Fear Stifles Naga Voices From Expressing Opinion on Political Conflict

Today, Nagas have been broken into pieces morally because of gun culture and became vision-less.

Kohima, Feb 2 : Former Nagaland chief minister SC Jamir has illustrated how fear was preventing the Naga people in expressing their opinions on the Naga political conflict and how they they could no longer raise their voice against tyranny and persecution.

Jamir, the only living signatory to the 16-point Agreements of 1960 leading to the formation of Nagaland as the 16th state of the Indian union, in his latest booklet has lamented that apparent suppression of free speech, popular thoughts and participation of the people by the armed groups had made the political movement intractable.

“Today, Nagas have been broken into pieces morally because of gun culture and became visionless,” the Congress leader lamented and said the Nagas deserved a better future.

The booklet noted that an unambiguous, united and single Naga political agenda had been ‘hijacked’ by innumerable groups, factions and parties, which were often indistinguishable from each other.

The booklet ‘A Realistic Perspective on Unification-Peace-Reconciliation-Efforts’ was distributed during a function organized by Nagaland Law Students’ Federation at Dimapur yesterday where Jamir was the chief guest.

This had created confusion and disorder not only for the Naga people, but also for the Indian leadership, Jamir maintained.

“So far, in Nagaland, the common people have not manifested their preference or mandate in favor of any political party, group or faction, whether overground or underground,” the booklet noted.

“In the absence of mass appeal and general public support, the Naga political movement has become totally lifeless and listless and everyone is merely paying an ostentatious lip service to the Naga cause.”

The octogenarian leader rued that the Naga people reeling under decades of oppression, violence, brutality and threats, were shattered physically, mentally and emotionally because of the regime of threats, intimidation, violence, killings and extortion.

Jamir, who also served as governor of Goa and Maharastra, maintained that political groups and factions, both overground and underground, had abjectly failed to scrutinize the role, relevance and rationale of the concept of ‘sovereignty and separate homeland’ in relation to modern times and its challenges.

He said that unity among the Nagas should be the first and foremost agenda to evolve a common framework where a definitive, pragmatic, amicable and a progressive action plan could be charted out for resolving the festering Naga political problem.

Narrating a few personal experiences, Jamir said corruption had also eaten into society, and called upon the young people to confront these challeges to bring about a change in Naga society.