[Previous entry: "Major news agencies not inclined to correct historical background information."] [Next entry: "The roots of the 50 year old Indo-Naga conflict lie with the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru"]
11/28/2004: "The roots of the 50 year old Indo-Naga conflict lie with the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru"
Naga International Support Center, NISCwww.nagalim.nl
A human rights organization
Press Release
Amsterdam, November 28 2004
The roots of the 50 year old Indo-Naga conflict lie with the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru
When the NNC leaders met Nehru in Delhi on March 11 1952 Nehru banged his fist on the table and screamed,
“Whether heaven falls and India goes to pieces and the whole country runs red with blood, I will not allow the Nagas to be independent. I can station one soldier for every tree in Nagaland.”
Regarding the upcoming peace talks in Delhi, for a peaceful solution NISC calls on the Government of India to carefully review the policy and correct the mistake of the past.
Some background to clarify the changing polices may be observed in the voices of India’s greatest leaders. For example, in 1947 the much revered Mahatma Gandhi, while speaking in Bhangi Colony, New Delhi on 19th July said,
“Nagas have every right to be independent. We did not want to live under the domination of the British and they are now leaving us. I want you to feel that India is yours. I feel that the Naga Hills are mine just as much as they are yours, but if you say ‘it is mine’ then the matter must stop there. I believe in the brotherhood of man, but I do not believe in force or forced unions. If you do not wish to join the Union of India nobody will force you to do that.”
Even as late as 1953 Jawaharlal Nehru agreed in principle, speaking in parliament on August 7 1952,
"We want no people in the territory of India against their will and with the help of armed forces... We want no forced marriages or forced unions. This great Republic of India is free, friendly and affectionate union of the states of India.” This declaration was followed by cheers.
Again on September 17, 1953 Nehru declared, "Whether it is Kashmir or ANY OTHER PART, we are not going to hold it by the strength of arms. Mature nations as we are ... we have to show our maturity by trying to understand things, by saying and acting in a manner that helps, not hinders."
Nehru has often spoken as a true statesman of peace, saying, "Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people."
Nehru characterized hostile nations saying, “It is the habit of every aggressor nation to claim that it is acting on the defensive."
He defined culture as, "… the widening of the mind and of the spirit."
Believing Nehru’s words of peace and understanding, a Naga delegation went to meet with him to seek a peaceful solution to the problem. Nehru unexpectedly betrayed his own words of peace and wisdom when confronted with the reality that Nagas had no desire to join the union. He said to the Naga delegation,
“Whether heaven falls and India goes to pieces and the whole country runs red with blood, I will not allow the Nagas to be independent. I can station one soldier for every tree in Nagaland.”
Jawaharlal Nehru then decided to send troops - more than 200,000- to occupy Nagaland saying “It will be a matter of days to crush the Nagas.” He ordered Nagaland to be invaded and annexed; the war began. Thereupon in the early part of 1955 India sent thousands of her armed forces and occupied Naga territory. Armed forces were given full power to deal with the situation. A shoot-at-sight order was issued. Indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians started. Thousands were beaten up and imprisoned. Hundreds of villages were burnt down, grain was destroyed, and women were raped. The whole population was driven into jungles or herded into concentration camps. Thousands died of starvation, disease and torture. As a result 150,000 people died within ten years between1954 and1964. The Nagas resisted invasion and formed their own resistance army. It has been 50 years now and the Nagas have not been defeated.
Although the world hailed Nehru, he was very short sighted in regard to the Naga people.
He created problems which he could not solve. His change of heart concerning the rights of people to peaceful independence and his invasion of Naga lands are at the very root of the 50 years of violent conflict that has disrupted the lives of the Naga peoples. A paternalistic attitude evolved in the government of India and was summed up in the 1960s by foreign secretary Gun Devia who said, “India wants nothing from Nagaland, Nagaland has not enough and it cannot be left in the jungle even if the jungle is beautiful.”
Today, there is a peace process taking place between the Government of India and the NSCN, with a cease fire and genuine desire to end the 50 years of unrest. Now, the Government of India and NSCN have the opportunity to solve the problems generated in the past.
NISC calls upon all parties to pursue peace for India and Nagaland, to bring about a solution honourable to both. Independence is the right of all peoples. Let these peace talks bring an end to 50 years of conflict and anxiety ensuring peace for the Naga generations to come.
For more information contact us at nisc@nagalim.nl and visit our website www.nagalim.nl
#############
