DIMAPUR — The Naga Hoho has expressed optimism that the consultative meeting convened by the state government to deliberate on the Naga political issue would bring about positive result that has been put on back-burner for quite some time.
It expressed hope that the various Naga tribal hohos and civil society organisations participating in the said meeting would bear in mind that any settlement that is not mutually agreed, inclusive and honourable from the Naga Peoples’ standpoint would only bring more discord and conflict within the Naga family.
“The failure on the part of the Government of India to bring about a final settlement to the Indo-Naga conflict has created a serious rift because of the conflict of interest within the Naga people. The unnaturally protracted political talks have created a schism between the idealist and the existential, the older and the younger generation along with the usual East-West-North-South divide.
“This schism is unravelling the fabric of the Naga family thread by thread and threatens to lay us morally and politically threadbare unless we realise that there are far better ways to address our differences than by being blinded by self-righteousness and self-interest and weakening the unity of the people,” the Naga Hoho statement read.
It cautioned that the Government of India would only be pleased to maintain the current political status-quo in one guise or another and continue to ‘leave us to languish in a political limbo as long as the Nagas fail to present a united front with a strong message to the political adversaries.’
“Much as we might dislike to admit it, the onus for the settlement of the political talks lies with us, the Nagas as much as it lies with the Government of India,” it added.
Meanwhile, the Naga Hoho has taken strong exception to the planned “Gau Mahasaba” in Kohima on September 28 as part of a nationwide “Gau Dhwaj Sthapana Bharat Yatra” by a certain Hindu organisation.
In this context, the NH lauded the decision taken by the Government of Nagaland to deny permission to hold the said yatra.
“In the Naga custom and tradition, a cow is a livestock that is reared to provide us with meat and milk and assist us in our field works. For the Nagas, cows will be continued to be reared to provide us with the same provisions,” it stated.
It stated that such blatant disregard for the rights, traditions, customs and religion of other people should be seen as an effort to incite unrest and conflict along religious and communal lines or as an effort to impose religious and cultural practices of the majority upon the minority.
NH further stated that such a move should be condemned by every discerning citizen of India and not just the affected community.
Also read: Nagaland government denies permission for Gau Dhwaj Sthapana Bharat Yatra
