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DIMAPUR — The Ex-Parliamentarians Association of Nagaland (Ex-PAN) has condemned the recent personal attacks against former Chief Minister and Governor Dr. SC Jamir and derogatory remarks targeting Ao women.
The attacks, originating from former Manipur legislator Sword Vashum and a social media page called “Patriotic Nagas,” are deemed defamatory and insulting, it said.
In a press release, the Ex-PAN highlighted the “vitriolic” nature of the attacks, aimed at “character assassinating” Jamir. It also took exception to questions raised about Jamir’s genealogy and the derogatory categorisation of Ao women by an “unknown author” hiding behind the group called “Patriotic Nagas”.
“The Ex-PAN will not allow any person to degrade and insult our women in such a manner,” it asserted, calling upon authorities to take legal action against the perpetrators.
Further emphasising Jamir’s standing as a “bonafide Naga by blood” and a respected figure both nationally and internationally, the association stated that “raising such a maniacal question against one of the tallest leaders Nagaland has produced…surely boomerangs at the attacker.”
The Ex-PAN linked the attacks on Jamir to the veteran politician highlighting “certain political realities on the history of Nagaland's statehood and on the contemporary Naga integration in the media recently.”
“The summary of the antipathy of both the unknown person in the ‘Patriotic Nagas’ and Mr. Sword Vashum centres around the creation of the state of Nagaland and the issue of Naga integration. The Naga independence and Naga integration thereof are the interpretations of the Nagas and the Naga national movement. However, the Nagas are yet to realise that these dreams have not been possible because of our own follies and not because of the rejection of God or the failure or fault of any one individual,” it stated.
On the sensitive issues of Naga sovereignty and integration, the Ex-PAN said that the 2015 Framework Agreement and the 2017 Agreed Position are both “bereft of these issues.”
“It is not a sin for anyone, including Dr. SC Jamir, to reiterate what is and what is not there in the said documents,” it asserted.
Further, “glorifying late Rishang Keishing, the former chief minister of Manipur who once said ‘not an inch of Manipur state will be sliced away and given to others’ and who later appended his signature on a memorandum supporting Naga integration in 2005, is nothing but blindly accepting ‘hypocrisy,’ it stated.
“Perhaps had the former chief minister, leaders and the Nagas from Manipur welcomed and supported the issue of Naga integration under clause 13 of the 16 Point Memorandum which was placed before the Nagas of Manipur by Mr. RC Chiten Jamir to be taken up as a joint venture before it was submitted to the government of India in 1960 by the Naga People’s Convention instead of rejecting it, the narrative would have been different today; but this was not to be thus giving rise to the current imbroglio,” the Ex-PAN stated.
Defending Nagaland’s role in the Naga national movement, the association asserted that “the Naga national movement began here in Nagaland and it exists because of the logistical and technical backing of the indigenous Nagas of Nagaland.” It also questioned the motives of critics who, while benefiting from Nagaland’s hospitality and resources, refuse to acknowledge historical realities.
“What do these critics expect more from Nagaland when the NLA has adopted not less than 5 resolutions on Naga integration without a single reciprocal gesture from the Naga people in Manipur and their elected representatives in the Manipur Assembly,” it added.
The Ex-PAN stated that “apart from being a signatory to the 16 Point Memorandum, Dr. SC Jamir is neither the architect nor the brain behind the memorandum, and neither was he the sole signatory. The Memorandum was the collective effort and ideas of the Nagas of Nagaland who came together under the banner of the ‘Naga Peoples Convention’ to ensure that the violence and bloodshed that gripped Nagaland was put to an end! It is unfortunate that our brethren from Manipur decided to reject our overtures to be one then and therefore they should now refrain from accusing the Nagas of Nagaland or any individuals including Dr. SC Jamir for the mistakes they and their leaders made when the future of the Nagas was at its precipice.”
Reiterating its support for Jamir, “the last signatory of the 16 Point Memorandum alive and well with us,” the association pledged to defend him and any Naga from Nagaland facing “unjust” accusations.
In a separate matter, the Ex-PAN congratulated the Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) on its 60th anniversary and expressed appreciation for the recognition given to former NLA members during the recent commemorative event.