My Dear Nagas,
Greetings to all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. On the auspicious occasion of 71st Naga Independence Day, I praise the Almighty God for the abundant love and care bestowed to us all in spite of the hardship, blood, sweat and toil involved in the quest for protecting the freedom given by God.
Seventy years ago, on this historic day the 14th August 1947, a landmark development took place that changed the Naga people’s destiny forever when Naga National Flag was unfurled and Naga Sovereignty declared. The intent and the declaration of Naga Independence unfortunately failed to evoke the response as desired from the comity of nations. Taking undue advantage of this silence from the International community, India and Myanmar(Erstwhile Burma), the newly independent states with mighty armies inherited from their colonial masters started the annexation process of our homeland.
History stands witness that the Nagas were never a conquered nation by any people from within or without by any country or military might, nor have the Nagas signed any act of treaty with any nation bartering away our inalienable rights. By a freak misadventure, the British came into contact with the Nagas during the 2nd half of the 19th Century while traversing the Naga Hills en route from Assam to Manipur. The freedom loving Nagas took this intrusion as an invasion into their lands and therefore tried to protect it, wherein, hundreds of lives were lost on both sides. The adventure seeking and headhunting Nagas also raided the tea plantations in the plains of Assam, which was too close for comfort to the British. In retaliation to these daring acts by the Nagas the British Raj in India started sending many military expeditions with punitive measures against the Nagas and gradually annexed some parts of our forefathers land which was later amalgamated with Assam; by 1866, the annexed Naga Hills became a scheduled non-regulated district in Assam, excluded from the general laws prevalent in the British India. The British territorial expansionist designs continued after the establishment of their headquarters at Chumukedima (Samaguting), this was met with strong opposition; many battles were fought and hundreds of casualties recorded on both sides. The Nagas refused to be cowed down and stood their ground to protect their land against the white invaders. In November 1879, the last and the greatest battle was fought between the people of Khonoma (Comprising of almost 500 houses) and the British forces comprising of more than 3000 soldiers. The Khonoma warriors fought bravely but proved no match against the superior weaponry and artillery of the invading army. The British on their own admits the battle of Khonoma to be “the severest fighting ever known on the Naga Hills”. In 1880, peace was made between the Chiefs of Khonoma and the British representatives; thus British rule was established in our homeland. The Nagas however, at no point of time in history signed any formal treaty with the British. The Naga areas that came under the British control formed a miniscule part of our homeland, the larger part of the Naga inhabited area and people remained free from the influence of any established external power.
The Naga Club which was formed in 1918, became the first platform for the Nagas. It was the Naga club that submitted a memorandum to the Indian Statutory Commission (The Simon Commission) in 1929. The memorandum stated the intent and desire of the Nagas to be left outside the Reformed Scheme of India in the eventuality of the British withdrawal from the Indian sub-continent. Subsequently when the British Parliament enacted the Government of India Act 1935, the Naga Hills District was kept in the excluded area; outside the purview of Central and Provincial Legislature of India.
No mention is found about the contact or relationship between the Nagas and Indians at any given point of time in the recorded history of India which dates back to as early as the Mesolithic era 9000 B.C. It comes as no surprise that majority of Indian populace are unaware of the fact that ethnic group of people known as the Nagas coexist in the Indian Union against their wishes; and that a puppet state called Nagaland constitute a farcical part of India while another half constitute a substantial population and inhabits their own ancestral lands in Myanmar. It was only through the British that the Indian political elites came to know about the existence of people belonging to race other than Aryans living in the frontiers of India, Burma and China.
The freedom loving Naga people today live divided by an imaginary boundary yet unified by the spirit of Nationalism in India and Myanmar.
The greatest paradox of the Naga history is that, hundreds of years ago our forebears lived as sovereign and independent village republics without having to avow it to the world or seeking recognition externally because the power of the rulers were derived from the governed. The very day our leaders under NNC declared Naga independence and tried to reassert this factual position to the world, our people lost the very freedom that was given to us by none other than our Almighty God.
Ever since 1947, we have been observing our Independence day on 14th August. However, it would be a fallacy and a fantasy to dwell on the Naga Sovereignty without taking into consideration the harsh reality of our existence as a Nation subdued and suppressed by foreigners in the land where our forefathers hunted and fished, cultivated and mined the land without care……….. knowing that the game, rivers, forest, land and all the resources belonged to us since time began. With tormented hearts and teary eyes the spirits of our forefathers would be wondering at the tragic turn of events that changed the plight of their children and the land that was once free and full of life. Yet, the zest of our people to regain the freedom and the glory that we lost and the “never say die” spirit of our young people sustains our Nationalist movement, and I am hopeful that our aspirations would be fulfilled when the time is ripe and the wheel of fortune completes a full circle.
The historic event that provoked and instilled the spirit of Nationalism in our minds and the birth of Nagas a Nation remains true and the NNC/GDRN stands firm to protect this commitment.
