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North East: Nagaland : Centre-NSCN(IM) hold talks

	July 23, 2007

Talks between the Centre and the Naga militant outfit, NSCN(IM), resumed in New Delhi on July 20 in yet another attempt to further explore possible avenues to find a solution to the 50-year old Naga riddle and reach an “honourable” settlement of the dispute. High on the agenda is extension of the ceasefire which expires on July 31.



Sources in New Delhi said, the ceasefire agreement signed in 1997 is likely to be extended beyond July 31, taking the talks into the 11th year of negotiations. The issue of a separate Constitution, as demanded by the outfit, came up for discussion on the opening day of the talks.



Union Minister Oscar Fernandez, who heads the three-member Group of Ministers on Naga talks, made a speech, while NSCN (I-M) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah made remarks on the outfit’s behalf, sources added.



K. Padmanabhaiah is the Centre’s interlocutor while V.S. Atem attended as the outfit’s special emissary. Senior NSCN (I-M) leader A.K. Lungalang also participated in the talks. NSCN(IM) chief Isak Chishi Swu, however, left after the invocation prayer that heralds the proceedings.



One of the major fears that talks are heading for a collapse appears to have disappeared. That possibility has been discounted by the Centre but the NSCN (I-M), though positive about July 20 round of discussions, did not commit that the ceasefire would be extended.





NGOs remind Delhi of Mahatma’s assurance



Meanwhile, NGOs from Nagaland made a joint declaration stating that “the continuity and relevance of the Indo-Naga Ceasefire must be translated into peace strategies through political solutions and that the peace process must not only mean mere respite from hostilities.” They stressed on a “decisive solution” for the conflict that would demonstrate the vibrancy of Indian democracy in negotiating with multiplicities.



Representatives of the Naga Hoho, Naga Mothers Association and Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights said on July 19 that there was “uneventful progress” in the ten-year negotiations.



They reminded New Delhi of Mahatma Gandhi’s views on “Naga aspirations.” A portrait of the Mahatma at the Gandhi Peace Foundation formed the unlikely backdrop for this expression of Naga sentiments.



Accusing Delhi of dragging its feet on the Naga issue for 10 years, leaders of the Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights, Naga Mothers’ Association and the Naga Hoho said they would not regret it if the ceasefire ended because of such dilly-dallying tactics.



The general secretary of the Naga Hoho, Neingulo Krome, said Delhi’s recalcitrance was frustrating given the fact that even the Mahatma understood the uniqueness of the Naga situation.



“It was on this day that Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, acknowledged the aspirations of the Naga people in no uncertain words,” he said.



Gandhiji is said to have admitted before a delegation of Naga leaders at Old Delhi’s Bhangi Colony on July 19, 1947, that “the Nagas have the right to be independent”.



Krome said the words of Naga leaders should not be construed as unwillingness to support the peace process any longer. “We want the talks to end on a positive note. Something new should emerge, though one round of dialogue is not enough.”



Naga rebel leaders, including leaders of the NSCN (I-M), have criticised the Centre on many occasions for not fulfilling the promises made in the Akbar Hydari Agreement of 1947. They found support from an “old friend”, parliamentarian Surendra Mohan.



“The Centre never heeded the Mahatma’s advice, otherwise the problem would not have remained unresolved,” the MP said.



It was Surendra Mohan who had suggested a solution “beyond the Constitution but “within the Indian Union” to the Naga leadership. This, among other things, led to the NSCN (I-M)’s demand for a “special federal relationship between Nagas and India”.



As Krome pointed out, “thousands of Nagas will die but thousands of Indians will also die” if the talks fail.





Movement for a new Naga state within Indian Union



While the NSCN (I-M) leadership held discussions with the Centre on July 20 to bargain for “Nagalim”, another statehood campaign was gathering steam in Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.



The demand for a separate state, comprising the three districts of Mon, Tuensang and Longleng, and Kiphire subdivision in Nagaland, and the districts of Tirap and Changlang in Arunachal Pradesh, surfaced in the eastern parts of the Northeast.



The Naga outfit has been harping on the integration of all contiguous Naga-inhabited areas under a single administrative unit to push forward the ongoing peace process with Delhi.



But showing how divided the house of the Nagas is, the three districts and subdivision in Nagaland - with a total population of some 10 lakh - have raised their own cry for statehood.



The main reason why they have sought a separate state within the Indian Union is because they feel short-changed; complaining that the Nagaland government is indifferent towards them, they feel they have been deprived of many welfare programmes.



Confirming the move, leaders of the newly-floated Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) said they have mooted the proposal for a separate state with these areas in Nagaland and Changlang and Tirap in Arunachal Pradesh within the Indian Union.



ENPO president Pohwang Konyak said over telephone in Mon that the proposal was aimed at ensuring uplift of the backward Naga tribes.



Organisation secretary Lemba Chang also admitted that such a proposal was being circulated among its members, which comprises several Naga tribes: Konyak, Chang, Sangtam, Phom, Yimchungur and Khiaminungan.



“We’re discussing the issue, but till now we haven’t submitted any memorandum to this effect to the Centre or the state government,” Konyak said.



He said the organisation was also considering the option of seeking Union Territory status, but this would depend on the collective opinion of the people.



Asked why they wanted a separate state, Konyak complained that residents of these districts have not only been denied access to many welfare programmes, but have also lost out in terms of employment opportunities in government departments. “We’re all Nagas and should be treated equally,” he asserted.



The organisation, however, clarified that the Neiphiu Rio government was indeed taking steps to accelerate development in the four districts. “We have no objections as far as progress on the development front is concerned,” the organisation’s president said.



A signature campaign in support of the statehood demand has already begun in some localities of these districts. The campaign is also planning a declaration endorsing and authorising the tribal organisations to negotiate with the Centre over this demand.



The demand for a new state, comprising parts of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, is significant, given the fact that the Naga peace process has entered a crucial phase.