Sixty-three years after four descendants of the Leubaza clan reportedly gave their heritage land at Khensa for the Naga peace process, the donation was put into a written record on Sunday at the very site where the Peace Talk Camp stands.
The documentation coincided with the 63rd Indo-Naga Ceasefire Day, observed as Nagaland Peace Day, and was marked by the dedication of a covenant stone at the Peace Talk Camp.
According to the inscription on the stone, Mapukaba, Merenmayang, Temsunungba and Pangertoshi,the four descendants of the Leubaza clan,donated their clan heritage land at Yimyu Tenem, Khensa, on September 6, 1964, to the Naga nation in connection with the vision of the 1964 Indo-Naga ceasefire.
The covenant stone also acknowledges the role of the Peace Mission and the Nagaland Baptist Church Council in facilitating the peace process.
The land documents bear the signatures of NNC and FGN representatives, including Adino Phizo, President of the NNC; Kezha Angami, Kedahge of the FGN; and A Ayimneken Imchen, former Pangtong of the FGN.
Alemmeren, Chairman of the Khensa Village Council said that while both the Federal Government of Nagaland and the Leubaza clan had maintained that the land was donated, there had been no written documentation to substantiate the account.
He described Sunday’s documentation as a milestone, saying the village had remained in a dilemma over the absence of a written record.
Rev. P. Longri Longchar, Emissary, said the land was given free of cost by the grandchildren of Mapukaba for the peace process.
He said a large house was built on the site with contributions from Ao villages. Khensa and Sungratsü villages came together for the construction, while Changki contributed towards the road leading to the camp.
The site later hosted peace talks and major gatherings connected with the Naga political issue. Longchar said talks were held at the camp on three occasions and recalled a gathering attended by three members of the Indian Parliament, when around 20,000 Nagas assembled at the site in support of Naga rights.
Khensa is among the four villages where Naga peace talk was held – Chedema, Wokha and Longmisa.