Kohima: 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 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 ruled 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.
PTI
