Naga Students’ Federation accuses Nagaland Governor of trying to silence voices of the people

Dimapur, Jan. 9 (EMN): The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has expressed dismay at the recent directive of Indian government’s interlocutor for Naga peace talks and Nagaland Governor RN Ravi to the chief secretary of the state, to take disciplinary action against government servants indulging in writing “seditious and subversive” content on social media platforms.

Terming it as an attempt “to silence the voices of the Naga people and suppress our rights”, the NSF, through a press release, said it “has taken a serious note of the impugned directive and views the same as another attempt by the governor to undo the peace and understanding brought about by his predecessors”.

“The impugned directive while singling out Dr. Inato Zhimomi speaks of the Governor’s intent to create fear psychosis amongst the state government employees by sending out a message that he has his ‘eyes’ and ‘ears’ planted deep within the Naga society in order to achieve his desired end of dividing the Naga people,” read the press release.

The federation stated that it didn’t expect the government of India’s interlocutor to the Indo-Naga Peace talk to “indulge in trickery and divisive politics” but “truly understand and respect the unique history of the Naga people and accordingly work out mechanisms in the interest of the two entities”.

“The federation would like to make it succinctly clear that the Naga people will not be cowered down by attempts to stifle our voices and belittle our legitimate rights. No matter the evil designs of the opposing forces, the voices of the Naga people and our collective aspiration to live as one people cannot be muted.

“The federation would like to remind him that the Naga peoples’ struggle for self-determination can in no way be treated as another secessionist movement. Instead, it is merely a collective assertion of the Naga people to live as a people free from any illegal occupational forces basing on historical facts. Therefore, not a single soul should be persecuted for voicing out the truth,” read the press release.

It stated that it “stands with all the victims of the atrocious policies” and won’t “allow anyone to walk alone while upholding the righteous cause of the Naga people”.

The NSF reaffirmed its “commitment to uphold the Naga identity until our ultimate goal of sovereignty and integration is achieved”.

“The artificial boundaries and circumstances shall not dissuade us from asserting our legitimate rights. The federation stands committed in ensuring that the Naga political rights are not misplaced or tampered with by any forces until a negotiated solution in line with the ‘unique history and situation of the Nagas’ is achieved with the government of India,” it stated.