[Previous entry: "GoI-Naga talks begin in The Hague"] [Next entry: "ANNULMENT AHZA"]

06/24/2006: "`Greater autonomy` reports an attempt to confuse public: NSCN"

`Greater autonomy` reports an attempt to confuse public: NSCN Nagarealm.com Dimapur, Jun 24 : Strongly reacting to the PTI news reports based in New Delhi that the NSCN-IM is expected to focus on the greater autonomy for Nagaland during the crucial talks with the Centre`s negotiators at the Hague from June 22-24, one of the key figure in the NSCN-IM set up has termed the reports as attempt to confuse the people.
"We are not surprised over such reports as some media have been playing spoil-sports with regard to the ongoing Naga peace process", said deputy home minister of the NSCN-IM V.Horam adding,"there are no as such things as greater autonomy or smaller autonomy that the Nagas are talking about".

Informing this to Newmai News Network this morning V. Horam said that "we are talking about the federation of India and Nagalim". The NSCN-IM deputy home minister explained that the proposal "we have put up is for the Federation of India and Nagalim and the pattern of relationship between these two nations (Federation of India and Nagalim) which is to be inseparable and this thing to be worked out in the process of the ongoing talks and that would be incorporated in the constitution of India as well as the constitution of Nagalim." V. Horam further explained that within this framework and principle the whole thing would be revolved around. However, V.Horam said that it is not proper to give comment before the talks start but stated that things will be out there for everyone to see after the agreement is done.

Meanwhile, the NSCN-K, Zeliangrong Region spokesman Felix has informed the media over telephone that three non-Naga cadres who were with the NSCN-IM had been killed and five NSCN-IM cadres injured at the clash between the two rival faction in Tamenglong district few days back.

He said that three killed cadres belong non-Naga outfit which had been trained by the NSCN-IM.Felix further stated that five injured NSCN-IM cadres had taken to Dimapur for medical attention while the three dead bodies had been taken care off by the NSCN-IM.The incident occured in the Makoi village clash incident,according to Felix.The spokesman further stated that his outfit been restraining from attacking the rival outfit because of the presence of the Indian security forces to which they do not want to create law and order problem in the region.He then claimed that his outfit could finish-off the rival faction if wants to and urged the rival faction to come out in the open at any place at any day for confrontation.

Crucial round of Centre-Naga talks begin Kuknalim.com
THE HAGUE (The Netherlands), June 22: With an aim to boost the ongoing Naga peace process, a Central team including three union ministers began a crucial round of negotiations with NSCN-IM leaders here today. The meeting assumes significance as for the first time Union Minister Oscar Fernandes and two key members of the group of ministers constituted by the government to look into the Naga peace process are participating in the talks.

Fernandes had been the only minister of the UPA government to participate in earlier negotiations, but he has been joined this time by Union Minister of State for Home S Reghupathy and Minister of State at the PMO Prithviraj Chouhan. The interlocutor for the Naga talks, K Padmanabhiah, is another member of the Central team.

With the Centre reluctant to concede the NSCN-IM's key demand for unifying all Naga-inhabited areas in the Northeast, the rebel group is expected to raise the issue of "greater autonomy" for Nagaland during the deliberations that will continue till June 24, sources said.
Autonomy is part of the 30-point "charter of demands" submitted by the NSCN-IM, and this includes a greater say in the utilisation of natural resources, a separate constitution, a separate flag and control in areas like finance, defence and policing, they said.
The two sides are also expected to discuss the extension of the ceasefire with the NSCN-IM, which is set to end on July 31. The Centre began talks with the NSCN-IM in 1997 after the two sides agreed to a ceasefire. (Zee News)

NSCN demand new constitution for peace Reuters
GUWAHATI, India (Reuters) - A powerful rebel group in the northeast has demanded a separate constitution, flag and more control of natural resources and finances to end their decades-old revolt. Leaders of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland submitted their 30-point "charter of demands" to a group of Indian ministers during their latest round of three-day talks which began at The Hague on Thursday.
"We have put up our demand for a federal arrangement between India and Nagaland," V. Horam, a senior leader of the council told Reuters by phone on Saturday.
"The kind of relationship between the two will be worked out in the course of the next rounds of discussions, so that it could be incorporated in the constitutions of India and Nagaland."
The Indian government and the council have held many talks since a ceasefire in 1997. The truce is due to end on July 31.
The Naga tribal rebellion is India's oldest insurgency, and analysts say peace with the Nagas is crucial to a broader peace in the turbulent northeast, home to dozens of insurgent groups.
Centre-NSCN-IM hold meeting in Netherlands Zee News
The Hague, June 23: Seeking to take forward the Naga peace process, three Union Ministers today held a meeting with the NSCN-IM leadership here and discussed various issues raised by the rebels, including their 30-point Charter of Demands.

"The talks were quite good. They were very fruitful," Union Minister Oscar Fernandes told PTI after meeting the Naga rebel leaders along with Union Minister of State for Home S Reghupathy and Minister of State at the PMO Prithviraj Chouhan.

Asked whether NSCN-IM's 30-point Charter of Demands, including autonomy, had figured in the meeting, Fernandes said, "We have discussed all relevent issues. But we cannot have talks on a piece-meal basis. All issues were covered.

"We generally discussed the ongoing ceasefire in Nagaland. But the issue of extension (of the truce beyond July 31) was not taken up in the meeting," he said when asked whether the two sides had held discussions on extending the ceasefire that will end next month.

Asked whether another meeting will take place before July 31, Fernandes said, "Normally we take up the matter just before the expiry of the date. It is premature to talk about the extension now." Fernandes said the talks would continue tomorrow.

The interlocutor for the Naga talks, K Padmanabhiah, was also present at the meeting while the NSCN-IM was represented by chairman Isak Chishi Swu and general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah. The Centre began talks with the NSCN-IM in 1997 after the two sides agreed to a ceasefire. Bureau Report

UNC delegation meets Arjun Singh in Delhi
The Imphal Free Press

IMPHAL, Jun 23: The United Naga Council delegation today met the Union Human Resource Development Minister, Arjun Singh at the latter`s official residence in New Delhi and apprised him about the aspirations of the Nagas presently living in Manipur.

A statement faxed to IFP said the UNC delegation also submitted a memorandum to the Union Minister on the payment of Hill House Tax directly to the government of India and not to the government of Manipur.

This is a follow up of the Naga Peoples Convention (NPC) held on November 4, 2005 at Tahamzam (Senapati), in which the Nagas decided to launch non-cooperation movement and civil disobedience against the government of Manipur, the UNC statement said.

The NPC had also among others arrive at resolutions regarding introduction of syllabus of Nagaland Board of Education for classes VIII to X and affiliation of schools in Naga inhabited areas of Manipur to the Nagaland board.

The Union Minister was also made to understand of the hardships faced by the Nagas living in Manipur under the alleged dominant rule of suppression and impositions by the majority community, the statement claimed and maintained that government of Manipur have been opposing every rightful aspirations of the Nagas.

It further alleged that government of Manipur have been using forces against civilians apart terming Nagas as hostiles for expressing their democratic rights.

The UNC also claim that the meeting with Union HRD Minister was cordial and ended with positive note.

The United Naga Council, while maintaining that the organisation is totally against all forms of violence and bloodshed amongst Nagas, has also strongly condemned the killing of Mayerping Angkang.

The organisation also appeals all armed organisations to desist from cowardice activities and stop killing innocent civilians.

The UNC team along with Naga Women Union Manipur, All Naga Students Association Manipur and Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights condole the untimely demise Angkang, according to a release.

NSCN (IM) annuls Zunheboto ceasefire The Morung Express
DIMAPUR, JUNE 23 (MExN): GPRN President (Yaruiwo) Isak Chishi Swu today issued an ‘annulment ahza’ (order) of the Zunheboto ceasefire agreement reached earlier with the NSCN (K) citing the ‘brazen attitude and treacherous action’ of the NSCN (K) cadres under the command of Nikhuyi. “Our team went there unharmed demonstrating our faith and sincerity; but to the utter surprise of the entire team, Mr Nikhuyi and his men came in full combat gear and after creating a commotion by their random firing, intimidated our officials into signing a ceasefire agreement, clearly conveying the idea that they would all be eliminated should they reuse to sign it”, stated the annulment ahza dated June 23, 2006 issued from The Hague, Netherlands. The annulment order pointed out that Nikhuyi had also ordered his men to attack the NSCN (IM) cadres stationed at Khukiye Lukhai village and that ambushes were laid at Chisholimi, Mudutsugho and surrounding villages targeting the returning GPRN officials.
“Such brazen attitude and treacherous action is not only an insult to the Sumi civil societies through whose positive efforts these initiatives were made, but it is more of a self-forfeiture of our trust and therefore we hold ourselves not bound by any such farcical imposition”, the GPRN President stated in the ahza. “We neither believe in such forced union nor in the marriage that can be sustained through deception. We no longer trust such people”, it was stated while at the same time pointing out that it advocates the policy of reconciliation and unity among the Nagas.
“In this spirit and in response to the genuine wishes of the Sumi civil societies, a team of GPRN officials, led by Shikato Chishi Swu, Deputy Kilonser, was deputed by my office to meet some leaders from Khaplang’s camp as desired also by them, to foster better understanding amongst us”, it was stated. The President likewise, gave the assurance that the NSCN (IM) was committed to the peace process in totality and that it was seriously exploring every possible avenue in finding an honorable political solution acceptable to both the parties. “For the achievement of this objective, faith in the power of collective wisdom and mass participation becomes essential”, it stated.
The GPRN President also stated that they were “very critical of the fact that how unscrupulously the Government of India is using these elements to counterbalance it”. The statement pointed out that the GoI had succeeded only in vitiating the otherwise conducive atmosphere. “In the final analysis, this intrigue would only be self-defeating though they have not ceased terming the self-created situation as a case of factional clashes”.
Time for Agreement: UNPO on Naga talks UNPO The Morung Express
Amsterdam, June 23 (AGENCIES): Thursday June 22 saw the commencement of another crucial round of peace talks between the government of India and the NSCN-IM leadership, Chairman Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah. The talks will continue until 24 June.
The dialogue between the Nagas and the Indian government first started in 1997 and after years of negotiation it may seem that an agreement covering relevant points could be achieved. “The key question for discussion would be constitutional autonomy for Nagaland in context of a federal relationship,” UNPO General Secretary Marino Busdachin states, further emphasising that this matter could represent a milestone on the path to conflict resolution and the right of self-determination in its broad sense.
“Recent history demonstrates instances where mutually harmful stalemates on catastrophic self-determination conflicts have reached settlement through a series of wide ranging self-government (autonomy or federal status) and power sharing - engineering new forms of co-governance.” Busdachin draws analogy to the recent bylaw of a full autonomy status to Catalonia by the Spanish government and the status of Scotland in the United Kingdom. “These represent clear and illustrative examples of how to implement, in a new effective form, self-determination in a general process leading independent states to associate as the European Union and the federalist evolution of many states; from independence to inter-dependence, both nationally and internationally.”
UNPO highlights that Indian and Naga negotiators currently meeting in Amsterdam have the tremendous opportunity during these days to track a future of peace and development in the North East part of India and to instate a new example for an implied constitutional self-determination status.
UNC submits No-hill-tax-to Manipur memo to Centre The Morung Express
Dimapur, June 23 (MExN): The United Naga Council (UNC) delegation today met the Union Human Resources Minister, Arjun Singh, at his residence June 23, and submitted a memorandum to pay the Hill House Tax directly to the Government of India and not to the Government of Manipur State.
The delegation also apprised the Union Minister of the aspirations of the Nagas presently living in the state of Manipur, according to a release received her issued by Azang Lonmai, General Secretary and Grace T Satshang, President of the Naga Women’s Union Manipur. “The union Minister was made to understand the hardships faced by the Nagas living in Manipur under the dominant rule of suppression and impositions by the majority community, the Meiteis” the release stated. “The Government of Manipur (has) been opposing every rightful aspirations of the Nagas by taking every decisions (on) their own accord using state forces against civilians and terming them hostile, for expressing their democratic rights” it was further asserted and added that the meeting with the minister ended with a positive note.
Meanwhile, the UNC has condemned what it termed the barbaric murder of Mayarping Angkang, by unidentified gunmen, in Kohima. “The UNC is totally against all forms of violence and bloodshed amongst the Nagas” it stated while appealing to the “armed organizations” to desist from such “inhuman, cowardice activities and stop killing the innocent civilians”. The UNC team along with the NWUM, the ANSAM and the NPMHR extended its prayers and condolence to the bereaved family and prayed for peace of the departed soul.
It may be mentioned that the delegation comprise of the UNC, the NWUM, the All Naga Students Union Manipur (ANSAM), the Naga Peoples’ Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) and tribal leaders. The submission is part of the follow-up of the November 4, 2005, declaration of the Naga Peoples’ Convention (NPC) to launch a non-cooperation movement against the Government of Manipur.
ANSAM refutes statement Newmai News Network June 23
Imphal: The All Naga Students Association, Manipur (ANSAM) has taken strong exception to the statement made by AMUCO secretary general NC Khuman that “99 percent of peoples of the hill districts prefer to be in Manipur while the rest one percent are indulging in conspiracy of all sorts”.
ANSAM press note issued by its information and publicity secretary countered the AMUCO leader’s statement by asking, “will the valley community in Imphal agree if we (ANSAM) say that 99 percent of them have pledged their loyalty to the NSCN-IM leadership and also that this valley community who comprised majority in the valley support the ongoing Indo-Naga peace process and are supporting the Naga unification movement? This is not possible. Both the statements are blatant lies.”
“People like NC Khuman takes delight to propagate such lies and thrive on them”, stated ANSAM information and publicity secretary Sounii Khapa. NC Khuman had made his statement on June 18 at the function of Unity Day in Imphal’s GM Hall. ANSAM further stated that on June 18 the Naga students’ body fully endorsed the UNC sponsored Prayer Day for the success of the ongoing Indo-Naga peace talk.
Meanwhile, ANSAM while inducting its new office bearers has reiterated its earlier stand to go against the formation of unmandated organizations or committees in the hill areas particularly among the Naga community under the ANSAM jurisdiction.
ANSAM speaker David Choro informed that during its assembly sitting, ANSAM has directed all its constituent units and subordinate bodies to withdraw their respective members involved in any organization or committee which is not recognized by the ANSAM with immediate effect. This is the reiteration of ANSAM’s resolution number 2 which had been taken on February 26, 2003.
In its assembly held at Senapati on June 21 the ANSAM has accepted the resignation of its former vice president Ngachonmy Chamroy. The former vice president who served as an articulated spokesman of ANSAM during the 52 day long economic blockade of the Naga students’ body had submitted his resignation letter earlier.
Meanwhile, Asinpou Riamei of the Zeliangrong students has been inducted as general secretary of the ANSAM while Raisangtem Shaiza and Daneil P.K. have been inducted as the new assistant general secretary and the education and statistics secretary of the Naga students’ body respectively.
Professor’s long-distance conversations with ULFA leader highlight India’s fractures COMMENTARY The Morung Express Tim Sullivan
Every week or so the phone rings in the professor’s home, a tidy ground-floor apartment set behind a wooden gate and a flower-filled garden, and a voice echoes from a guerrilla hideout far to the east. The professor, Indira Goswami, is a prominent scholar of the Ramayana, the ancient Hindu epic. She is also the best-known novelist in India’s northeastern state of Assam, a woman born to a wealthy landowning clan whose books reverberate with the struggles of India’s vast underclass.
Her caller, Paresh Baruah, has spent 20 years on the run, leading a militant group fighting to take control of the forests and towns of Assam. Working from secret bases, many apparently in neighboring Bangladesh, he controls the military wing of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the most powerful militant movement in an isolated region riven by poverty and ethnic turmoil.
The writer and the gunman have never met. But their relationship, forged over bad phone lines and under the watch of Indian intelligence agents, has become the cornerstone of renewed efforts to bring peace to an area that has known little but violence for three decades. Amid a recent surge in militant attacks in Assam that have killed at least eight people and left more than 80 injured, the government is holding its third round of talks June 22 with the “consultative group” which Goswami heads, and which meets with officials on behalf of the militants.
So the pressure is on to avoid a stalemate. “This is a rare chance for us after so many years,” said Goswami, 63, a widow with an avalanche of pitch black hair and a teenager’s nervous giggle who for nearly two years has been the main conduit between the government and the ULFA militants, thrusting her into the largest of a cluster of bloody but largely forgotten conflicts that have killed more than 10,000 people in the last 10 years. “I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”
Even she isn’t sure what to make of her shift in priorities. “I’m a writer. I’m not a politician,” said Goswami. “I had no idea that this would take so long.” Her critics dismiss her as a dilettante misled by extremists whose popularity has plunged. She shrugs at such talk. All she knows is the talks have eaten up immense amounts of time, her phones are tapped (a security official let that slip, she says) and she has neglected her writing. “But I’m happy I could help move this peace thing, that I could open the door for the boys,” she said, sitting beneath a broken cuckoo clock, its hands frozen at 1:55, in her tchotchke-filled living room on the Delhi University campus.
India is, in many ways, a patchwork of humanity. Though dominated by Hindus from a handful of ethnic groups, its 1.02 billion people include all the world’s major religions, hundreds of ethnicities and more than two dozen languages that each have more than a million speakers. If the patchwork holds together in most places, the northeast is India’s stepchild: seven states about 1,600 kilometers from New Delhi and connected to the rest of the country by a narrow land corridor. The ethnic groups comprising their population of 38 million have physical features that tie them closer to Tibet or Myanmar than to the rest of India.
The area, which is about the size of the United Kingdom, is rich in natural resources, but hobbled by geography, ethnicity, poverty and unemployment. The situation has nurtured dozens of militant movements whose fights with the central government, and one another, regularly scatter the region with corpses. But there is no al-Qaida here, and the region holds little importance to Western policy-makers. So the little wars get almost no attention outside India.
In the northeast, though, the alphabet soup of militant groups - ULFA and PLAM, NLFT and ATTF - overlays nearly everything. “’Last year, this road was smeared with blood. There was always crossfire of machine guns, exploding grenades. Now it’s all quiet,”’ a character says in Goswami’s short story “The Journey,” driving through the northeast after a security clampdown. It was, the narrator reflects “As if a soft carpet covered it all – the blood stains, the dumps of arms and ammunition, the smell of gunpowder.”
The struggle of the ULFA guerrillas fighting for an independent Assamese state - “the boys” as Goswami invariably calls them – has left some 3,000 people dead since they took up arms in the late 1980s. If northeasterners have grown increasingly weary of the relentless cycles of attack-and-reprisal, along with the extortion the guerrillas use to raise funds, Goswami remains a firm believer. She sees them as they see themselves: as fighters for social equality battling the erosion of Assamese traditions and the bigotry of the rest of India. Violence, she said, “is the only power they have.” Her open sympathy gave her credence with the militants, and her links to New Delhi’s literary high society - her living room is scattered with book awards and photos of her with everyone from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to novelist V.S. Naipaul - gave her access to Indian political circles. “She has the confidence of both sides,” said Sunil Nath, a writer and former ULFA official. “A lot of people had wanted to mediate talks, but ULFA scoffed at all of them.” Her work began in late 2004 when she reached out informally to the prime minister, whom she knew from his days as an economics professor, urging him to bring peace to Assam. A year later, the militants asked her to head the small “consultative group,” made up mostly of political activists, that communicates with the government. Today, she speaks to Baruah, 49, anywhere from a couple times a week to once a month. He calls her - she has no way to reach him - and she never asks too many questions.
The two, who speak in Assamese, make an odd pair. Goswami is an exuberant woman, a name-dropper and a fixture on the society circuit. Eyes dramatically rimmed with kohl, she’s a relentlessly polite hostess, and no one escapes her home without repeated servings of tea and cookies. She loves to talk about herself, her writing awards, and her powerful friends. She has written extensively about her fight with depression, and her husband’s death in an accident soon after their marriage, and how writing saved her from suicide.
Baruah, on the other hand, is described this way: He “travels on a forged passport ... lives on money obtained from extortion or robbery and can handle all kinds of weapons,” says his wanted poster from the Assam police. It was Goswami’s writing that first took her to an ULFA base in the late 1990s. It happened during a gathering in Assam, one of many she attends to discuss her books, when a young man emerged from the crowd and quietly asked if she’d like to visit a militant camp. Her guides drove her through the night, arriving at a compound where heavily armed fighters had gathered. “I was already writing about them, and without firsthand knowledge I just cannot write,” she said. Years later, she tries to remain positive about Assam, but worries the peace talks could be smothered by the continuing violence. Baruah, in statements e-mailed to journalists, has denied that ULFA is behind many of the recent attacks. But Goswami told him – as ever, over the telephone - that things need to calm down quickly. “I sent a message that if things go on like this, it’ll be difficult to move ahead with peace.”
NSCN-IM annuls Zbto ceasefire agreement Nagaland Post
DIMAPUR, JUNE 23 (NPN): The much proclaimed June 14 Zunheboto ceasefire agreement signed between the two NSCN factions has received a jolt with none other than the NSCN-IM Yaruiwo (president) Isak Chishi Swu declaring the agreement as a "farcical imposition" by the NSCN-K. Stating that the NSCN-IM representatives were intimidated into signing the deal, Swu in an "Annulment Azha" said the agreement was "more of a self-forfeiture of our trust and therefore we hold ourselves not bound by any such farcical imposition."
A faxed copy of the "Annulment Azha" from Badhotel Scheveninben, The Hague, signed by the NSCN-IM chairman stated that the NSCN-IM had, in the spirit of reconciliation and in response to the genuine wishes of the Sumi civil societies, deputed its team led by deputy kilonser Shikato Chishi Swu, to meet some NSCN-K leaders to foster better understanding among the two groups.
And while its representatives had gone to the meeting unarmed to demonstrate their faith and sincerity, the NSCN-IM alleged that the entire NSCN-K team led by Nikhuyi came in full combat gear and after creating a commotion by their random firing, intimidated the NSCN-IM officials into signing the ceasefire agreement. The action of the rival faction clearly conveyed the idea that they would all be eliminated should they refuse to sign it, Swu said. "Apparently, Nikhuyi had also ordered his men to attack our cadres stationed at Khukiye Lukhai village and ambushes were laid at Chisholimi, Mudutsugho and surrounding villages targeting the returning GPRN officials", the NSCN-IM chairman added. Assuring that the NSCN-IM was totally committed to the peace process and seriously engaged in exploring every possible avenue in finding an honorable political solution acceptable to both the parties, Swu said in order to achieve this objective, faith in the power of collective wisdom and mass participation has become essential.
He however said the brazen attitude and treacherous action displayed by the rival faction was not only an insult to the Sumi civil societies through whose positive efforts these initiatives were made, but also a self-forfeiture of trust.
"We neither believe in such forced union nor in the marriage that can be sustained through deception. We no longer trust such people", the NSCN-IM chairman declared in the Azha. Swu further said the NSCN was very critical of how "unscrupulously the Government of India is using these elements."
"GOI has succeeded only in vitiating the otherwise conducive atmosphere. In the final analysis, this intrigue would only be self-defeating though they have not ceased terming the self created situation as a case of 'factional clashes'", he added. It may be mentioned that the ambit of the ceasefire agreement between the two NSCN factions signed on June 14 at Zunheboto, under the aegis of Sumi Hoho, is not without controversy. Whereas the NSCN-K chose to remain silent on the issue, the CAO, Sumi Region NSCN (IM), S Vihoto Sumi had earlier clarified that the ceasefire was confined only to Sumi areas (Zunheboto district). On the other hand, the Sumi Hoho in a later clarification said the deal had clearly mentioned that the ambit of ceasefire included "entire Sumi areas and not Zunheboto district alone."
‘Centre will not accept house tax raised in Manipur by Naga bodies’
From Sobhapati Samom Assam Tribune
IMPHAL, June 23 – Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi on Wednesday said that Centre will not accept the “house tax” raised by the Manipur-based Naga organisations from the Naga-dominated districts of Manipur.Reacting to the proposed move of some Manipur-based Naga organizations under the aegis of United Naga Council Manipur to hand over “hill house tax” collected from parts of Senapati, Ukhrul, Chandel and Tamenglong districts, Ibobi while talking to some reporters on the sidelines of a rally here said, “our government will oppose the move, and I think Centre will also not accept the proposal”. Ibobi is aware about the news report on the issue that a delegation of UNC as part of their non-cooperation movement against Manipur Government, tried to hand over a cheque of Rs. 14.6 lakhs collected as “hill house tax” from parts of Senapati, Ukhrul, Chandel and Tamenglong districts to the Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio recently, but Rio refused to accept it citing “technical problems”.

When asked about his government’s plan to tackle the issue, he replied that necessary action will be taken up once the official verification is over on the matter. Ibobi also acknowledged that the Nagaland Government in its Consultative Committee for Peace meeting held recently agreed to urge New Delhi to allow proposal of introducing Nagaland Board text books in the Naga-dominated schools of Senapati,Ukhrul,Chandel and Tamenglong districts of Manipur.
Territorial Identity and Rethinking Indian Federalism: A Reflection on the Nagas Aspiration The Morung Express Perxpective
The socio-cultural and territorial aspects largely shape and constitute individuals and groups identity. Territorial implies not only the physical and boundary aspect alone but more so it includes land, natural resources and the very identity of the people who have been living within that territory since time immemorial. ‘Individuals and groups continue to live, think, and act primarily as members of their various territorial communities’ (Duchacek.1986). Identities are deep-seated in ones culture, history, religion, and land. In the present context it is the territorial entity i.e., the ‘State’ where individuals and groups identities are protected and governed. Factors like historical, socio-economic change, changing nature of political organization etc. deeply influenced the assertion of identity politics. We can envision the impact of socio-economic change, cultural change, political organizations, or government policies in shifting the nature of the conflict over time from one intersection to another or even into a non-ethnic location. Often ethno-territorial groups are considered as essentially a sub-nation within the present nation state.
Individuals and groups usually give their effective allegiance to the territorial entity i.e., village, state and emotionally identify with it. Modern nation-states are territorially organized for political action and therefore often considered the ethno-territorial communities as “stateless nations”. This situation exists in many countries like India, Soviet Union, Israel, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Malaysia, and Canada. While political authority and legitimacy remain territorial-bound, boundaries are also being pounded and infiltrated by various trans-frontier flows. These flows are made up of migrating individuals and groups, products, energy, technology transfers, drugs, pollutants, corporate transnational activities, cultural exchanges, media messages and signals, as well as—a relatively new phenomenon—international activities initiated by non-central governments in search of foreign investment, trade, and tourist currency.
Territorial community is an aggregate of individuals and groups who are aware of their bonds of identification with each other as well as with the past, the present, and hopes for the future of their area (Duchacek.1986). Today, the dynamics of State forces both territorial and non-territorial like cultural appropriation; education, employment, media etc. have challenged the cohesiveness of individuals and groups identity. Thus, there are two processes, firstly, socio-cultural base identities are diluted by the forces of globalization and secondly, there is a strong process of identity consciousness among the smaller ethnic groups in many parts of the world. The later is more intensified in a country where there is a diverse culture, religion, tribes etc.
It is imperative to know that modern political action are implemented and carried out on territorially organize institution called the State. Division of political power within the federal state is also done on territorial basis. Political geographers have analyzed the role of State territorial ordering and spatial compartmentalization as constituting the ‘political compartments’ within which control mechanisms are implemented and political hegemony are maintained (Murphy: 1989, Taylor: 1994). ‘Modern federal system is based on the fundamental territorial division of power, so that territory becomes the basis for political action’ (Elazar 1987). ‘Federalism and its kindred terms—e.g., “federal”—are used, most broadly, to describe the mode of political organization which unites separate polities within an overarching political system so as to allow each to maintain its fundamental political integrity. Federal systems do this by distributing power among general and constituent governments in a manner designed to protect the existence and authority of all the governments. By requiring that basic policies be made and implemented through negotiation in some form, it enables all to share in the system’s decision-making and decision-executing processes’ (Elazar 1968).
The term “federalization”, for example is often used to describe the process of combining territorial communities that previously had not been directly joined into a new nation or a new unit of common interest, policy and action. Hence, territory plays a major role in shaping the geographical basis of social and political organizations in a federal system. ‘As water is for fish, federalism is the appropriate element for territorial communities that, conscious of their separate identities, desire self-government, yet hope to achieve additional objectives by combining their efforts and domains into a composite national whole, both distinct from and interacting as a unit with other nation-states’ (Duchacek).
According to Dion, “the ethic of federalism is a necessary cohabitation of cultures” Elazar uses ‘thinking federalism ‘primarily, to emphasize as a means to be used for reconciling the demands of particularistic ethnic/sub-nationalism, while maintaining the wider unity of the state. The main objective of federalism is, however, to preserve the unity and integrity of the federal nation state by defusing power to its regional units (Khan, 1998). Managing this diverse regional aspiration and providing them a space for political rights is a challenge faced by any multi-ethnic State around the world.
The importance of ‘thinking federalism’ is mounting in such diverse society for appropriate managing and accommodation. To quote Nirmal Mukarji and Balveer Arora while describing about the Indian Federalism says “the strength of Indian democracy draws largely from its pluralism and diversity” (Mukerji, Arora, 1992). Under this circumstance the need for rethinking federalism emerge in a great way in India. Today, undoubtedly we can say that the success of a large democracy like India with its diverse social group can be attributed to democratic federalism. It is also important to note that various constitutional mechanisms have been introduced in post independent India for different regions basically to accommodate the diverse aspiration. Political scientist like Arora has called this arrangement as nothing but ‘asymmetric-federalism’ to accommodate the diverse political and social aspiration in the Indian democratic practices.
The present conflicts and problems around the world clearly reflects the growing need for state policy that recognize differences, respect and accommodate various cultural and ethnic groups and also allow them to preserve and flourish their identity. Multicultural democracies model has attempted to provide mechanisms for power sharing for accommodating diverse cultural groups. It involves sharing power territorially through federalism and its various forms. This form of power sharing is said to be relevant where minorities are territorially concentrated and where they have a tradition of self-government that they are unwilling to surrender (Human Development Report: 2004 UNDP).
The passed experiences shows that people’s movements and other regional demands in India were responded by adopting federal principle i.e., territorial division for the purpose of administrative convenience so as to manage ethnic diversity. For instance the drawing and redrawing of administrative-territorial boundaries in India in the early 1950s on the basis of linguistic homogeneity and the Northeast State re-organization in the early 1970s clearly testifies applying federal principle in solving people’s aspirations and rights. In this way, Indian State have to a great extent succeeded in keeping the social diversity but seemed to have failed politically in bringing final settlement to ethnic base conflict in the sub-continent.
India is a vast country both in terms of territory and social compositions with multi-linguistic group, religion and numerous ethnic groups. Today, the growing assertion of communal politics and ever increasing demand for identity by the ethnic minority is what concern and bothered Indian federal state. We may recall that the creation of the present Nagaland state in the 60s is part of the federal package/arrangement to accommodate the aspirations of the Nagas at that time. However, despite this arrangement the Nagas realized that the present arrangement has failed to keep the Nagas as one political community.
In recent years, the Nagas assertion for territorial integration/unification has become stronger and this assertion clearly reflects their aspiration to protect and utilize their land in their own genius. The demand for territorial integration of the contiguous areas of the Nagas is a direct contestation on the existing politico-administrative territorial arrangement in the Northeast region (states). Secondly, This has created a kind of conflict situation between the Nagas and other neighboring communities in the northeast region especially with the Meiteis over the territorial issue particularly in Manipur.
Movements like that of the Nagas is deeply rooted in their belief that they have a cultural, historical and political right, which is unique and aspire to live as one political community within a defined territorial entity. The nature of the Nagas’ struggle and solution calls for re-drawing of not only states boundaries of the Northeast region (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur) but also international boundary of Indo-Burma. Conceding to the Nagas demands will largely determine the future political development in the region in general and Nagas in particular. In this context it is pertinent to ask what should be the mechanism to solve and how Indian State should respond to this more than a half old century problems? Why Nagas demand for territorial integration of all the contiguous areas is so vital, and why survive till date? The crucial questions for both GOI and Nagas are; to what extent the federal device will satisfactorily settle and respond and concede to the demand put forward by the NSCN’s charter of demands “special federal relations”? Equally important is to what extent the Nagas will accept the future federal arrangement? The Nagas struggle for recognition in the political and cultural realm certainly pose a great challenge to the Indian federal State hence, rethinking Indian federalism is imperative.
Ningreingam Shimrah, Lecturer, Department of Political Science,
Baptist College, Kohima
Army may resume operations in State From Our Staff Correspondent Assam Tribune
NEW DELHI, June 23 – Reports of the Defence Ministry ordering resumption of Army operations in Asom, even as Government of India and Peoples Consultative Group (PCG) were talking peace has jolted the ULFA-appointed group. However, in an attempt to show that they stand committed to the peace process, the PCG has opted not to move the Centre at this stage. “Now it is for the ULFA to take over and tell the Centre their demands,” said convenor of the PCG Dr Mamoni Raisom Goswami.

The Group, meanwhile, met at Dr Goswami’s North Campus residence over lunch to take stock of yesterday’s meeting and later developments. On the other hand, spokesman of the group, Aroop Borbora described the Defence Ministry’s decision to launch operations against ULFA as an act of sabotage. The same thing happened last time, when after February 7, dialogue the Kakopathar incident took place two days later in Tinsukia district. Borbora told newsmen, “We will monitor the situation closely and would hold the Government of India responsible if something goes wrong,” the spokesman of PCG said. Meanwhile, Dr Goswami said, “we have seen the reports in the media but we are not going to the Centre on this issue. Yesterday, we have decided to continue with the peace process and work for direct talk between Government of India and ULFA and that is where we stand,” Dr Goswami further clarified.

But in the same breath, added that the joint statement issued yesterday clearly said that there would be restraint on all sides. “The meeting concluded with a hope that there would be restraint on all sides.”

“I hope the Centre follows what it has committed,” she added. Centre and PCG yesterday winded up discussions on the note that further modalities for holding these talks between ULFA and Government of India in a fixed timeframe, would be worked out through mutual consultations. In the backdrop of this, the Defence Ministry’s order threatens to pour cold water over the fragile peace process. Dr Goswami, meanwhile, said her association with the peace process would end once the direct talks between the two sides take place. “I have been working against all odds but I am happy that we have succeed,” she said.

The PCG members who seemed quite satisfied with the dialogue yesterday were shocked to see a report in The Indian Express, this morning, which said that The Army’ in Asom has been asked to get cracking against ULFA by the Defence Ministry. It quoted a letter to the Tezpur-based 4 Corps with inputs from the Military Operations Directorate, South Block that after Assembly Elections it was time for operations to continue.