Nagaland is gearing up for polling on 19 April, but this election cycle comes with a significant twist. Over 5 lakh voters from Eastern Nagaland are set to abstain from the Lok Sabha election 2024. The state government has recently downplayed this abstention, asserting that the “non-participation of Eastern Nagaland” will not impact the election. Meanwhile, silence prevails on the ENPO’s demand for Frontier Naga Territory from the rest of Nagaland.
While abstaining from voting is a democratic right, one must ponder whether the situation could have been different.
Y Among Yim, President of Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Union Mokokchung (ENPUM) tells Mokokchung Times, “ENPO’s movement, or let’s say the demand, began in 2010 and now it is 2024. When this demand for separate statehood was brought up in 2010, I don’t understand why the state government did not take it seriously. Why did the Nagas not take seriously the idea of dividing Nagaland? I wonder.”
According to the ENPUM president, forwarding the issue to the Government of India by the state government itself was wrong.
“In my opinion, the state government should have initiated a meeting with all the tribal hohos and stakeholders back in 2010 and should have addressed those issues thoroughly. But that didn’t happen. Had they addressed our grievances seriously, perhaps ENPO would have withdrawn the demand years ago or we would not be where we are today,” added the ENPUM president.
Highlighting the isolation felt by Eastern Nagaland, Yim noted that the Eastern Nagas have no ‘third party’, nor have they received any solidarity. “This has deeply hurt us,” noted the ENPUM president.
“For issues such as the ULB election regarding land taxation and 33% reservation, the state government invited all tribal hohos, and there were meetings after meetings to solve these issues. But for the ENPO issue, the state government has never invited the tribal hohos for a meeting. The ENPO issue is about dividing Nagaland; should they not have taken this issue seriously? However, the Nagas took this issue very lightly, and that is painfully regretful.”
The ENPUM president further stated that recent dismissive remarks by the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, stating that ENPO’s non-participation would not impact the election; have deeply hurt him and has further exacerbated feelings of neglect among Eastern Nagaland voters.
“It makes us feel neglected. In fact, I regret that even the people here (Mokokchung) who took the issue seriously, did not stand in solidarity or extend a hand, saying, ‘Come, let’s solve this together.’ It is very regrettable,” expressed the ENPUM president sadly.
H A Hongnao Konyak, Vice President of the Konyak Union, reiterated their commitment to their 23 February Chenmoho resolution, stating, “All citizens of ENPO will abstain from voting.” He further mentioned that they have appealed to all legislators to refrain from voting.
While acknowledging the Eastern Nagaland legislators’ right to vote and their appeal to the public to vote, Konyak emphasized the union’s appeal to all legislators to abstain from voting.
In response to the dismissive remarks made by the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, Konyak commented, “That day, they said some 3.4 lakh votes from Eastern Nagaland are not needed. Why are they appealing to the few ENLU members to vote now? This is very discouraging and, at the same time, a very shameful remark,” said Konyak.
Regarding solidarity and support from other Naga tribes, he expressed disappointment, saying, “We were definitely expecting a certain kind of support, particularly from the Sumis and the Aos, whom we consider our brothers, but it didn’t happen.” Konyak added that this lack of support indeed hurts.
According to him, appealing to them to call off the abstention from the Lok Sabha election is equivalent to not supporting the ENPO cause. He viewed that the real help would be to ask the government to resolve the issue at the earliest.
Retired IAS officer, Khekiye Sema stated that ENPO’s call for abstention reflects a democratic principle and could compel the government to address the issue ‘very seriously’.
“In the national perspective, while ENPO represents a small segment, at the moment, their protest may currently seem inconspicuous. However, once the entire electioneering process settles down, their action will get a ‘very serious’ focus. Their inaction or lack of participation in the election will definitely come into focus,” he remarked.
He further urged ENPO to recognize their integral role in the formation of Nagaland. He recalled how Naga Hills Tuensang Area Act (NHTA) was the starting point and noted how the first generation of the NHTA voluntarily joined hands to form the state of Nagaland, a move he said should be upheld.
“What I wish to convey to the ENPO is that Nagaland belongs to ENPO as much as it does to the rest of the Nagas. ENPO should take pride in their contribution to the state’s formation and appreciate their ownership of Nagaland,” Sema advised.
Sema also proposed a mechanism such as the Autonomous Council of Karbi Anglong along with a definite budget for them exclusively. “The ENPO must be set free from economic oppression. Financial autonomy must be given to them and it should not be touched by anyone,” he said.
While acknowledging ENPO’s right to protest against perceived neglect, Sema appealed for pragmatic and mature thinking, cautioning against the division of the already small state.
“Dividing the state of Nagaland is not the solution. We are already a small state, and dividing it would make us even more insignificant,” he shares with Mokokchung Times.
“At the beginning, they had a regional council where each tribe had their representatives, and a special branch was assigned to them with a minister for Tuensang. Imlong Chang was the first minister looking over Tuensang affairs. Over the years, they have had their representatives and ministers in the government. I would advise the Eastern people to question their own representatives too and not solely blame the state government and other tribes,” he added.
Commenting on the 14-year-long demand of the Eastern Nagas, he said, “The whole issue of ENPO came up under the present Chief Minister. ENPO has every right to complain. Had the government paid serious attention to the issue and also involved the rest of the 8 tribal hohos if necessary, the scenario would have been different. It is obvious the Chief Minister was not serious and he is responsible and accountable for the neglect.”
Responding to what the role of the eight tribal hohos should be, he said, “All the eight tribal hohos must be saying, ‘This is not supposed to happen. We are not going to let the Naga kitchen be divided, so, is there anything we can do? But none of our tribal bodies want to stand up against the government.”
“The tribal hohos are equally responsible for not being able to uphold the principle of brotherhood,” he added.