Subject: Complaint against Unlawful Surveillance and Infiltration of Private Naga WhatsApp Group by Assam Rifles Personnel
Dear General Kumar:
We, the officers of the Global Naga Forum (GNF), are writing to request your kind attention and immediate action on a serious offence of unlawful surveillance and intrusion into GNF’s private WhatsApp forum committed by Assam Rifles personnel, Major Narendra, posted at Avangkhu, Nagaland. Major Narendra clandestinely embedded himself into the GNF forum and surreptitiously monitored our conversations and gathered internal information for over five months, until we recently discovered his presence and deleted him from the group.
Before letting you know how Major Narendra’s behaviour makes us feel, we should say what kind of Naga community the Global Naga Forum is, and what we are about. Members of the Global Naga Forum are individual Nagas from across the states and borders of the Naga homeland. We are a group dedicated to promoting peace and unity amongst our people and opposing human rights violations against all people, without exception, starting with those committed against the Nagas in the region and elsewhere.
So the question we’ve been asking ourselves — and we hope responsible Indian Army Generals of your high standing will also seriously ponder with us, is: If a Naga community dedicated to peace and advocacy of human and civil rights prompts members of the Indian armed forces to violate the group’s constitutional rights of the freedom of speech, privacy, and freedom to engage in cultural, social, and democratic activities, what kind of country does that make India? Specifically, since the surreptitious and oppressive role Major Narendra played was aimed at a Naga community, the inevitable question is: What have India’s military invasion of the Nagas in the mid-1950s and the imposition thereafter of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), from 1958 to today, done to the Nagas as a people? And what has the unending militarization of the Naga homeland done to the humanity of generations of good men and women of the Indian armed forces including the Assam Rifles? What about India’s reputation in the world? Or more importantly, what kind of civilization has modern India nurtured and promoted since its independence from Britain in areas like the Naga homeland, the northeast, and Kashmir?
Coming to the specifics of Major Narendra’s offenses: On 24th April 2024, Mr. Thongtsumiu, a GNF member and WhatsApp group Admin, was stopped and interrogated by Major Narendra while crossing the border. During this encounter, the Major brazenly confiscated Mr. Thongtsumiu’s mobile phone, and in an act of outright coercion demanded that he be added to the GNF group. When Mr. Thongtsumiu refused, because the group was for Nagas only, Major Narendra threatened Mr. Thongtsumiu and denied him passage into Nagaland at the check post, forcing him to return to his village on the Myanmar side of the Naga homeland.
We recently discovered that Major Narendra had embedded himself into our WhatsApp group and spied on us for over five months. There’s no legal justification for this in a democratic and civilized society. We take grave offence at his brazen infringement on our basic rights, as we said above. Further, Major Narendra’s arrogant behaviour and utter disregard for Mr. Thongtsumiu’s dignity and feelings was most unbecoming of an officer of his rank. It is intolerable. What kind of man goes to other people’s land with an assault weapon in hand and threatens and terrorizes innocent civilians who are going about their daily business in their homeland?
Let us be absolutely clear: these actions represent a flagrant violation of Article 19(1) (a) of the Indian constitution, which guarantees every citizen the right to free speech and expression, and Article 21, which upholds the fundamental right to privacy. Major Narendra’s egregious intrusion on the GNF occurred without the slightest legal justification—no warrant, no judicial oversight, no legitimate basis in law.
India’s actions like Major Narendra’s not only trample on constitutional guarantees but also blatantly violate the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), particularly Article 36, which affirms the right of Indigenous Peoples to maintain and develop contacts, relations, and cooperation, including the right to move freely across borders, within their own traditionally occupied territories. The arbitrary demarcation of international boundaries, dividing the Naga family, has rendered our people unable to visit their relatives or address critical needs for food, health, and emergencies — an inhumane and indefensible violation of our fundamental rights. Moreover, these acts contravene India’s international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), particularly Article 17, which explicitly protects individuals from arbitrary interference with their privacy. India’s standing in the global community is tarnished when institutions like the Assam Rifles not only flout domestic laws but blatantly ignore the country’s international legal commitments.
In light of the above, the Global Naga Forum requests General Kumar for immediate clarification and accountability on the following points:
1. Under what specific legal provision did Maj. Narendra and Assam Rifles deem it permissible to infiltrate a private citizens’ forum with the intent of monitoring discussions on socio-cultural and sensitive human rights issues?
2. What legal rationale allowed him and Assam Rifles to violate the constitutional rights of Naga citizens for over five months without any legal sanction or due process?
3. What immediate punitive measures will be taken against Maj. Narendra – and any other personnel complicit in these violations? How is he or they going to be held accountable under the law? We seek not merely reassurances, but concrete, transparent actions.
We request General Kumar that appropriate action be taken against Major Narendra to prevent such incidents in the future. We also urge your office to establish clear guidelines to protect citizens’ fundamental rights from being violated under the guise of national security. We trust that the Assam Rifles under your leadership will address this matter seriously and take necessary steps to uphold the rule of law and the rights of citizens.
We await your prompt response and assurance that such violations will not recur.
Yours sincerely,
Chuba Ozuküm
Convenor
James Pochury
General Secretary
Prof Rosemary Dzüvichü
Co-Convenor
Prof Paul Pimomo
Secretary
CC: Maj Narendra, Avangkhu Check Post for ready reference and compliance as demanded.