More than calling back from UNC : Acceptable to the Zeliangrongs ?
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: October 26 2018 -

It is interesting and to be sure it will be something much more than the act of merely calling back a nominee to an organisation such as the United Naga Council (UNC), but the Zeliangrong Baudi has done that exactly and called back UNC president Gaidon Kamei.

The very term ‘calling back’ is an indication that it is the ZB which nominated Gaidon Kamei to the UNC and now that he has been called back, it should mean that he has ceased to be the president of the UNC.

The internal politics at work is best left to the Zeliangrong community to work out, but the timing of ‘calling back’ cannot miss the eye-coming as it is just before the 12 hours ‘Naga area’ bandh called by the UNC on October 31.

How things will unfold is not yet known and in all probability Gaidon Kamei will continue as the president of the UNC, for everyone knows that ZB does not lord over the UNC.

The question is, will the decision to call back Gaidon Kamei have an impact on the proposed 12 hours bandh ?

If the answer is in the affirmative then one may say that the bandh will not have much of an impact in areas where the writ of the ZB runs.

It is the internal politics at play that is extremely interesting to watch and this is where the observation that it should be seen beyond the decision to call back Gaidon Kamei gains credence.

In fact the issue at hand may be seen in the larger context of the great Naga Nation, a cause championed and given shape by the NSCN (IM).

It should also be understood in the context of the decision of the NSCN (IM) to do away with the term Zeliangrong and instead recognise the tribe making up the Zeliangrong family as Liangmai, Zeme, Rongmei, etc.

The stand of the Zeliangrong Baudi is clear.

In calling back Gaidon Kamei, it is also indirectly stating that it would be better for the Zeliangrong people to part ways with the UNC.

How this will go down with the Naga family is another point but a powerful statement has been delivered.

Hence the observation that recalling Gaidon Kamei from the UNC should be seen from a broader perspective.

A blow to the efforts taken up to underline the Naga identity, more so when a final pact appears to be nearing between the NSCN (IM) and the Government of India.

It can also be a blow to the Zeliangrong identity as it is not clear how much of a mandate the ZB enjoys with the Zeliangrong people.

Will such a move create room for the return of the Zeliangrong Union, as it was before the ZB was formed ?

Early days yet, but it is significant and important that churnings have been set in motion and how will the rest of the people who identify themselves as Nagas respond to the new development ?

More importantly how will the Zeliangrong people respond to the act of calling back Gaidon Kamei from the UNC ?

Will they accept the decision of the ZB or will the community see some mud slinging ?

These questions have been raised, for what is happening cannot and should not be seen as an internal affair of the tribal community, for it can have bigger ramifications.

The immediate concern would obviously be the question of how representative is the UNC of the Naga people of Manipur ?

ZB certainly seems to say that the UNC does not represent them.