Gathering the tribe: 

Gathering the tribe: 

Context

• The Naga struggle for sovereignty which started a day before India’s Independence remains the most talked about issue yet.
• In the Naga mind, the promise of a better future without disturbing this irreplaceable past seems alarming.

What are the major concerns?

• The Naga national workers are no longer in the prime of their lives.
• The chairman of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (I-M), Isak Chisi Swu, has passed away and Thuingaleng Muivah too is getting on in years.
• In August 2015, when the Framework Agreement was signed between the Government of India and the NSCN (I-M), expectations were high that an “honourable settlement” was in the offing.
• What is honourable for the NSCN(I-M) may not seem honourable enough to Naga society as a whole, with disparate aspirations and interpretations.

Recent issues

• The political deadlock in India’s northeastern state of Nagaland is showing no signs of letting up, with neither of the warring factions in the ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF) appearing in the mood to relent.
• Governor PB Acharya had asked Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly.
• However, at the heart of the crisis is the power struggle between Liezietsu and the state’s former chief minister TR Zeliang.
• In January 2017 with civil unrest in the state over the NPF government’s — then headed by Zeliang — move to hold civic polls with 33 percent reservation of people.
• The tribal bodies in the state almost unanimously opposed the reservation to women leaders, stating that the government order was in contrast to their traditions, which do not allow women to take up leadership roles.
• The state saw violent protests on its streets from tribal communities, from 31 January onwards, after the state government decided to hold urban local bodies’ (ULB) election with 33 percent reservation for women, which led to the death of three persons in police firing.

A difficult path

• The Naga people are a proud race and have held fast to their cultures, traditions and language. Somehow their tribal loyalty often comes in the way of a collective discourse for the future of Nagaland.
• ACAUT (Against Corruption and Unabated Taxation),
• ACAUT has brought together people from all which is seemingly inclusive of all tribes.
• A sort of mass movement to protest against taxation by different armed groups and factions.
• So far, about 33 delegations, including the different tribal Hohos and recently the six NNPGs, have had their say.

The story of Nagaland

• Nagaland is a far north-eastern state where the main occupation of the people is agriculture.
• Nagaland is rich in flora and fauna and the biodiversity significance of this region has been recognized by WWF.
• The state has been crippled due to insurgency and terrorism. Nagaland’s struggle for sovereignty could be understood only by the circumstances that paved way for this struggle.
• Around twenty tribes are called collectively as the ‘Nagas’ and each of them were known to have their distinct cultural traditions. They had settled in the north-east corner of India for centuries ago and lived in anarchy. The sub-tribes of the ‘Nagas’ have been known to be war amongst themselves for supremacy.
• The establishment of British rule brought Christian missionaries into the Naga Hills which befriended the tribes to an extent but couldn’t win over the staunch followers. This eventually led to resistance and the early movement thus marked its beginning in the 1830s.
• Though the British constituted the District of Naga Hills in 1866, it was not until the beginning of the 20th century that the Naga Hills became an integral part of British India.
• Naga Separatist movement dates back to early 1920s when the Naga club submitted a memorandum before the Simon commission demanding their exclusion from the proposed constitutional reform in British administration in India.
• The memorandum clearly states the lack of social acceptance of the Nagas in the society and the various problems they face.
• Nagas claimed that they had been independent until the British conquered their land and are entitled to be independent after the British left. These arguments elucidate that they have never felt being a part of India, nor were they treated as such.
• The insurgency in the north-east began in Nagaland and was fuelled by the NNC when it took up the path of armed rebellion. This led to an upsurge in the Naga army.
• The declaration of Nagaland as a state in 1963 was said to be an attempt to place a new leadership which would support the Indian constitution .But this attempt infuriated the Naga army and made way for violence.
• Post-independence, the number of people who have been killed in acts of violence is estimated to be nearly one lakh.
• The AFSPA which has been in force since over five decades has been a curse to the north-east as a number of reports floated over the time about the abuse of power.
• After enduring more than 50 years of bloodshed and trauma, the Nagas continue their demand for sovereign statehood.
• The Nagas long to have what they deserve, recognition, a means of decent survival, a social acceptance.

Social Condition

• Materialism has gripped many Nagas. The rich are becoming richer and the poor poorer. The status of those who accumulate more wealth is increasing whereas the principle and value of sharing wealth with others is neglected.
• The issue of the recognition of Rongmei tribe is taken seriously whereas the issue of immigration (from Bangladesh) and migration (from mainland India) is hardly an issue in Nagaland.
• Rongmei community that seeks for tribe recognition total only 1313 persons but that is considered a threat to Naga people in Nagaland.
• The formation of NTC almost created ‘social untouchability’ among the large Naga family.
• Nagaland state gained special status through the labour of all Nagas. Today, Nagas of Nagaland must rise above its traditional 16 tribes’ mentality, become mature and accommodative to all communities of the Nagas.

Political Condition

• Some of the Naga tribes, who are well ahead than others in enjoying the fruit of India’s independence are backsliding from the Naga national cause.
• People seem to be quite satisfied with the ‘provision of India’ that meets their daily basic needs and whoever disturbs this ‘provision’ is condemned.
• From time to time, we hear ‘solitary voice’ of Naga intellectuals lamenting of the dying Naga nationalism, and truly, as a whole, the strength and spirit of Naga nationalism is at a low ebb.
• Naga National Movement continue to survive through the active involvement of the Nagas outside of Nagaland. The condition of the Nagas outside of Nagaland state is pitiful.
• The Nagas in Assam, the Nagas in Manipur, the Nagas in Arunachal Pradesh and the Nagas in Myanmar continue to face all types of oppression and discrimination.
• Many Nagas of Nagaland had strongly condemned the excesses committed by Naga Political Naga Political Groups (NPGs) but keep silent on the excesses committed by Indian Armed forces.
• Unlike in the neighbouring state Manipur, there is no active movement or organisation in Nagaland that condemns the imposition of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). With AFSPA in force, civil government has no power to protect its citizens and hence ceasefire is just a mockery.
• With the coming of BJP at the Centre, there is an attempt to abolish special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir.
• It is possible that one nation, one culture and one law (uniformity of law) will be made as the norm for all citizens of India in the near future. This may lead to the abolition of Article 371(A) too which will have huge impact on the unique status of the Nagas.
• Once this special provision is abolished, the unique status of Naga people will be also gone. Therefore, it is imperative that we all join hands and strive together for an ‘honourable solution’ for the whole Nagas and protect the rights of the Naga nation.

The way forward

• For the Naga people at this juncture, the most pragmatic step is to take a balanced view of the past. Obsession with one point of view hinders any kind of progress.
• With 16 major tribes, each with a sense of nationality of its own and every tribe having its village republics which is a crucial part of their culture, there will be divergent ‘national’ narratives. Naga nationalism is both a sentiment and a movement.
• Ethnic boundaries of yore which went beyond geopolitical borders of the present nation can be both problematic and defy pragmatism.
• There is the issue of the Indian nation state, a term that is also problematic but which has provided its own stability for 70 years.