Lack of maturity
NSCN (IM) leader T. Muivah gives Delhi “only a few more months” to decide on his proposals for reaching a final political settlement.

North East News Agency

It seems that the maturity shown by the NSCN (IM) during the eight-year long peace process had suddenly deserted the organization. The Naga underground organization, which has so far shown enough patience in its effort to find an amicable solution of the vexed Naga problem, has once again started talking in the manner similar to the pre-ceasefire days.

NSCN (IM) leader T. Muivah has given Delhi “only a few more months” to decide on his proposals for reaching a final political settlement. “No one should take the Nagas for granted,” he warned during an interview with BBC.

But considering the complexity of the Naga problem, it’s little bit too much too expect a solution of the problem within a stipulated time frame. Oscar Fernandes, Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation and a member of the three-member ministerial committee formed by the Centre to hold discussion with the NSCN (IM) leaders, was right when he pointed out that “I don’t think we will be able to resolve the issue in a day but efforts will be on to find a solution.”

The genesis of the Naga problem is that from the very beginning the Nagas maintained that Nagalnd is a separate country from India, historically, culturally and geographically, with an undeniable right to be recognised as politically independent. The Nagas claim they had declared themselves independent on August 14, 1947, a day prior to India’s Independence. Earlier, on February 20, 1947, Naga National Council (NNC) sent a memorandum to Lord Mountbatten, the then viceroy of India, requesting His Majesty’s Government for setting up of an interim government for the Naga people for a period of ten years, at the end of which the Naga people would be left to choose any form of government under which to live.

In response to Naga demand, Jawaharlal Nehru remarked “I consider freedom very precious. I am sure that the Nagas are as free as I am bound by all sorts of laws the Nagas are not to the same extent bound by such laws and are governed by their customary laws and usages. But the Independence the Nagas are after is something quite different from individual or group freedom. In the present context of affairs both in India and in the world, it is impossible to consider even for a moment, such as absurd demand for Independence of the Nagas. It is doubtful whether the Nagas realise the consequences of what they are asking for. For their present demand would ruin them.” Three accords (Hydari Agreement in 1947, Sixteen-point agreement in 1960, Shillong Accord in 1975) and a ceasefire period of three years (1964 to 1967) had failed to bridge the gap.

While the Centre had maintained that it was always willing to solve this problem through negotiations, the Nagas showed no inclination to a negotiated settlement alleging lack of sincerity on the part of Government of India. The Nagas even accused that oppressive policies of Indian Government had forced them to take up arms, though the Naga leaders were committed to follow the path of non-violence at the behest of Mahatma Gandhi. On its part, the Centre charged that though it was mutually decided to review the Hydari Agreement after ten years, the Nagas backed out of the promise and took up guns.

It is known to every one that  there are hurdles to be crossed. Attempts to reach to a final solution without removing such hurdles may prove to be fatal as far as the peace process is concerned. A beginning, after years of unrest, has been made. A lasting peace is a possibility but a lot of ground work remains to be done by both the government and the NSCN. The latter has the responsibility to take all the Nagas with them at this historic juncture. Courageous initiatives are necessary to shed the baggages of the past. It would require magnanimity and breadth of vision on the part of NSCN leaders not to let divisions of the past hinder their progress. Are they ready, as true democrats, for such an venture for the sake of ‘Nagas’?

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