Global Naga Forum requests Assam CM not to sideline rights of Rengmas

Dimapur, June 14 (EMN): The Global Naga Forum (GNF) on Monday appealed to the chief minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, not to sideline the historical and political rights of the Rengma Nagas in the state like in the past while working on the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Territorial Council (KAATC).

In a letter to the CM, the GNF maintained that it is a public platform comprising Nagas from different walks of life living in India, Myanmar, and other parts of the world dedicated to the human rights of Naga irrespective of location to help promote peaceful co-existence and collaborative citizenship with neighbours.

It said that in this spirit it is writing to draw his attention to the plight of the Rengma Naga people in Assam.

Narrating the history, the GNF said that the modern evolution of Rengma Naga people in Assam started in April 1841 with the declaration of Rengma Hills by the then British administration before it became a part of the newly created Naga Hills in 1866 and bringing both under one administrative unit till 1898 with Samaguting (now Chümoukedima in Nagaland) as the administrative headquarters.

“Then, in 1898, the Rengma Hills were transferred to the adjoining Nowgaon and Sibsagar districts without the consent of the Rengma Nagas by the Chief Commissioner of Assam,” read the letter.

It stated that the demand for an autonomous district status for the current Karbi Anglong district started in 1947 with Karbi leaders approaching “Rengma Naga leaders with a plan to collectively seek out the creation of an autonomous district, with the assurance that the Rengmas and Karbis would be equal partners in this pursuit”.

“They agreed to name the proposed district as the Rengma and Mikir Hills district. The Rengma Nagas wholeheartedly supported this demand and issued a “No Objection” certificate. However, when district status was attained in 1951, it was renamed as the Mikir Hills district, contentiously leaving out the Rengma name,” it wrote.

It went on to state that following unjust treatment by colonial powers and by circumstances prevalent in the post-colonial jostles for territory and autonomy by various ethnic groups, the Rengma Nagas “have consistently sought to assert their historical and political rights over their ancestral lands in Assam”.

In the meantime, the GNF expressed happiness that the Assam and Central governments are actively pursuing conflict resolution with ethnic groups in Karbi Anglong through the creation of the KAATC in the believe that it will bringing the much-needed peace in the region.

However, it pleaded the chief minister to take heed of the history of Rengma Nagas in Assam while working on the purported Karbi peace accord.

“Our fervent hope is that the past sidelining of the historical and political rights of the Rengmas stays in the past, not to be repeated in the present and future. We urge you to recall that the Rengma Nagas in Assam are peace-loving citizens and have not pursued conflict with other ethnic groups under the so-called Karbi Anglong areas,” it wrote.

“The Rengma Nagas in Assam continue to be dependent on the outcome of the ongoing Indo-Naga political dialogue for some way forward in their own journey towards greater autonomy, whether they are integrated with other Naga-inhabited areas under one administrative roof, or through an Autonomous Territorial council for Nagas in Assam,” it added.

The GNF went on “to reiterate the need for equity and justice for all groups of people in our present world” and expressed hope that the CM will serve justice to the Rengma Nagas.