Fight For Naga Sovereignty Continues

Demand for ‘Frontier Nagaland’ fails to get enough attention, believe community leaders

By Avalok Langer

The Telangana issue has made it to the mainstream media, but the demand to bifurcate Nagaland and Manipur has somehow to not found its 15 minutes of fame. Earlier this month, the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO) vocalised its demand through the media for a separate state -- Frontier Nagaland. The ENPO, representing six tribes (Chang, Konyak, Phom, Sangtam, Khiamniungan and Yimchunger ) of eastern Nagaland, has submitted a memorandum to the prime minister demanding the creation of a new state comprising of the Tuensang, Mon, Longleng and Kiphire districts in Nagaland and the Naga-dominated districts of Arunachal, Tirap and Changlang. New nomenclature for an old sentiment, the demand for a “Frontier Nagaland” is based on economics and history. “Our demand for the creation of Frontier Nagaland is something like going back to the earlier arrangement when the entire area was under the erstwhile Tuensang Frontier Division of NEFA (North East Frontier Agency),” said ENPO General Secretary Toshi Wungpung. He also alleged that for decades, gross injustice has been done to the people of these four districts by successive governments, both in the state and at the Centre. “Of the 11 districts in Nagaland, these four backward districts have almost half of the state’s total population. But despite that, they continue to remain extremely underdeveloped.”

He added that not more than 5 per cent of the population has government jobs and as there are no other job avenues, the economic situation is progressively deteriorating. “The issue of underdevelopment and neglect to the eastern part of Nagaland has been an issue doing the rounds for some time. The demand of job reservation for these underdeveloped areas had been gaining momentum so this demand of creation of a separate statehood is something very obvious in the present geopolitical scenario,” explained John Sema, a teacher of political science at Nagaland University.

While the demand for “Frontier Nagaland” gains popular support in Nagaland’s eastern districts, south of the border, communal tension in Manipur reached breaking point in mid-2010. On July 1, 2010, the Naga Peoples’ Convention (NPC) – the highest Naga decision-making body in Manipur – demanded an alternative arrangement. The Nagas residing in the hill districts of Manipur decided to sever all political ties with the “communal” government of Manipur and also declared the Autonomous District Council’s elections null and void. They approached the central government to work out an arrangement outside the Manipur state structure to fill the vacuum created in governance and administration.

The NPC letter to the Prime Minister states: “This drastic decision was necessitated by the unmistakable fact that it had become impossible for the Nagas to protect their right to life, land, time-honoured institutions, customary practices and values under the administration of the dominant and communal government of Manipur.”

According to the NPC, for years the hill districts of Manipur have been ignored by subsequent “Meitei-dominated” state governments. They are not only denied infrastructure development, education and medical facilities and employment opportunities, but also adequate representation. “The tribal areas in Manipur consist of 90 per cent of the land and 41 per cent of the state’s total population,” the letter states. “(However) the tribals have only 20 representatives in the House (state legislature) of 60. Each tribal MLA represents a population of 49,154 and about 1004.5 sq km on an average. On the other hand, Manipur valley (Meitei-dominated) consists of 10 per cent of land and 59 per cent of the state’s total population, but the valley has 40 MLAs who represents just 35,139 population and 55.9 sq km on an average.”

G Vashum, a member of the Alternate Arrangement Committee, said: “The third round of tripartite talks” between the Manipur government, the Centre and the Nagas has been called for. “But if they (the Centre) fail to deliver on their promises and the patience of the Naga people runs out, we could be faced with large-scale communal violence. We don’t want violence and that is why we are pushing to achieve a peaceful solution before the breaking point is reached.”

However, as a member of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation suggests, the solution to the Indo-Naga dispute lies in semantics. “The Indian concept of sovereignty is modern and it greatly differs from Naga sovereignty. In India, sovereignty lies with the state, but we are still a traditional society and Naga sovereignty lies with the people. If India decides to think out of the box and truly embrace her federal structure, Indian sovereignty and Naga sovereignty can coexist,” said Vashum. “These demands for statehood don’t contradict the idea of Naga sovereignty. But they are manifestations of the need to create a federal structure and allow the Nagas to rule themselves. Nagas and federalism are inseparable.”

A possible middle-path solution could be reached by taking the ideas of direct participation and multilayered accountability, the core essence of the traditional Naga village republics system and combining it with modern notions of universal rights and freedoms to create a new model.

With Thuingaleng Muivah and Isak Swu, the general secretary and chairman of NSCN (IM), respectively, in Delhi for talks with the Centre, it is important that both groups move beyond historical hurdles and look for a workable solution. If Naga sovereignty lies in the creation of village republics, maybe it is time to allow sovereignties to coexist and end the nation’s oldest “insurgency.” A truly democratic, inclusive federal structure, which shares power equally with men, women, the youth and non-Nagas, could offer a middle-path solution, combining the Naga system with the Indian Constitution.