Tremors in Naga hills: Veteran Jamir says some forces “unrealistically muddying” situation

New Delhi: There is yet another round of clash between Nagaland Governor R N Ravi and the NSCN (IM).

In the meantime, veteran S C Jamir, former Chief Minister and who also served as Governor in Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat, directed his tirade against “some people who were nowhere to be seen” during formative years in the 1960s were now “unrealistically muddying the fountainhead”.The reference is to the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-Isak Muivah) faction.

The militant group NSCN (IM), which is in parleys with the Government of India since 1997, now says: “For the Nagas, the creation of Nagaland state as a result of manipulation and treachery has been recorded as an act of insult to the freedom fighters in particular and to the Naga people in general”.

The strong statement comes close on the heels of a rather unusual but assertive statement from the state Governor R N Ravi, who in his Statehood Day (December 1) message , said “Nagaland state is an abiding testimony to the triumph of the politics of peace over the politics of bloodshed. It is a proud saga of the indomitable Naga spirit which rejected the politics of gun and gun powder in favour of politics of democracy and dialogue”.

The NSCN (IM) has been also critical of the Naga People’s Convention (NPC) – a body of prominent Naga leaders which inked the first statehood agreement in 1960. The pact had finally heralded the formation of the 16th state of Indian Union.

At a time when the NSCN (IM) has made a separate Constitution and Flag a prestige issue vis-a-vis the last stage of parleys with the Centre, veteran Naga politician S C Jamir has in an official function on Dec 1 (Monday) said: “….the successive governments and MLAs in last 57 years have taken oath of allegiance to the Constitution of India. The Constitutional provisions on Nagaland are the fountainhead for Nagas and it should not be muddied by anyone. Unfortunately some people, who were nowhere to be seen during the critical periods of Naga history are now unrealistically muddying the fountainhead”.

Jamir, who reportedly as Gujarat Governor enjoyed good rapport with the then Narendra Modi, was speaking at a function at Kohima Raj Bhavan on Dec 1 wherein the bust of a legendary Naga leader Dr Imkongliba Ao, the president of Naga People’s Convention (of 1960s) was inaugurated. The momentous occasion was graced by Governor R N Ravi and Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio among others.

Ravi also has outright rejected the twin and ‘unacceptable’ demands of flag and constitution for Nagas and said these issues remain strictly non-negotiable. “Anyone talking anything contrary (that Flag and Constitution are being negotiated) is peddling preposterous lies”, he said in his Statehood Day speech.

The NSCN (IM) has been a potent militant group for over a decade but the group has largely drawn its strength by cadres and leaders from the Tangkhul tribe in the neighbouring state of Manpur – that is ‘outside Nagaland’.

The situation in Nagaland is turning complex as military operations have been launched against NSCN (IM) and other militant groups ‘outside Nagaland’.

Lately army chief Gen M M Naravane himself landed in state capital Kohima and held crucial meetings with senior military officers, Governor Ravi and also Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio.

The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN – Isak Muivah) faction has issued a strongly worded statement on Nov 24 stating “our patience (perhaps in reference to military operations in certain pockets) should not be translated as weak and helpless”. It also warned: “The consequences…will be disastrous for both the parties (NSCN-IM and Govt of India). This is never in the interest of a ceasefire across Naga areas”.

The Naga peace talks, kicked off in 1997 during the Prime Ministership of I K Gujral, have one way or the other reached the final stage. Seven militant groups operating in Nagaland under the umbrella body, NNPG, are already too kin to sign the peace pact, while the NSCN (IM) has been insisting that they would not compromise on the issues of the flag and constitution.

Not long ago, even former Mizoram Governor Swaraj Kaushal, who was negotiator in Naga peace talks in 1998, has said that the NSCN(IM) were not being ‘realistic’ by raising these issues and thus should not press for such demands

.

“The symbols of sovereignty namely, separate constitution, flag, currency, defence and foreign affairs are sacrosanct and never negotiable,” he has said.

It may be noted that in his observation without naming NSCN(IM), Ravi made a veiled attack on the ultra-group and perhaps its leader Thuingaleng Muivah that – “Protracted armed insurgency and endless peace process have taken an unacceptable toll on the people of Nagaland”.

At the official function at Raj Bhavan to unveil the bust of legendary NPC president Dr Ao, Governor Ravi “lamented that the people of Nagaland have not yet been able to fully enjoy the fruits of statehood due to some people, mostly from outside the state, who in pursuance of a perverse political ideology, are creating roadblocks to enduring peace in the state”.

The influential Naga Students Federation (NSF) has, however, flayed the Governor. It said: “Though there is no denying the fact that the creation of Nagaland did reap in monetary dividends for a section of the Naga people besides other tangible and intangible perks, it had only resulted in a more fractious Naga society and Governor’s claim that it has been the best thing to happen to the Naga people only reveals his shallow understanding of the Naga history and also the narrow walls within which he has been trying to solve the vexed Indo Naga political issue”.