Global Naga Forum
“Naga political issue is larger than the Nagas of Nagaland”
“Naga people’s issue is with the Government of India”
The Global Naga Forum (GNF) has issued a compelling call for a unified approach to address the Indo-Naga political issue, highlighting the necessity of overcoming regional divisions within the Naga community. The GNF statement delivered at the Nagaland Consultative Meet held recently in Kohima on September 12 called by the state government stated that “Change of leadership in any people’s political movement is bound to happen,” noting that while the early leadership and mobilization for the Naga movement came from the western regions of the ancestral homeland, the southern and eastern Nagas have increasingly taken a leading role since the 1960s.
“Since change in political leadership is a given, the question for us is: What have the Naga leaders in state governments and the Naga Political Groups done with this fact of life?” it asked.
In the last 25 to 30 years, the GNF observed that Nagas have nurtured a culture of mutual intolerance, in some cases hatred, for one another based on the regions of the Naga homeland, as though Nagas must decide how to relate with fellow Nagas according to where we and they were born.
“Currently, this divisive attitude seems to be most prevalent among the Nagas of Nagaland state towards Nagas from other states and regions. This must change if we want a peaceful and inclusive resolution of the problem,” it stated.
According to GNF, the issue at hand is much broader than just the relationship between Nagaland and the Indian government. “There are two basic facts for this: First, because the Naga political issue is larger than the Nagas of Nagaland; second, because the Naga people’s issue is with the Government of India,” the forum stated. The forum stressed that the issue is not between the Nagaland state and India.
“So, if Nagas of Nagaland, particularly the leaders, want to play a helpful role in finding a peaceful and inclusive resolution to the eight decades long Indo- Naga political issue, then the state government representatives and the civil society leaders in the state have to recognize that they cannot resolve the problem with the Indian government by themselves,” the GNF stated. It further reminded that there are around 1.85 million (18.5 lakhs) Naga population in other parts of the Naga Homeland, which is almost equal to the population in the present state of Nagaland.
The GNF also highlighted that since the Nagaland state government is an extension of India’s constitutional scheme, it cannot go against the GOI and its interest.
“At best, it can play the role of ‘facilitator’ between the two contesting parties,” it said.
The GNF explained that resolving the Indo-Naga political problem involves dealing with seven decades of continuous Naga revolutionary groups in different regions of the Naga homeland, not just within Nagaland state, and the idea of a nation and Naga peoplehood for the revolutionary groups differs from that of a dependent statehood within the Indian union.
“They tend to see discussion on political bargain for more economic packages for the elite as a constant threat to Naga nationalism. The settlement of the Indo-Naga political issue must therefore be inclusive, comprehensive, and just,” it asserted, stating that this is not something the PAC, a body of Nagaland state legislators, can successfully facilitate if it excludes the Naga people and the NPGs outside of the state.
The GNF suggests that there is a remedy towards PAC’s limitation. It is by helping create a common Naga platform for every tribe from the entire Naga homeland to come together and sit across the table to find a unified constructive resolution.
“The Nagaland PAC can create a mechanism for such a platform even if a Naga apex body is not possible. This would be a new and promising step for finding an inclusive and united Naga position to take to the Government of India,” it said.
Without this unified approach, the forum warned of a challenging path ahead. “The road ahead is grim and hard,” it cautioned, considering scenarios such as “breaking the ceasefire and going back to the jungle, which sounds unimaginable, especially given the situations in Manipur and other areas.”
“The point here is that after nearly eighty years of struggle with India for self-determination and de-militarization of the Naga ancestral homeland, with a history of continuous diminishing returns for our people, the Nagas cannot afford to stay silent and immobilized,” the GNF said.
GNF reiterated the fundamental rights of the Naga people: “Nagas are not against anybody – India, Myanmar, or our neighbors.” It affirmed that the Naga people have the natural right to their ancestral homeland
“We have the right to claim it, secure it, and improve it for our families and the common good. Nagas, past and present, have the human right to determine for ourselves how to live together and the responsibility to set up social and public governance systems amongst ourselves, without outside interference, much less domination by neighbors through military force,” it added.