Calling every Naga

The Naga reconciliation process jointly started by the Naga HoHo and the Naga Baptist Church Council at Kohima in December 2001 has the support of the majority of Naga society and people have developed a tremendous interest in long term permanent peace. They have asked both the NSCN(IM) and the government come out openly with their positions, asking that the process should be made inclusive.

No insurgent faction or political dispensation has the exclusive right of representation, as far as Naga society is concerned. Therefore in my opinion the success of the process of reconciliation depends on being able to make contact with the Naga people. It should not only include all Nagas but also neighbouring communities. We should let the process consolidate and let the fissures in Naga society heal. Discordant voices in Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh are a warning and the issue of land and territorial jurisdiction will have to be tackled.

Power will have to be decentralised to the village communities. The NSCN(IM) needs to not just visit but spend time in Nagaland to disseminate the feeling of peace. The experience of the Shillong Accord must not be repeated. Inclusiveness, popular consultation on the formulation of issues and transparency are essential for the success of these talks.

Transparency and open-ness is all the more necessary given the democratic culture of Nagas. Peace making with one faction will be counter-productive and it will lead to one particular faction being exploited by the others, by accusing each other of compromising on Naga interest, irrespective of the success of negotiations. Equally, the Naga situation being totally different from that of neighbouring Mizoram, the state government cannot be ignored.

The history of relations between Nagas and government has been suffused with suspicion on both sides. The Nagas have a perennial grievance that the government has failed to honour its agreements in the past. In 1947, the Nagas signed the Ten Point Agreement with Sir Akbar Hydari, then the Governor of Assam.

The agreement provided a ten year period, after which, it was stipulated, the Naga National Council would be asked whether they required the agreement to be extended or whether a new agreement would be arrived at. The Nagas believed that after ten years they would be at liberty to decide their future, whether to become independent or remain with India.

Similarly, in the Shillong Accord in 1975, it was agreed that the representatives of the underground organisations would have reasonable time to formulate issues for discussion and to create a final solution precisely because the Nagas did not accept the Shillong Accord as a final solution.

However, according to Nagas, the options of a future solution provided by the 3rd Clause provision was sabotaged both by the government and by insurgent leaders. The need for openness and wide ranging discussions with all Nagas is thus vital as the Nagas do not trust the Government of India when it comes to signing accords.

The inherently autonomous and stubbornly independent spirit of the Nagas has to be recognised. The Nagas have always been proud that they have never been governed by any one except by their own tribal institutions and village elders. This is an outcome of their history and the fact that even during British rule, there was only a very loose administrative structure laid down on them, and colonial rule was restricted to the occasional punitive expedition, designed to preserve British commercial interests in the neighbouring tea gardens.

Outsiders have never governed these traditionally isolated people which is why the Nagas remain suspicious of outsiders. Trust is essential to overcome this suspicion.

Yet it must also be borne in mind that Naga society, predominantly rural with a tradition of collective decision-making, is today becoming disenchanted with its new elite. The people feel this new elite has little right to speak for them as they have only exploited their spirit of independence, as have the insurgent factions.

The desire for peace underlines the urge to be masters of their own destiny. They seek participation in decision-making on the bread and butter issues of the common man, beyond mere political ploys.

All over the Northeast insurgencies thrive because vested interests have turned insurgency into an industry. The nexus between politicians, insurgents, bureaucrats and contractors makes it extremely difficult to create peace. Insurgency has created parallel governments and parallel economies have been established.

Corruption is rampant: many fortunes have been made at the cost of peoples’ lives. No wonder the people are hungry that their land is rid of these elements and every common Naga is given the opportunity to enter the mainstream and become prosperous. It is therefore vital that the government does not restrict its dialogue with the insurgents alone and extends itself to civil society. The parameters of peace must extend beyond political negotiations and accords with insurgent factions.

The present talks with the NSCN(IM) provide a great opportunity to lay the foundation of a permanent solution. In the past settlements have been fragile and there have been instances of accords collapsing days after they have been signed. The government make the utmost use of this unique opportunity and open its doors to not only the representatives of the Nagas, but to the Naga people.

The author was commander, Eight Mountain Division in Nagaland from 1981-83