Benito Z. Swu
SS Khaplang, having entrenched himself in Myanmar and its politics of the day in the Naga inhabitated areas of Myanmar, he is in his comfort zone. With age and its related complications and limitations catching up, of all the person, Khaplang definitely will be knowing where to draw the line. The same can be said for the Nagas of Myanmar, but certainly not for the Nagas of Nagaland today in the NSCN(K). Khaplang’s writ runs large in the Upper Sagaing Division of Myanmar where he is unquestionably the king of all that he surveys. With little or practically no presence of the Myanmarese Security Establishment in the region, a lay person will not be wrong in assuming that it is in the interest of the Myanmarese Government to let it all remain as it is, for what-so-ever reason. As long as Khaplang is in control, or even if he remain as a nominal head, the sanctuary that the NSCN(K) has in Myanmar will remain. But after Khaplang, the safe haven in Myanmar may not be guaranteed. Not because of a change in the Myanmarese Government policy, but maybe for local polity of the region.Yes, the complexities involved in trying to settle this long festering Naga Political problem is multifaceted. But this does not justify the sheer duration of the negotiation we have seen so far. The earlier UPA Government of India actually had never been serious about solving the Naga political problem. It was seen to be only interested in extending ceasefire after ceasefire, least bothered about the inconvenience and suffering that the Naga people were enduring, rooted in its belief that somehow the problem will burn itself out by itself. New Delhi during the UPA rule, a lay person can rightly assume, had no real insight or foresight and inclination to bring the negotiation to its logical conclusion, but to wear down the NPG leaders in a battle of attrition, having achieved the superficial and limited tactical advantage of softening the fighting force of the Naga political Groups through regular ceasefires. More worryingly, the UPA Government did nothing to engage itself with the State Government of the day, inspite of the State Government, in all seriousness, trying to cozy up to it. No wonder, Prime Minister Narendra Modi got full marks for reminding Nagas that the distance between New Delhi and Kohima was just some hours, which the UPA Government could not bridge for all those years of its rule.
Back to the searching question of today, the Naga people are in the woods as to who it was first who thought enough is enough, and actually decided to do away with the ceasefire. Was it the Government of India or was it the NSCN(K)? If it was the NSCN(K) who decided to abrogate the ceasefire, one can even be convinced to think it as an error of judgment on its part, chiefly because Modi led NDA Government is not Manmohan led UPA Government. Manmohan was not independent and had too many a string attached, but Modi is BJP and BJP is Modi. And Modi does not hesitate. One year, more or less a honeymoon period, is too short a time to judge a new Government’s intention. If it was the BJP led NDA Government that decided to abrogate the ceasefire, one can safely assume that the Government had taken its image as a do-doer too far in this case, and had bitten into more than it can chew. It only left the NSCN(K) and its image, which had taken a beating after the formation of the NSCN(R), with no other alternate but make its existence clear and visible.
It will be good for both the Government of India and the NSCN(K) to remain well aware that there is never any victory for either side in this nature of conflict. Be it in Vietnam, Northern Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan, or even our own J&K, history has shown us that no conventional regular army, nuclear tipped or otherwise, has ever won such an unconventional war where there is no conventional regular army of an enemy to fight against. Ask any expert or an instructor of CIJW school in India. It is a hopeless war. A hopeless conflict. Every pain inflicted only begets more and bigger pain. An endless cycle, and the greatest tragedy of it all is the collateral damage, which is always the innocent people in the street. Today, there is that persisting and lingering fear that the cycle of violence that will follow is going to be more bloodier, gruesome, and messier than even what we can fathom. A regular layman is going to become a suspect in the eyes of his own brother, and nobody is going to trust anybody. Women and children will bear the brunt and Governments will be rendered helpless. A layperson will be forced to become an informer of whichever side and gangster style along with execution type killings will become a norm. The hydra headed demon that is AFSPA will raise its ugly head and show its true colors. What say, anybody, then? It is the innocent public, none the wiser, who suffers the ultimate and pays the ultimate.
Coming back to the abrogation of ceasefire between the Security forces and the NSCN(K), the ambush in Manipur, the counter or revenge strike in Myanmar and its aftermath, the climate of reasoning and predicting has been all the more depressing. Pre-mature and out of turn comments from many a political minds in the Central Government has not helped but muddied the waters all the more. Lack of soul-searching of the problem will only create bigger problems. This is the trap which New Delhi must not fall into. There will always be some army commanders and defense analysts who will tend to bracket the Naga problem along with that of law and order and prescribe remedial measures therewith and accordingly. Nothing can go more wrong than this. Unlike at any other time, Nagaland today has genuine mature and seasoned political leaders with the drive, motivation, and urgency to sincerely contribute in the search for permanent peace in Nagaland. It will be in the greater interest of the Indian Nation for the BJP led NDA Government to trust the seasoned Naga political minds, rather than that of the drawing room specialists and those with the impulsive hit and run minds, in this noble human endeavor to bring about peace, brotherhood, and human goodwill, as a new chapter of Gandhiji’s main principle paves way in the making of history for the Nagas as a distinct race of people.
One thing is certain. The Government of India will never find it easy to put the genie back into that Aladdin’s lamp if its negotiations with the NSCN(IM) too were to break down due to overtime stagnation. A way has to be found whereby the NSCN(K) also comes into this picture of negotiation in the greater interest of humanity.
