in man was let loose upon their fellow beings. It was worse because fear, hatred and worst of all, suspicion was sown in the minds of the villagers for the first time. Villagers became suspicious of each other as a new group of people popularly known as intiligin (people who were under the employ of the Military Intelligence) were recruited to spy and report on the activities of the underground as well as the villagers. The Government of India was clear that sovereignty was not possible under any circumstances. And also sensing the mood of despondency among the people, it made clear that status quo should continue and the Naga Hills would remain as a district of Assam. It seemed as if the Naga people had no future.

It seemed as if the Nagas were destined to be lost in the multitude of people with alien culture, different thinking and aspirations.

It also appeared that the Naga movement initiated by Phizo had reached a dead end. And it was at this time that a few educated and patriotic persons who felt that the Naga people took stock of the then prevailing situation, and resolved that even if Independence was not possible, the land, identity and individuality of the Naga people should never be compromised with by remaining as a district of Assam. The choice was between survival and annihilation—the choice was between being submerged forever in Assam, or being recognised as a distinct entity having the freedom to exercise our traditional rights and respected as a people, or being trampled under the weight of dictatorship.

The generations of today cannot imagine the distress that the leaders of those days went through to take these choices. Many of these leaders were killed just because they voiced their feelings and convictions. But it is to their eternal credit that they did not take any decisions hastily or without consultations. They were, true to the spirit of the Naga ancestors, genuine democrats.

They consulted and discussed all these issues in minute details with all the different tribes and even with those living outside Nagaland. Their sole intention was to ameliorate and alleviate the sufferings of the people and their efforts would be better appreciated when considered along with the fact that transport and communication as well as security in those days was nothing to write home about.

However, the conviction that each and every group of Nagas should be thoroughly consulted before taking such a momentous decision as drawing up any agreement with the Government of India, overcame all hesitations and difficulties. Moreover, the leaders of that period took utmost care to ensure the voice and opinions of the villagers were heard, and a consensus was reached. After due deliberations and ensuring that all the tribes made their feelings known, the Naga People's Convention was formed and a series of meetings were held at Kohima in 1957, at Ungma in 1958 and at Mokokchung in 1959 to seek the opinion of the people before responding to the invitation of the Government of India.

It was understood from the very beginning that decisions would only be taken with the approval of the majority, and though not easy by any means to bring about a consensus opinion among the various, hitherto not too familiar tribes, a unanimous decision was worked out at long last. And after protracted negotiations with the Government of India, the 16-Point Agreement was signed in 1960 and the State of Nagaland born in 1963.

Covenant To End A War

This Agreement is a remarkable document and it was the first of its kind signed by the Government with any section of its people. Nagaland is the only State born out of an agreement. This is indeed remarkable in the days when Delhi followed an iron-hand policy as far as integration of the country was concerned. Statehood of Nagaland was the amalgamation of the aspirations of the people especially their aspirations to live in peace, normalcy and prosperity.

It was a covenant without a battle to end a senseless war, and credit must go to the Naga leaders who had the rational desire and human instinct to escape from the senseless conditions of war that prevailed at that point of time. And it gave the Nagas worth and significance in the eyes of the world.

Statehood - Bedrock of Naga Society

Statehood also gave the Nagas a sense of unity, identity and political entity for the very first time. Tuensang and Mon areas were merged with the new State and the representatives of these areas were represented for the first time in policy-making for the development of the people. It established parliamentary democracy in our society and ensured that the destiny of the Nagas would be decided and charted by the Nagas themselves and not by someone alien to their ways of life.

At the same time, recognising the need to preserve our culture, traditions and customary laws, a special provision was added in the Constitution of India. Article 371 A of the Constitution gaurantees that, unless the Legislative Assembly of Nagaland so decides, no Act of the Indian Parliament would apply to the State of Nagaland in respect of—
i) Religious and social practices of the Nagas
ii) Naga customary laws and procedures
iii) Administration of civil and criminal justice involving decisions according to Naga customary laws and
iv) Ownership and transfer of land and its resources.

In all respects, this is no mean achievement. But it is easy to belittle these achievements today and cast unwanted and unfair aspersions on the leaders who made it possible. It is also easy to sit in the comforts of one's home, enjoy the fruits of Statehood and make unfair comments, forgetting all the trials and tribulations that went into giving the Nagas an honourable place in the Indian Union.

37 Years Of Statehood

It has indeed, been a long and winding road for the Nagas in the last 37 years of Statehood. But nevertheless, we have come far and we have reasons to boast of our achievements.

In 1963, the population of the State stood at 3.69 lakh out of whom barely 18% or sixty-six thousand people were literate. There was not a single college in the whole State and there were only two Government High Schools, 11 middle schools and 180 primary schools. There were only two civil hospitals and a handful of smaller hospitals and dispensaries in few places. Basic amenities such as water and electric supply were non-existent

Black-topped roads stretched for hardly 168 kilometres and the remaining roads barely reached a few administrative headquarters. The total fund allocation for the entire Naga Hills Tuensang Area in 1963 amounted to a paltry Rs 3.88 crore with a few hundred Government servants running the affairs of the State Government.

The State Legislative Assembly has voted a budget of Rs 1,725 crore for the year 2000-2001. And this directly reflects on the amount of investment and the degree of development the people of Nagaland has made in the last three-plus decades. Houses even in the remotest areas have CGI roofings with roads leading to them. Schools, play grounds, electricity and health care facilities have been provided to one and all. Our literacy rate stands at 83%, ranking among the highest in the whole country. Above all, we have our own elected legislators and about a lakh of government servants to run the government thereby enabling us to determine our own destiny.

To be continued....