The Chakhesang Public Organisation (CPO) on Friday expressed “grave disappointment” over the Government of India’s decision to deny a visa to Rev Franklin Graham, who was scheduled to minister at a large Christian gathering in Nagaland.
In a statement, the organisation said the refusal has “deeply hurt the sentiments of the Naga people,” noting that the Christian community had been preparing for months to receive him.
Nagaland, the CPO said, had viewed the planned visit as a moment of renewal for its Christian population. The “abrupt refusal” of visa, it stated, reflects “a pattern of step-motherly treatment that our people have endured for generations,” adding that decisions affecting Nagas are often taken “without consultation or regard for our history, identity, and collective aspirations.”
The CPO also recalled the words from the 1929 Memorandum of the Naga Club to the Simon Commission – “Leave us alone to determine for ourselves as in ancient times” – describing it as an enduring sentiment anchored in the community’s historical consciousness.
The organization said actions that undermine the faith and identity of the Nagas “only deepen alienation” and reinforce the belief that their distinct identity and rights continue to be overlooked. “Our future and destiny must be shaped by our own values, our own history, and our own collective will,” it added.
Reiterating its advocacy for the right of Nagas to self-determine their future, the CPO said any action that undermines this dignity “strikes at the core of our identity.” It described the visa denial not as a procedural matter but “a direct affront to the Christian community of Nagaland and to the dignity of an entire people,” further warning that it widens the trust deficit and “reopens historical wounds that have never been honestly addressed.”
“We urge the Government of India to act with fairness, transparency, and sensitivity, and to refrain from decisions that wound the sentiments of a people with a long-standing and distinct historical identity,” the statement said.
The statement was signed by CPO president Vezuhu Keyho and general secretary Chepetso Koza.
