Benito Z. Swu
[dropcap]R[/dropcap]eproduced below is a concise extract from the address made by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the then PM of India at the Civic Reception in his honour on the 28th of October 2003 at the Indira Gandhi stadium, Kohima.
My hearty greetings to you all. This is my first visit to Nagaland after becoming the Prime Minister and I want to express my regrets for not coming here earlier. I am convinced that there is an overwhelming desire among the Naga people for a permanent peace with honor and dignity which is in direct proportion to the equally strong desire of the Central government for the same. If we continue to work together in an atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding, the day is not far when we reach our goal.Unfortunately, too much blood was shed in Nagaland in the decades gone by. A lot of people suffered. The wheels of development stopped. Mistakes were committed. Now the time has come to leave the sad chapter of conflict and violence behind us. Rather than remaining tied to the past, we have to take care of the present and look to the future. This is the time for reconciliation and peace making. This is also the path that Mahatma Gandhi and Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan wanted us to follow, both of whom were true friends of the Naga people.
It is true that, of all the states in India, Nagaland has a unique history. But this uniqueness has in no way diminished the spirit of patriotism among the Naga people. We have the inspiring examples of Patriot Jadunong, who became a martyr, and Rani Gaidelu. Who can forget that in critical times of war in 1962, 1965 and 1971, Naga underground fighters did not fire on the Indian army. They showed restraint. I would also like to acknowledge the sacrifices of jawans from Nagaland during the Kargil war. In times of crisis all of India becomes one. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, and from Kutch to Kohima, the same feeling of unity and responsibility runs through.
Nobody can deny that in India’s security and development lie the security and development of all of our states, including Nagaland. Similarly, in the peace and development of Nagaland and all other states lies the overall well-being of India. We have to further strengthen these bonds of solidarity.
My dear Naga sisters and brothers, as we move closer to permanent peace in Nagaland, I want to assure you on certain counts. We do not wish to impose any external customs on you. India has a long tradition of diverse customs and ways of life. You have nothing to fear. Throughout history, India has been a laboratory of ‘Unity in Diversity’. India’s strength lies in her diversity. Therefore, Nagaland’s unique tradition has contributed to India’s strength.
I wish to assure you on another score. India is a secular nation, both because of our constitution and, more importantly, because of our civilizational ethos. As we all know, India is home to all the faiths in the world and has respected and protected all the faiths. Also, we respect your traditional system of governance. There are many good things that others can and should learn from Nagaland. For example, the practice of broadbased debate and consensual decision-making in your Naga Hoho’s is the very kernel of democracy. It deserves to be emulated at all levels – from the village level to the global level. Today Nagaland is a proud and honoured member of the larger Indian family. This Indian family may comprise of big states and small, but all are equal. Indeed, our constitution guarantees that smaller and disadvantaged states get more assistance than others. My government is especially sensitive to the needs of all Special Category states including Nagaland.
Friends, our vision is to ensure that no state, no region and no social group in India remains weak and disadvantaged. Our goal is to remove poverty, unemployment, social disparities and regional imbalances. Our goal is to remove the distance between the more developed and the less developed. In Hindi, I keep saying, “Hum doori ko door karana chahate hain, Hum dil ki doori ko bhi door karana chahate hain”. We want to remove the distance between people, created by geography. The centre will lend full support to the speedy and all round development of Nagaland and the entire North-Eastern region. However, we also need the support of the people, political parties, social organizations and Governments in the region.
The deepest desire of the people of this region is peace. Peace is also a pre-condition for the development of the North-East. Without peace there can be no investment and no development. Without development, there can be no employment. I, therefore, appeal to the misguided organizations in this region which have taken the path of extremism and violence, to shun that path. The Centre is willing to have talks with all those who are ready to give up the gun culture, and take to the culture of dialogue and democracy. My second appeal is to all those who are a part of the Government and administration at different levels to use the funds provided judiciously. There should be proper accountability – both at the political and bureaucratic levels.
Development of the North-East sometimes suffer from another drawback. Often, Government departments and agencies draw up plans and implement programmes without adequate participation of the people. Schemes are formulated in a uniform manner without taking into account their relevance to local needs and conditions.
Here I am reminded of a king who once went on a tour of a province in his kingdom. The place was hot and he came across children who were going to school barefoot and with their heads unprotected. He ordered his officers to make sure that every child got a pair of shoes and a cap. “Jee huzoor,” said the officers. After a few weeks, they sent a consignment from the capital containing shoes and caps. On a subsequent visit to the same province, the king saw that only a small number of children were wearing them. He asked the officers accompanying him why this was so. They replied, “Your majesty, we promptly implemented your order and dispatched the required quantity of goods from the capital.” The king then turned to the headmaster of the school and posed the same question. The headmaster said, “Your majesty, the officers are right. They did sent us the required number of shoes and caps, but all of them were of the same size. They probably expected that, instead of changing the size of the shoes and caps to fit the children’s feet and head, the children should change the size of their feet and head to fit what they had so generously sent us.”
The people should have a say in what kind of development they want. We should harmonise our National priorities, State priorities and local priorities through constant dialogues.
I give my best wishes to the Government of the Democratic Alliance in Nagaland. I would like it to work as a model of good governance and responsible governance for all other states in the North-East. In a democracy, there will always be some parties in power and others in the opposition. Some will win and others will lose. This process will continue. But whether a party is in power or in the opposition, all should work together for the common good of the state and its people. In this, we should learn from the traditional democratic practice of village councils in Nagaland. With these words, I conclude my speech and thank you for this very warm reception. My best wishes to all of you. Let us together make a new Nagaland.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had all the best of intentions and wishes for the people of Nagaland. The emotional attachment that A.B Vajpayee had with the Nagas which the Nagas too had in equal measure, if not more, for the fatherly Vajpayee, naturally led to emotional integration which ultimately is the main basis of national integration. It is to the great misfortune of Nagaland that the BJP led NDA government lost power sending us back to square one. However, be it in the good as well as the bad times, the NPF led DAN Government in Nagaland did not let down its constituents, and has been magnanimous in all its dealings inspite of limitations, compulsions and provocations. As of today, it is a pity and a sad commentary of the BJP leadership in the state who have thrown caution to the wind, leaving aside and forgetting the wise counsel of the elderly Vajpayee.
The high-handed approach of the State BJP leadership in trying to bulldoze through the ‘limitations’ of the Anti-defection law in small states as in the case of Nagaland today is a point in question. It goes without saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, of all the politicians in India today, with his high moral and political ethics, would never succumb or encourage the Aya ram – Gaya ram politics of yore, institutionalized by opportunistic and corrupted to the core politicians, prior to the introduction of the anti-defection bill in India. Just because the criteria is fulfilled does not justify the moral damage inflicted on the image of the Nagas as a people. And yet we are the first ones to shout from rooftops that our morality is being questioned, here and there.
Your Excellency, the Governor of Nagaland Shri P.B Acharya Sir, we the people of Nagaland are aware of the intimate relationship that you share with the then Prime Minister A.B Vajpayee just as you share with Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. We are also aware of the deep knowledge and the intimacy of your care for the state of Nagaland and her people in particular and the North-East in general. We are more than confident that your esteemed understanding will be the bridge through which the nostalgia of the Vajpayee era will become the springboard of a new beginning for the Naga people and her lone representative in the Lok Sabha in today’s Modi era. We need not reassure you in your clear thinking and knowledge that a strong regional party in Nagaland can only work in the national interest of the BJP government in the Center, be it in the short term or in the long term. Please do be the wind beneath the wings of our lone MP as we hope, pray and wait in anticipation of your benign ambassorship even as you remain our prized Governor.
