[Previous entry: "Statement of solidarity"] [Next entry: "NSCN inching closer to peace accord"]

05/10/2005: "The Indo-Naga Peace Process: Promised Lim for the Gen. Next!"

The Indo-Naga Peace Process: Promised Lim for the Gen. Next!

“Beyond right and wrong there is a field-I’ll meet you there”
Dvir Abramovich

When the East Timorese chose to become a free country in a referendum held under international scrutiny, the TNI or the Indonesian Army left a pool of blood in East Timor. They had instigated the powerful pro-Indonesian militia that they had created over the years from within the East Timorese people to quash the popular Resistance Movement. When the new leaders of the newest country in the world declared the need for reconciliation among the Timorese people and the Indonesians, there was a mixed response to both the proposals. The Truth Comission(CAVR) process in East Timor concluded last month without much opposition and took more than three years. However, the Truth and Friendship Commission through which the East Timorese Government and the Indonesian Government proposed to address the history of hurts and oppressive acts of the Indonesian military upon the East Timorese people came under a lot of flak from the common people of East Timor and also from Human Rights activists within Indonesia. The protest occurred over the non-indictment of the Indonesian military leaders for their crimes against humanity. Nelson Tomas Correia, the Vice Secretary of the Socialist Party contends that the Truth and Friendship commission will have no meaning unless the Indonesian military generals are tried for their crimes. The strong Roman Catholic Church in East Timor criticized the East Timorese Government for taking a bold initiative at a wrong time. All throughout the debates that raged, the issue of justice became primary to the notion of truth and reconciliation. The popular sentiment was that the historical injustice and the distortion of truth that they fought against and shed blood for could not be sacrificed for an ill-timed and ill-conceived policy. As of today, the issue stands in a limbo. It seems to have derived itself from the economic compulsions of the new and fledgling nation under the weight of their erstwhile ruler and dominant neighbor, Indonesia. What lessons can the Nagas draw from the East Timorese experience, given our obsession for popular western ideas and themes?

The vibrancy of a new nation and the political mobilization which underpins the very foundation of the praxis of self-governance can be observed from the manner in which the East Timorese people are engaging themselves in the historical exercises. The shift from a struggling people to a self-governing people has been dramatic to say the least. Whereas the concerns of the past no longer present itself to the imaginations of the people, it is manifested in the form of redressing and reordering the fractured and violent past. The prospects of governing oneself in the 21st Century and the burden of the intensive international campaigns for human rights and self-determination have posed to be the greatest challenge to the East Timorese people. They are the only country in the world to have signed and ratified all the UN Conventions and Treaties within two years of gaining Independence. They are now engaged in the maritime conflict with the Australian Government for the Oil reserves in the East Timor Sea under the auspices of International Law. The setting up of a new constitution and the choice of a national language are also some of the important highlights of nation-building that they have participated in. Amidst all these hectic parleys and signposts there remains the fantastic notion of a new future for the young generation of the East Timor. Unless mismanaged, they have the opportunity of living as a free people and growing up like kids from any other free societies-free from fear, free from confusions of identity, free from conflict and free from constructed myths of the oppressors. However the beginnings of nation-building can be termed as shaky and inconsistent with the ideals it fought for. In a commentary on the segregation and division concentrated in Dili, the capital of East Timor, due to the international presence, Daniel Grenfell has painted a very different picture.
The sense of empty promises seems to ring true more generally for East Timor. The Independence fought for is being hollowed out by a range of international powers who have laid claim to the nation’s deliverance. East Timor is being forged not by those who fought for it but by a range of international organizations and their careerist advisers. As the case of oil highlights, the destiny of this nation seems often to lie outside the control of its own citizenry who paid such extraordinary cost for its formation.

Here we see two different tropes of nation-building emerging, both having the possibility of hampering the growth of the new generation which will inherit the fruits of the present interaction between scientific basis of development and the social notion of development.


This is the fantastic notion that captures our imagination even as the Naga leaders are negotiating for an honorable and acceptable solution to the Indo-Naga political conflict. Because of the fractured Naga society created by the geographical divisions and the creation of a limiting and limited social fabric that goes along with such divisions, it is difficult to assess and accept the truth of the Naga consciousness. What should be absurd has quickly taken on a sense of normality. A cursory visit to the forum site of the popular and statist website kuknalim.com will reveal the pervasive and hatred-engendering abuses that flow from visitors hiding behind the mask of anonymity and unaccountability. This is just one example of the forces that are trying to drive a wedge to the state-based mentalities that have developed due to the geographical divisions. We can appreciate the fact that despite the known differences that are natural under the circumstances, Nagas have always aspired to be one and maintained the uniqueness of the Naga history. By adding fuel to the fire created for our discomfort such forums attempts to make a truth out of lies, a ‘reality’ out of myths. However, this is just one example among the numerous such spaces and exercises that takes place in the daily life of the Nagas. There are other significant occasions and events which attempts to legitimize the ‘truth’ created out of myths and distortions of our realities. We can safely say that we are wriggling towards terrifically muddled paths of inconsistencies which allow conflicts and fears to aggravate and divide us. The factors which will finally unite Nagas in the quest for self-determination and self-governance in the backdrop of globalization have been reduced to the notions of ‘underground’, the ‘non-state or anti-state spheres’ , the ‘movement’ and so on and so forth. It seems evident to many keen observers the pertinent need to ensure the success of the present peace process. The key question is ‘relevance’. The fact that some people do not find it relevant and are constantly constructing subjective reasons to deride and rubbish the process reminds us of two significant aspects of the way our people perceive the Indo-Naga Peace Process.

Firstly, it has become clear that some people have become so used to the present structure that they eagerly defend its sanctity and prefers to remain complacent about any change in the historical dynamics of the Nagas. Needless to say it is a mixture of economic reasons and existing power equations/relations that supports such views and stances. The present structures as a violent political imposition has dominance over the Nagas but in so much as it was never able to secure the consent of the governed, it lacked hegemony. Hegemony can only come into being when there is consent of the governed. This was effectively put forth by Peter Ekeh in his seminal essay ‘Colonialism and the Two Publics in Africa: A Theoretical Statement’, who shows that ‘two critical bourgeois groups’- colonial administrators and the emergent African bourgeois class – ‘influenced colonial African and continues to influence post-colonial African politics’. Ekeh goes on to clarify why he classifies the two groups as bourgeois:
It is chiefly to emphasize the lack of legitimacy on their part that I have used the term ‘bourgeois’ to characterize these groups. The term connotes the newness of a privileged class which may wield much power, but have little authority; which may have lot of economic influence, but enjoy little political acceptance.

Secondly, the fact that in the history of all revolutions and resistance movements there has been a keen contest between wannabe leaders, also called opportunists and glory-hunters, and the representative leadership that has led to the frequent dismissal of the real issue itself. For example the whole Naga people are looking forward towards a peaceful settlement of the Indo-Naga Political conflict because of the concern for the history and the future of the Nagas. It is a fact that there are dynamic leaders who drives and inspires such a mass movement, but it cannot be disputed that the support is as much for the Naga issue as it is for the principle actors. The Naga issue and cause is the central truth that attracts and inspires the support of the Nagas. So if some sections of the society want to interpret the Consultative meetings held thus far within the parameters of parochialism, it is a serious misjudgment of the Consultative meetings. The meetings may have been organized by the National Socialist Council of Nagalim, but the purpose was to collectively discuss how to carry forward the Indo-Naga Peace process. In other words it was a meeting to discuss the primary Naga issue, which is of concern to all. By interpreting it any differently, people will be assuming complete ownership of the Naga issue and excluding other Nagas. It is the common concern of every Naga and do not reflect one organization or the other’s opinion. It is collective in the sense that the Naga Nationhood is collective.

Having settled the question and basis of our stance and support, I will attempt to articulate the whole issue in the discourse of the common Naga. The immediate thing that comes to one’s mind is the slogan that we all parrot without a second thought- we want peace! It has become a cacophonous truism today. It is such a simple desire and yet it is complicated when read out of context. Given the fact that Naga political history has been interpreted time and again by many scholars, it will suffice to point out just a few events in the history of the Nagas to illustrate the futility of such a statement without its historical basis. Firstly, the process that led to the creation of Nagaland State in 1962. Why did it fail resolve the Naga political problem? Immediately after its creation the engineers might have expected the Naga political quest to be over and henceforth the futility for resistance. But the Naga struggle for self-determination has persisted till today. Why would all those satisfied with the creation of the state of Nagaland be happy with such a piece-meal solution and resign themselves to the new creation and design of the Government of India? The next event would be the first ceasefire between the Government of India and the Nagas which lasted from 1964 to 1972. It failed to bring any solution to the Indo-Naga political problem. And then there is the Shillong Accord of 1975 where some messengers took it upon themselves to negotiate for the Nagas and completely surrendered to the Government of India. All these historical events points to one consistent direction. In all these questions posed and events recounted it is self-evident that the desire for peace came about only later when the Indian Army started harassing and killing innocent Naga Men and Women. The whole Naga movement was based on the quest for self-determination and Justice first. And then when violence was inflicted on the Nagas by India, the struggle took the form of armed defense and resistance. Only when there was relative calm during the first Cease-fire did the word ‘Peace Mission’ come to play such a central role in the psyche of the Nagas. This is not to say that Peace is not as important as Truth and Justice. That is not the question. Who does not want peace? And here I mean lasting Peace not just temporary or policed Peace. If all the botched solutions engineered till date were acceptable to the Nagas why would Nagas still struggle for self-determination? The concept of self-determination may vary between the interpretations of different ideologies but it is inherently and essentially the same- the space to determine our socio-economic and political life by ourselves.

Take the case of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The sense of injustice is so warped among the Israelis themselves that they no longer see beyond Territory and Zionism. The former victims of Holocaust are now perpetrators of systematic violence against the Palestinians. One would expect a better sense of justice from the Israelis! Even when the Palestinians are ready to go for a peaceful settlement, disruptive elements from both the communities have always given the necessary excuse to the Israeli Government to hammer their decisions on the Palestinians. That is not to say all Jews are anti-Peace Process. Likewise, the word Peace is an important rallying point of not just the Church but also the various voices within and outside the Naga society. There are different reasons for each of these voices behind the desire for peace. Cleary, it is a travesty of the word and its meaning. I say this because of the way the Peace is privileged over and above truth and Justice in the current discourse of the Naga Political Question. When history have taught us the insignificance of Peace without Truth and Justice, the adamant rhetoric of the Church and preachers from the Indian Establishment excludes truth and justice and thereby trivializes the meaning and significance of lasting peace.

It is interesting to note the subtle but dangerous opinions hatched in the closed and cozy rooms of some bureaucrats which are floated in the social sphere through their stooges and offspring. For instance, the notion that the Naga Students’ Federation is too political for its own good. It is absurd to even entertain such a notion. If the inheritors of the future should not be concerned about the processes which are going to shape their future who should be? Should we leave it to the politicians alone? Or to the Bureaucrats? And if being concerned is being too political it may be necessary here to ask what is not political? The superstructures constructed for us by the hegemon may easily fool some of us but not all of us and definitely not for a long time. The Naga Students’ Federation is rightly the guardian and the voice of the new generation and its protests and opinions are significant to the possibilities of a better world.
It is also misleading to imagine that all of us could appreciate and enjoy the materialistic culture of the west by our own sweat and labor. The easy money that percolates will benefit some the most and exclude the rest. However it is obvious that the dependency which has been created is another form of economic repression and our participation in it only increases the fear that unless we arrests the ideas or the superstructure that informs and vitalizes our political economy we will not be able to determine our future for ourselves. It is essential therefore for the new generation to focus on the revisualization of the canvas around us and lay the basis of the future we want. In this context, the Present Peace Process is the most significant event in the history of the Nagas and would determine a whole lot of what we would be doing in the future. The processes and the system through which India engages us will undergo a serious change and it only becomes pertinent then to take ownership of the peace Process and engage ourselves creatively by translating our boundless energy into working towards a series of internal dialogues on all aspects of future governance and sustenance. The only mental block that comes to mind towards such an exercise is the deceptive conviction of many that responsibility lies with those at the helm of affairs. It is dangerous in the sense that it will lead to centralizing the spaces available for progressive contributions towards the growth of the Nagas as a people and as a nation. The fissures between the social process and its champions will widen under the circumstances. It is assuring to know that we also have ethnologists and anthropologists to study the creators of oppressive ideas, their working principles and their cultural set-up. It is also encouraging to know that not all Nagas can easily be coerced and enticed into the web of destruction and degeneration that is laid for us.

While the issue of relevance and significance can neither be defined nor imposed on any specific constituency, there are structural methods of assessments which can lead us into the conceptualizations without indulging in unnecessary contestations. It is as if the future is reckoning us with Clint-Eastwood style hold-ups- your future or eternal subjugation! It will cost us another generation and lots of blood and tears if we fail to take this opportunity of lasting peace. To sum it all, the peace process is for the greater Lim and glory of the Naga Generation next!

Mmhonlumo Kikon
01-05-2005
New Delhi