What:
This is the start of the 21st Century Naga Solidarity Walk, the first leg of a people’s relay for unity and peace in the Naga homeland. This is not an anti-India project; this is a pro-Naga movement and a non-violent one.
Background:
Our Naga ancestors from multiple language and cultural families walked the length and breadth of their respective territories for hundreds of years if not millennia. Then European colonialism and modernity arrived in these parts. And with that, colonial Britain and postcolonial India and Burma split up the Naga homeland for control of our lands and ancestors. Today, Nagas live demarcated and separated in four states in India and a province in Myanmar. Nagas of the 21st century need to step into the soles of our ancestors and walk the length and breadth of the Naga homeland across the artificial boundaries that are dividing us.
Nagas have fought hard for our right to live in an undivided homeland, and to grow and thrive together as a people. It has been a long and arduous struggle. But even after tens of thousands of our brave ancestors and family members have given their lives for the cause, our homeland remains divided and our right to a self-determined future has been stalled by external and internal roadblocks. The most formidable roadblock was and still is the militarization of our homeland.
Extra-judicial laws like the Disturbed Areas Act (DAA) and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the Indian side of Naga homeland have infested our lands and lives like deadly locusts since the 1950s. The innocent civilian victims of the Oting and Mon murders in December of 2021 and the Chasa shooting of April 2022 are the latest casualties.
We know there will be more. We must remember that for as long as the Indian Army occupies our lands under the protection of these repressive and inhuman laws, Nagas are not a free people, and will never be free.
Our homeland is (in Indian armed personnel-to-Naga ratio) one of the most if not the most heavily militarized regions of the world. The Indian military campaign against the Naga right of self-determination started in 1954. This is 2022.
Why:
The peoplehood of the Nagas has reached a critical point. Somewhere on the difficult journey, some Nagas grew weary and lost focus. Our adversaries infiltrated the ranks of the Naga cause and sowed seeds of discord and hatred amongst us. Unimaginable things happened from which we have not recovered.
But deep down, given the right moment and opportunity, the resilience of the Naga people and the spirit of camaraderie in our character will sustain us. We will walk and converge in a common path of healing and peace for a shared journey to an undivided homeland: One People, One Destiny.
The Solidarity Walk will celebrate our being Nagas together. It will be inclusive, non-partisan, and peaceful. The Walk will bridge the divisions and boundaries – physical and regional, ideological and political, tribal and gender. It will be a joyous cultural enactment of Naga sisterhood and brotherhood, reinforcing our community bonds as a people across the states in India and Northwest Myanmar, as well as Nagas around the world.
The Inaugural Event:
The Naga Solidarity Walk will begin in Kohima on 28th July and cross Angami territory, Mao territory, Maram territory, Poumai territory, and will converge in Tahamzam ( Senapati) on 29th July, 2022.
Request for Participation and Help:
For the event to be successful, we will need the help of every Naga, every leader, every organization and CSO throughout the Naga homeland. We believe Nagas will step forward and help out in your respective capacities and with your resources, whether that is participating in the walk, giving financial assistance, working on the planning and logistics, providing goods, or serving the community.
Kuknalim!
Co-ordination Committee,
