A mirage called peace

Our land is our heritage, to none shall it be surrendered; as whetstone our opponents sharpen us'...Thus spake A.Z.Phizo, the icon of al...

Our land is our heritage, to none shall it be surrendered; as whetstone our opponents sharpen us8217;8230;Thus spake A.Z.Phizo, the icon of all modern day Naga insurgents. Since April 30, 1990, when he was buried at what is now known throughout the state as Phizo Hill, the words have been cast into red sandstone and serve as the epitaph of this 8220;father of the nation8221;, as the proclamation tells us. To many in Nagaland, the words still act as a commandment.

New Delhi might have miscalculated on the legendary Naga pride and thereby lost nearly 100,000 lives 8212; of both the Indian security forces and Naga 8220;freedom fighters8221; 8212; during the past five decades. This is one emerging thought in the state as one moves across various sections of the people, from one insurgent group to another, from the state Chief Minister S.C.Jamir and his handpicked allies to those who have been itching to take his hide.The 18-month truce between the security forces and underground outfits has given some breathing time to both sides,but the final 8220;solution8221; to the problem is still nowhere in sight. If any, it looks as chimerical now as it did to the leaders in New Delhi when they managed the first ceasefire with the insurgents way back in 1949.

But the big troubling feature of the ceasefire this time 8212; the fourth since the 8220;other side8221; picked up arms 8212; is that it has worked both in favour of and against the two warring factions. State Governor O.P.Sharma points at, without mincing words, the sadden turbulence in the Naga society that gets reflected most in the shot-up crime rate.

After the ceasefire, extortion has become a big source of funding for both the NSCNIM and NSCNK factions who, besides fighting the security forces, have also been fighting between themselves. Suddenly, a common Naga family is finding itself holding the dirty end of the stick. For any single family, whether in Kohima, Dimapur or a far-flung village, it has become doubly difficult to sustain itself as well as the men supposedly fighting for theircause. In the words of Governor Sharma, the state population is currently reeling under 8220;extortion, ransom calls, forcible collection of taxes for so called development work, series of bank frauds 8212; by some underground insurgents, highway robberies and even rapes.8221;

But despite this, Sharma feels that the overall situation in Nagaland 8220;at this point of time8221; is very positive which is reflected in the people8217;s affirmation of peace. Tribals do not want peace to slip away at any cost, he insists.

Peace is what everybody in Nagaland has been shouting for, but few are willing to pay the price. In the midst of conflicting points of view, Chief Minister S.C.Jamir has taken up an unusual stand: why doesn8217;t the Government of India initiate talks with NSCNK faction? Why is it talking only to NSCNIM faction? To a specific query, Jamir told The Indian Express that nothing would come out of the talks unless the Kaphlang faction NSCN-K too was roped in the peace talks.

But there is more than what meets theeye in Jamir8217;s pleadings of late they are becoming increasingly fervent that the Naga problem was essentially a 8220;political problem8221; as he told this correspondent and that the 8220;use of force is no answer.8221; 8220;All the factions read IM and K should be united,8221; he said, but did not elaborate how.

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NSCNIM scoffs at the CM8217;s 8220;unity offer8221;. Fumes General8217; A.S.Atem of the outfit: 8220;What unity are they talking about? Where were the Kaphlang men when our boys and girls were dying of Indian Army bullets? In fact, its members took up guns only after the ceasefire, and they have been targeting us ever since8230;In any case, we ourselves will decide on unity.8221;

The fact of Jamir8217;s leanings towards Kaphlang faction is a common knowledge in Nagaland as well the North Block in New Delhi. But that was only natural, argue Indian officials, considering that Kaphlang is holed up in Mayanamar and his first allegiance lies with the Nagas of that country. But the arguement obviously does not find favcour with Jamir.Going by his string of pro-Kaphlang utterances, the Chief Minister, it appears, is still smartng under the New Delhi8217;s masterstroke of bypassing him altogether and shaking hands with the IM-faction.

The prolonged fighting and the infighting in Nagaland have taken a heavy toll on the Naga society itself. The biggest damage was done during the past 10 years, when, points out the State Chief Secretary A.M.Gokhale, 8220;there was virtually no intellectual activity. People were not free to talk or interact with each other8230;Hopefully, the damage will be set right within next 2-3 years.8221;

It is said that there is not a single household in the state which has not pushed at least one of its family members to an underground outfit for the cause of a free Nagaland. According to the State Government itself, the recruitment rate could be five or six persons from each Naga village. How does the recruitment takes place, and conditions it puts on the young recruits?

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Both IM and K outfits swear the recruitments are8220;voluntary8221;, but the modus operandi of the two factions differ. Zeluolite Angami, a top NSCNK leader and a close confidante of Kaphlang, discloses that all recruitments take place after 8220;an invitation8221; comes from the concerned family. 8220;And we are very particular about the commitment level of the young recruits,8221; he stresses. If Zeluolite is to be believed, the outfit even obtains their 8220;character certificate8221; from the village church.