Indo-Naga talks: Modi should live up to his words — NPMHR

Dimapur, Dec. 4 (EMN): The Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to live up to his own words of harbouring ‘deep concern towards solving the Naga issue’, and not leave the task to “to a sinister person like his Nagaland state governor, Mr RN Ravi, who is undoing his efforts and is hell bent on demolishing the very fabric of the Naga society”.

The rights group issued a statement on Friday asserting that the make-believe that Indo-Naga peace settlement can be achieved with promise of material appeasement, packaged as developmental programmes, is but an utter lie and misconception.

“The Indo-Naga political conflict is perhaps the longest running political conflict in Asia. It stretches to over seven decades of timeline as of today marked by genocide inflicted on the Nagas by the armed forces of India and Myanmar. Across their homeland, the Nagas were assembled in groups for days together without food or water. Numerous children were born in such ‘concentration’ areas. Our women were raped and our men tortured beyond human endurance and many were systematically tortured to death. The Naga people were subjected to unconceivable treatment not meted even to animals.

“Memories are still fresh when we recollect those unimaginable sufferings. We, the Naga people, went through great sufferings at the altars of gross human rights violations and military atrocities by the invading forces, compounded by deceits and betrayals from within. Nay, it is not only memories, but these elements still live and move around amongst the very people whom they helped devour.

“Mr. SC Jamir needs to realise that when he said that ‘the state of Nagaland was neither a gift nor manna falling from heaven. But it was purchased by the precious blood of the Naga people’, it is this same ‘blood’ which he and the likes of him helped spilled and still abets in spilling. They are the ones that make the Indo-Naga political conflict prolong and thus extend the sufferings of the Naga public,” the group’s statement read.

Further, it went on to state that commemorating the 58th Statehood Day of Nagaland, “at a time when the world is keenly watching for an honourable and acceptable political settlement”, was nothing less than an insult to India’s very own claim to greatness.

“Time has revealed the futile efforts of the governments of India and Myanmar through violent, repressive, suppressive and divisive methods to end the Naga peoples struggle for their political rights and freedom. The insincerity of the government of India is proven and stands naked for the world to see. Not many days after entering into an agreement through signing of the ‘framework agreement’ with the Naga political negotiators, the prime minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, himself declared to the world in Dubai that ‘I am citing Nagaland because I want to tell people across the world, including the youth, that however complicated a problem might be, it can be solved through dialogue’.

“One wonders whether his people and government realise the fact that it takes more than just a document and a ‘continued … look at each other through the prism of false perceptions and old prejudices’ to bring about a just solution and shatter the misconstrued myth that Nagas are Indians and that their Nation is a part of India,” it stated.

The rights group stated that if the ‘framework agreement’ is a “shining example of what we can achieve when we deal with each other in a spirit of equality and respect, trust and confidence; when we seek to understand concerns and try to address aspirations; when we leave the path of dispute and take the high road of dialogue…a lesson and an inspiration in our troubled world”—as the prime minister had declared at the signing of the agreement — then, a sincere and immediate translation in action must ensue.

“We, Nagas, as one people, have been standing our ground and have been steadfastly braving the challenges coming our way for the past many decades. We have our courage and commitment to achieve our political goal through just approaches.

“Our understanding of humanism informs us that we too must be recognised and respected as any other human group or nation. We cannot allow ill-informed individuals or groups to hinder our progress to our rightful place,” it added.