A TOXIC COCKTAIL | Khekiye K. Sema, IAS (Retd)

They say when a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it would jump out immediately. However, if the frog is put in tepid water which is then very gradually brought to a boil, the frogs gets complacent to the changing temperature and finally get boiled alive. This metaphoric narrative seems to regrettably describe the reality of our present day Naga people.

With all sincerity we give due respect and acknowledge the courageous sacrifice of our first generation National Workers who unselfishly placed their lives on the line during a very trying times for what they truly believed in. But in today’s world, we seem to be completely subdued and driven by insatiable greed for money and power and have all but lost sight of the collective dream and aspiration for self-determination…a torch that had honorably been passed down to us by our first generation folks. While the world beyond our little Naga pond is forging ahead on a fast-track mode towards a new era of ‘Artificial Intelligence’, here we are, still struggling and stagnating with our traditional occupation of ‘slash and burn’ agriculture as the mainstay of our rural populace. It is most unfortunate that the Nagas are caught up in a cancerous environment having collectively put into motion a vicious cycle of corruption simply by ‘buying and selling votes’ during the election process, thus extenuating M-O-N-E-Y as the root cause of all our woes. Resultantly, we have our elected representatives on the one hand, running a State Government that is consummately focused on trying to get more ‘Central Funding’ through BJP alignment…and then go full steam ahead with an un-camouflaged intention of recuperating their election expenditures by hook or crook (mostly by crook) through the conduit of a well oiled machine called the ‘Opposition less Government’…sans transparency or accountability; On the other hand we have our very own home grown “National Workers” intensely focused on an identical mission of  extorting the masses with impunity in the name of Sovereignty…what a toxic cocktail this is!

There is a general perception that neither the present Chief Minister of the “Opposition less Government of Nagaland” nor the General Secretary of NSCN (IM) wants a speedy solution for obvious reason of self preservation and self interest. Such a perception doing the round begins to gain credibility with a State Government that is completely complacent towards the festering Naga Political issue which has further been compounded by a very disruptive ‘kitchen problem’ like that of ENPO’s quest for a “Frontier Naga Territory”. The Government has shown no earnest initiative or urgency to try and actively iron out a workable solution in both the instances; a State Government insensitive to the excruciating  suffering that the common man have been helplessly going through for over half a century in hands of our new breed of gun-toting, self-seeking so-called ‘national workers’ diligently carrying out their unforgiving  extortion with impunity; a State Government that is not fully awake to the fact that the hopes, the dreams and the aspirations of our younger generation is being crucified. Our children have great potentialities of become professionally competitive in any given field in the national or international arenas …if only they were afforded peaceful environment with a corollary infrastructure for them to further hone their God given natural talents which is abundantly visible. Given the opportunity I firmly believe our younger generation is second to none. However, such a transformation can never see the light of day as long as the uncertainty of the “Naga Political settlement” lingers on indefinitely;

With Government employment capability having reached its saturation point our educated youths are now beginning to deeply feel the brunt of abandonment and hopelessness. To make the matter worse, many of our younger generation attempting to venture into self employing entrepreneurship are being stifled by ‘sovereignty tax’ being imposed on them by our very own ‘national workers’ without exception.  It is rather disappointing to note that with so many ‘Youth Organizations’ floating around in the State, none has shown collective wisdom to take leadership responsibility to challenge this disastrous syndrome that is destabilizing their lot. For how much longer must the Nagas live in an unfulfilled ‘half life’?

Isn’t it about time for the Nagas in general and the State Government in particular to realize that the issue of self-determination is not the sole preserve of our so called ‘National Workers’? Isn’t it abundantly clear that their claim as “National Workers” is but an outward façade? The interest for the greater good of the people is furthest from their minds with their self serving interest in the driving seat.  The ground reality says it all. Nowhere on planet earth will we ever find one Nation hosting 24 Presidents and 24 Prime Ministers, each functioning independent of the other, each ruthlessly extorting the masses as Independent Factions, flaunting their comical status of importance and menacing around in their posh SUVs with heavily armed bodyguards. This can only happen within what NSCN (IM) calls a “Naga Nation”. The absurdity of each Faction presumably “fighting” for a mind boggling 24 different kinds of sovereignty for the Nagas defies imagination! They have literally reduced themselves to a status of “Organized Mafia Factions” (OMFs) solely scheming to expand their respective extortion network in the name of sovereignty. They should be ashamed of calling themselves ‘national workers’! It ought to be a bitter insult to anyone with a modicum of gray matter. Despite such flagrant unpalatable garbage routinely being shoved down our throats…we the people…our elected representatives in the government…our supposedly responsible Tribal Apex Hohos…all without exception continue to remain cowed down in abject silence, inaction and fear. What Edmund Burk, the philosopher, had said a long time ago that: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” seems to have been said with Nagas in his mind. Nagas must clearly understand that the subject of self-determination is an issue that directly impacts on the life and destiny of each and every soul…as a stakeholder. It therefore goes without saying that it is a fundamental right of the stakeholders to demand for transparency in the matter of final solution which should have by now been put on the table to enable and ensure that the overall interest of stakeholders is honestly being addressed…but even this is not happening! It is deplorably frustrating to watch all our docile Tribal Apex Hohos showing no backbone to exercise this right for the sake of people they represent. Be rest assured that the so-called “competency Clauses” document of NSCN (IM) is deliberately being kept secret because it has very many questionable contents detrimental to the interest of the Nagas of Nagaland. In this context this author had carried out an analysis titled “A DISPASSIONATE ANALYSIS OF NSCN (IM)’s COMPETENCY CLAUSES” based on their actual original document. This article was published by our local print media perhaps on the 12^th October 2023. I would encourage the readers to revisit this column. The forewarning of impending storm that would marginalize the destiny of our younger generation of Nagaland in the post solution era has been carefully explained therein. Indeed, we are that little frog, well and truly getting acclimatized to the steadily rising temperature of greed, deceit, extortion, corruption and fear as a regular way of life, unconcerned that the road we are travelling will eventually lead us all to a destination called disaster.

It is equally surprising to observe that even the intellectual community of Nagaland seems to either be so thoroughly cowed down by fear or getting thoroughly misled by our Southern brothers in the NSCN (IM). Either ways, their silence is deafening! If the contents of the “Competency Clauses” envisioned in the much talked about “Framework Agreement” is carefully scrutinized the picture that emerges unambiguously is a solution that is structured within the Indian Constitution…repeat…within the framework of the Indian Constitution. Though NSCN (IM) has been magnifying “Shared Sovereignty” like it were real sovereignty, in factual terms it is nothing more than a Federated State equivalent like that of any other State in the Indian Union with the exception of being provided a special dispensation that is not very divergently different from that of Article 371 (A). The proposed final solution as contained in the “Competency Clauses” does not address the subjects of “Sovereignty” and “Integration” in any conclusive manner other than being relegated for an inconsequential review through ‘due democratic process’ somewhere in the future. It is therefore a pointless exercise on the part of the NSCN (IM) to continue fooling the people and stalling the process of a final solution on account of Flag and Yezahbo that does not enhance the sovereign status in any way other than to satisfy our emotional sentiment. To think that a handful of chameleon “Elder brother of Meities of Manipur” within the NSCN (IM) cadre are  being allowed to so brazenly dictate terms to the Nagas of Nagaland without a question from any quarter is nauseating to say the least.

Learning lessons from the experience of Jammu & Kashmir where the Article 370 was revoked by an Act of Parliament…in the case of Nagaland…no matter what be the majority in the House…if the final solution can ensure that the Indian Parliament is Constitutionally  disempowered from arbitrarily revoking Article 371A /(Yezahbo) itself to begin with, including its sub-contents therein unless the Legislative Assembly of Nagaland by a resolution so decides;  the term “Shared Sovereignty” would then acquire a meaningful qualification whereby the Nagas get a Constitutional safeguard to  exercise the ultimate control of our destiny. This is just a layman’s inexperienced perspective being shared.

Finally, taking cognizance of the hard fact that the solution is being envisaged within the Indian Constitution, it would logically follow that the State Government would not be violating their oath of allegiance to the Constitution and would be well within its legitimate right to play a direct role even at the negotiation table alongside our OMFs…since all subjects being dealt with would be within the ambit of the Constitution. The State Government should consider exercising its mind on this further and technically examine this new perspective minutely thereafter shed its passive façade as a ‘facilitator’ facilitating nothing and get more proactive perhaps. Meanwhile, since the Parliamentary Election is over with a coalition government in place our Opposition less Government ought to seriously gear up and at least ‘facilitate’ awareness campaign with the new team of coalition Leaders at the Centre for speeding up the process. This is the least they can do for the good of the people even if it means reducing their money hunting hours…because this unholy brotherhood between an impotent accommodative Government and an aggressive tax hunting OMFs has become a toxic cocktail that is slowly but surely driving the common man on a downhill spiral to hell on earth!

KHEKIYE K. SEMA IAS (Retd)

Thilixu Village;

Chumukedima; Nagaland.

28^th July 2024.