“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,” NSF President Kegwayhun Tep quoted Charles Dickens as he recounted the incident where the lives of two students were “laid down at the altar of democracy on March 20, 1986.”
It was 20 March, 1986 and the students in thousands were observing a peaceful protest against the introduction of the Indian Police Service cadre in Nagaland and the extension of the 5 km Disturbed Area Belt to 20 km along the international border with Myanmar by the Government of India.
Two students – Kekuojalie Sachü from Kohima Village and Vikhozo Yhoshü from Kigwema Village – were killed due to indiscriminate firing by armed police forces from Alichen during the protest.
Marking the 37th year of this fateful incident, the NSF organized a memorial service and laid wreaths at NSF Martyrs’ Park, Kohima on today, March 20.
Paying tribute to the martyrs, NSF president Kegwayhun Tep said, “37 years ago, the aspirations and the existence of the Naga people were cast upon the shadows of political despair and uncertainty,” and that it was the students that “took to the streets into that darkness of times and lost two precious lives.”
However, Tep stated it was “through the martyrdom of two noble souls, our desire was renewed once again with a renewed sense of direction and purpose; our desire and the ultimate ‘goal for peace’, which is the prayer and the aspiration of the Naga people, was thus established.”
Tep, describing them as true sons of the soil who have been a son, a brother, and a friend to all, extended solidarity to the bereaved family members, and added that the Naga youth and the upcoming generations remain indebted for their sacrifices, and shall continue to honor their sacrifices “through the pages of history and from the fond memories of our hearts.”