The Naga political problem was the first major crisis that confronted the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. But he was insensitive to God given rights of the Naga people and thus, failed to handle the issue in the manner it deserves. When the Nagas stood up for their rights and insisted on Naga independence he responded with total disdain. He treated the Naga freedom fighters no better then terrorists and ultimately he enforced the draconian Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 to terrorize the Nagas into submission.
For more than 60 years Nagas continues to be terrorised by the Indian security forces that are empowered to use force even to the extent of causing death.
“Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru held divergent views on the Naga political problem. While Gandhi believed Nagas had the right to be independent Nehru wanted to crush them by force”-Th.Muivah, General Secretary, NSCN.
It is a matter of history how the Government of India under the leadership of the then Prime Minister of India, Mr.Jawaharlal Nehru sent thousands of Indian armed forces equipped with the diabolic law called the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) to subjugate the Nagas with brute force where they committed the horrible crimes of human rights violations mass tortures, mass rapes, summary executions, massacres, mass detention in concentration camps, destruction of houses, churches, schools, villages and forests. But the Nagas survived from the onslaught of the Indian aggressors to prove to the world that Naga Nation cannot be destroyed at the whims of Nehru.
No wonder the Nagas despised him on account of his disdainful unscrupulousness towards the Nagas.
In 1956 Nehru complained to India’s Defence Minister Kailash Nath Katju, “It is fantastic to imagine that the Government of India is going to be terrorised into some action (compromised) by Phizo and company.” He told the Defence Minister to act swiftly, because “It does not help in dealing with tough people with weak nerves.”
Noted Indian historian Sarvepalli Gopal commented on Nehru’s disdain for Nagas: ”Weakness in dealing with such people appeared to him to be almost a sin.”
Nehru reasoned with the then Assam government to let go of the “gangrenous” Naga Hills: “When a limb has become gangrenous, for God’s sake, cut it off at once before the whole body is infected.” In Nehru’s mind, then, the Nagas were “terrorists” from the start for wanting to be a free people, as well as incurable disease on India’s body politic. Interestingly though, he did not take his area outside its own immediate range. That is to say, since Tibet is not the same as China, it should ultimately be the wishes of the people of Tibet that should prevail and not any legal or constitutional arguments.”
Thus, the decision of the Indian state to suppress the wishes and will of the Naga people in the interest of its constitution revealed overwhelming internal contradictions that only threaten the very democratic framework that it claim to represent.
It is on record in the history of Indo-Naga political conflict that in spite of repeated attempts at every opportunity by the Nagas to seek peaceful solution with India through political understanding and respect, the Government of India failed to reciprocate such sincere and honest attempts. Rather than seeking to address the Naga people through political and diplomatic means, it chose the path of militarization and use of force to try and crush the Naga people’s spirit and desire to decide their own political own advice of cutting off the gangrenous Naga Hills from India.
In December 1951, a delegation of NNC led by Phizo met Nehru who was campaigning in Assam for the first general election of India. Phizo showed him the result of the Naga plebiscite and demanded Naga sovereignty. The reply given by Nehru was, “In the present context, both India and the world, it is impossible to consider even for a moment such an absurd demand for independence of the Nagas”.
A year later the Nagas responded to Nehru by boycotting the first General Election of India and the ballot boxes were sent back empty. In March 1952 Naga delegation under Phizo met Nehru. When the issue of Naga independence was raised again Nehru lost his cool and said, “even if heaven falls or the whole country goes to pieces and the rivers runs red in the country, I don’t care. Whether I am here or anybody comes in, I don’t care. Nagas will never be allowed to become independent.” He even said that he could station one Indian soldier for every tree in Nagalim and it would be a matter of few days for the Indian Armed Forces to crush the Naga.
Later in the Parliament too Nehru reiterated “…it is not good talking to me about independence for that area. I consider it fantastic for that little corner between China, Burma and India to be called an independent state. I was not prepared to discuss independence… I should be glad to meet them (Naga delegation) provided they did not demand independence.” This was the reason why Nehru went panic whenever Phizo sought an appointment with him.
After more than 60 years, ground reality proved Nehru wrong as he couldn’t crush the Nagas no matter how he indulged himself in the glorification of the brute strength of Indian Security Forces. Ironically, after Nehru was long gone the top generals of Indian Armed Forces admitted the folly of seeking military solution to the Naga issue and advised the government of India to accept the hard fact that Naga issue is political and therefore, political negotiation must be explored. The undeniable results of the wanton use of AFSPA in Naga areas is the intense feeling of alienation of the Naga people that put a thrust in solidifying Naga nationalism.
Nehru proved himself to be a man of contradiction and not as a man of principle when it comes to dealing with the Naga political issue. Sending a clear message to China on the rights of the Tibetan people he stated: “It is not right for any country to talk about its sovereignty or suzerainty over an destiny.
As the first Prime Minister of India, Nehru helped India overcome many insurmountable difficulties. But in the case of Naga issue he lost his mind because he undermined the Nagas. But Nagas knows how to hit back to teach him a piece of lesson during his visit to Kohima that haunted him till the last breath of his political life.
History said that Nehru face humiliation and disgrace in the soil of the Nagas that he had never experienced before and would not have faced such things again anywhere in India. The truth of his Kohima visit along with Burmese Prime Minister U Nu in March 1953 was that he wants the Nagas to listen to him. But for the Nagas, they had gathered at the Kohima football ground that day in March 1953 not only to hear Nehru but also to be heard about what Nagas want. Therefore, when it was announced that they would not be heard, they felt humiliated and insulted and at once retaliated by walking out of the playground without hearing what the Indian Prime Minister was about to say. Some of the infuriated Nagas even showed their bare bottoms as they walked off like raging dust storms. Nehru refused to forget this humiliation heaped on him by the Nagas right before the eyes of Burmese Prime Minister U Nu. Few years later in 1958 Nehru introduced the AFSPA to crush the Naga people and thus, started the footprints of violence to crack down the Naga peoples’ rights.
Government of India never learn from the failure of Nehru’s handling of Naga issue and continue to follow his bloody model of depending on the brute force of AFSPA. It is however a living record that the nerves of steel that the Naga freedom fighters possessed drives the Naga political movement. For the Nagas in general and the freedom fighters in particular, the Naga political movement till today is guided by the popular American English proverb, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”. In simple language it means “when the situation becomes difficult, strong people are able to step up and handle it”. In God we trust we shall overcome someday.
Kuknalim
– Nagalim Voice, Vol 014, issue 23 November 2022
