What is wrong with RN Ravi as interlocutor

Yenning *

R N Ravi : official interlocutor and Government of India representative for Naga peace talks :: pix - TSE

The name of RN Ravi was doing the round after the exit of R. S Pandey, the chief interlocutor of NSCN (IM). Talking to Hindustan Times after giving his resignation letter to the Union government, he stated that "The blueprint for the final resolution of issues is a very sensitive one where all the stakeholders have to be on board". He seems to understand that the issue of NSCN (IM) is only a piece of a larger picture and if needed to redress the larger picture, the larger stakeholders need to be consulted. But he was not condemned or offended by the outfit as they know that he is simply trying to be diplomatic.

But, when the appointment of RN Ravi was clear in-spite of the NSCN (IM) lobby including Rio and the timber trader (Manoj Anand, 2014, Timber lobby opposed to R.N. Ravi as Naga interlocutor, Asian Age, Guwahati, Aug 13) to name a few, the opposition was followed in a bureaucratic paper work. First it was the NSCN (IM) who oppose it, then Naga Hoho, then UNC and then ANSAM. Finally, collecting the press note, it was the NISC who released in the name of Naga while at the same time they know that they don't represent the Naga population.

The opposition to RN Ravi is not about the lack of expertise but more because of his knowledge about the movement. NSCN (IM) who is playing around with the sentimental voice of being a 'tribal' is no longer going to work with RN Ravi. In fact, the degeneration of the NSCN (IM) movement was because of its baseless foundation particularly on the issue of Naga people, its territory and the question of sovereignty over their territory. At one point of time, they reached such a peak of internationalism that they think everything can be concealed under sentiment and being a minority and tribal exploited by non-tribal. But they realised the fact that, it does not work when people try to verify their statement at different platform. It can also be noted that, the politics of indignity played by NSCN (IM) mouth piece like AIPP is well known now. They try to deny anyone in any international indigenous platform from Manipur or Northeast whom they think will threaten their propaganda in the name of not being indigenous.

The opposition to RN Ravi was mainly because of his article published in the HINDU newspaper particularly, 'Chasing a chimeric peace', dated November 15, 2012 and 'Nagaland: descent into chaos', dated January 23, 2014. In the first article, he observed that "Delhi's insistence on negotiating with only one entity in a process that has many stakeholders has driven the wedges deeper in Nagaland. He breaks the notion that, they are no longer accepted by the people which they claim to. Further, he exposed the link between Rio and NSCN (IM) "Mr. Rio came to power and his government became a proxy for the Government of the People's Republic of Nagalim (GPRN), of which Mr. Muivah is the self-styled 'prime minister'. Many a times it became difficult to determine who ruled the State — Mr. Rio or Mr. Muivah." He concluded that "It is impossible to expect a sustainable peace from the ongoing process between Delhi and the NSCN (IM). An endeavour for peace that excludes crucial stakeholders is a travesty"

In the second article, he observed that the "the reckless 'ceasefire' between the Government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM), a militia predominantly of the Tangkhul tribe of Manipur, for the last 17 years is pushing the Nagas into a state of civil war". The most upsetting statement to NSCN (IM) is the questioning of the term Naga, where he stated that "the term 'Naga' is a rubric for a host of over 25 distinct tribes inhabiting the Nagaland State and adjoining areas of north-eastern India and Myanmar. Their mutual differences far outnumber their commonness. Each tribe is culturally distinct and linguistically unintelligible to the others. In the not so distant past, contacts between two tribes were, more often than not, marred by bloodshed. Modern state, modern education and the Gospel have had a somewhat sobering influence on their world view".

If we analyse the write up and the claims of RN Ravi, other than the doctrines of NSCN (IM) and their followers, the statement and observation are fact and nobody will deny it. Everybody knows this reality and in fact the NSCN (IM) too knows it. They are upset because of the fact that RN Ravi questions the very foundation of Naga and NSCN (IM) movement and he is going to be responsible for the peace process. In other words, they cannot play around with him with their claim of Naga people, territory and sovereignty. If these three foundations to re-claim the right to self-determination are examined, then there is nothing to discuss. The claim of being a people or having a culture is mostly based on the Government of India's acceptance of having a unique history.

The invention of Lu-Ngai-Ni festival as a cultural event of Manipuri Nagas is a fact. At the same time, no Nagas outside Manipur know about it. If they are one people, how is that you have different festival for different people in different areas. Similar is the question of territory, except the NISC and NSCN (IM) invented map, no document support the territory. The most interesting thing is they rely on some of the British political agents but at the same time, they deny British documents which clearly indicate that there is no demarcated territory. This has been proved time and again even by Naga scholars.

For instance, "We were actually a group of heterogeneous, primitive and diverse tribes living in far-flung villages that had very little in common and negligible contact with each other. Education did not exist and awareness about the world outside was totally absent. Each village was practically an entity in itself. A village does not make a nation. The main 'contact' between villages was through the savage practice of headhunting. Mutual suspicion and distrust was rife. People led an insular and isolated life. Internecine warfare was the order of the day. There was no trust or interaction between different tribes. In these circumstances, the question of a unified 'Naga nation' did not arise. No one can dispute these historical truths. There is enough documentation recorded by the British administrators, some as late as the end of the 19th century, which give the correct picture as it existed. We cannot ignore such historical evidence and rely on emotional outbursts alone" (Bedrock of Naga Society, Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (I), 2002). The assertion of Naga area in Manipur is the fact that they don't have a territory.

Violent Peace Process

The NSCN (IM) peace process is the most violent peace process. It is under this name that most of the brutal things are happening. For instance, RN Ravi stated that, "over 1,800 Nagas have been killed in some 3,000 fratricidal clashes since the beginning of the 'ceasefire' (1997-2013). Compare it with the violence during the 17 years preceding the 'ceasefire' (1980-96) that took a toll of some 940 Naga lives in 1,125 clashes mostly with the security forces. The irony is underscored by the fact that while the security forces and the NSCN (I-M) have been at mutual 'peace' during the 'ceasefire,' twice as many Nagas have died, killing one another in some 300 per cent escalation in fratricidal violence".

Similarly, Yenning (2014) also observed that Tangkhul society has been under siege since the split of NSCN into the Khaplang and Isak-Muivah factions in 1988. It becomes inevitable for Muivah to keep the Tangkhul society under siege in order to achieve its Manipur project and thus, committed the highest number of crimes against his own people, and killed the maximum number of Tangkhuls during "peace time". "More than 400 criminal cases were recorded in the hill districts, maximum of them in Ukhrul district in the past 15 years since the NSCN-IM signed the cease fire agreement", was what Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam stated in Manipur Legislative Assembly on July 18, 2014" (Tangkhul Society under Siege?, The Sangai Express, 20-July)

Beyond NSCN (IM)

The NSCN (IM) should understand by now that they are part of a larger movement and not the whole. There are other groups involved in the process and without their voice, things cannot work out. Their over acting of representing Naga people has no takers now in Nagaland and Manipur. The incident of Dimapur and Sema areas in Nagaland and rejection of UNC Naga people Mandate in 2007 and the subsequent, Naga People's Declaration of 2010 is an indication. Now, the government of India seems to be very clear with what to do, so they look beyond NSCN (IM) to address the issue. RN Ravi simply put this into perspectives. Besides, the proscribed armed group in Manipur are still very active which the government consider more seriously. The Naga card is just played as a counter-insurgency operation and also to pass the message to these proscribed groups that it listens/give priority to groups that accept Constitution of India.