Talks on track, says NSCN-IM Source: The Sangai Express /
Talks on track, says NSCN-IM Source: The Sangai Express / (Courtesy: The Telegraph)
Kohima, August 06 2011: The NSCN (I-M) said talks with the Centre was on the right track and solutions would be hammered out on the spirit of "shared sovereignty" .
A statement issued today by the information and publicity sector of the NSCN (IM) said the solution would also be on the "unique-identity with an inter-dependent relationship", adding that "the Nagas have missed the finest opportunities for a number of times in the past" .
With regard to the 33-point proposal submitted to the Centre for the Naga solution, the outfit said the nature of the Indo-Naga political talks was such that except for the negotiating teams of the NSCN (IM) and the Centre, nobody knew the exact contents of the proposals and counter-proposals.
The outfit said the proposal papers that were supposedly leaked had twisted and invented points to serve vested interests.
The working papers on the political solution, supposed to be drafted by the NSCN (IM), was made available to The Telegraph from sources.
According to the paper, notwithstanding anything in the Constitution, no act of Parliament would apply in respect to extension of Article 371 (A) to all Naga inhabited areas in the country.
This article gave special privileges to Nagaland when the statehood agreement was signed ill 1960 between the Centre and the Naga People's Convention.
According to this article, no act can infringe upon the customary and traditional practices of Naga people and the land and its resources belong to the people.
Regarding foreign affairs, the working paper mentioned that there would be diplomats and consulates for Nagalim and all matters that brought the state into correspondence with any foreign nation in respect of trade and commerce.
Treaties and agreements with foreign nations, export-import relations, customs duties, participation in conferences of trade and implementing decisions, participation in UNO and matters of human resource development, socio-economic growth, environment and trade relations and foreign loans and aids would all be under their purview.
Regarding human resources, the working paper mentioned reservation of 200 seats for medical degrees before the commissioning of the medical college and a 100 per cent increase in reservation in medical, engineering and bio-technology colleges and vocational institutions.
On economic packages, the paper included the coal-based 250MW thermal power project, Dikhu hydro project:, the 120MW Tizu-Zunki basin project, along with the upgrade of National Highways 27,150, 155 and 60, connecting Myanmar, to four-laning, circular roads connecting all the Naga district headquarters and railways, an international airport at Dimapur, road maintenance funds to be doubled in the hill areas in view of young soil and rainfall and air transport taxes and other charges subsidised by 50 per cent.
Therie clarifies on ‘33 point proposal’
morungexpress
DIMAPUR, AUGUST 6 (MExN): In the backdrop of the recent report carried in the local media regarding the so called 33 point proposal alleged by the NSCN Khaplang as those presented by the National Socialist Council of Nagalim to the Government of India, it has now come to light that the press releases in respect of the 33 point charter of demands appeared to have arisen out of some mistake, stated a clarification note issued by K. Therie Convenor, Political Affairs Committee, NPCC.
“The press releases in respect of 33 point Charter of demands appears to have arisen out of some mistake. The content appears to be my personal rough working paper within family and was not expected to be published”, stated Therie. However, the PAC Convenor stated that since it has been made transparent to the people, the “people have the liberty to consider and suggest with amendments, addition, deletion, and accept or reject”. “Anyone having better ideas should not restrain themselves from suggesting”, Therie stated.
Therie also stated “I think, this is certainly not the proposal of NSCN (IM) and I don’t think there was any demand for we are not demanding anything from anyone as the talks is carrying on without pre-conditions”. Therie stated that “considering the joint statement issued by NSCN (IM) and the GOI, perhaps there has been some closer discussion on the proposal for political solution”. However Therie pointed out that “unless the proposals are officially disclosed”, it would be premature for him to comment.
Whatever may be, the PAC Convenor also suggested that we should “not carry the luggage from the past mistakes” and instead “move forward with a free mind for the future”. “My appeal to all is to accept the principles of Consensus and Cooperation in formulating the proposal for political solution”, he stated while adding that the “time is crucial and every concerned leader or section of society should constructively participate in the formulation of the proposal as the future of the present and future generations is at stake in the solution”.
We are all stakeholders in the solution. It is everybody’s fundamental right to make suggestions for considerations. We must work with the objectives of “what is right and what is good for all.” “The future depends on what we do in the present”, Therie stated while quoting from Gandhiji.
Pointing out that the “increasing pace of civilization and growth of economy is not waiting for us”, the press note informed that the “highest per capita income in the world is Qatar with $88,500 the lowest is Congo in Africa with a mere $300”. “India has $3,500 =Rs. 1,75,000 annually. In Nagaland, BPL house numbers have increased by 300%. According Civil supplies Department, the list of BPL families is about 70,000 households. Cumulative Job Card issued to BPL Households under NREGA is 3,64,228. This status shows that we are traveling backwards in the economy. Our youths have no opportunity. They are hunting for jobs everywhere and most of the time, they are betrayed”, Therie stated.
Stating that no one can guarantee the time of a solution, Therie nevertheless pointed out that “we cannot continue in the present status” and that “without trying to find a solution there will be no solution”. “Let us join our heads together to find the solution. We are united in our political aspiration and that is freedom to grow with safeguards. I don’t need to talk that there will be only one solution and one government under which we will be citizens and subjects but it is true and we must realize it”.
Therie reiterated that “people cannot afford multi-govts anymore”. “Please feel the plight of the public. Let there be peace, patience and tolerance in finding a consensus solution”, he stated and also appealed to all sections to restrain from provocative statements, lamenting each other. “Talk something on how to find solution and not about the rights and wrongs of each other. The solution will be found when we are able to identify what is right for all. People would appreciate positive approach after all, all are enjoying Ceasefire Agreement”.
NSCN-IM behind Sangakpham blast: CM morungexpress
ImpHAL, August 2: Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh has today announced that the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isaac-Muivah) faction was behind the Sangakpham blast which killed four civilians including two school girls and injuring seven others.
Briefing media persons in this regard at his official bungalow during the declaration of RMSA graduate teachers recruitment result, the Chief Minister stated that intelligence output has revealed that the identity of the maimed individual at the Sangakpham blast, who remained unknown till yesterday has been confirmed as an active cadre of the NSCN-IM, identified as one Anthony s/o Bonkulung of Sadu Koireng.
He further maintained that the registration number of the Bajaj scooter (Chetak) suspected to be used in the blast has also been established as NL-O1E/1394 and the owner is identified as one K. Daniel s/o K. Angami of Diphu Par, Dimapur.
He further stated that initial investigations have indicated that the blast took place when Anthony the prime suspect of the blast, was on the two wheeler in which the explosive was planted.
“This indicates his in-experience in handling explosive”, said O Ibobi.
The blast occurred just after the vehicles of members of district councils passed past the spot. This blast was aimed at the members of district councils who are housed in a nearby guest house complex of district councils, he further stated.
In addition to that, the Chief Minister also disclosed that the government of Manipur has received concrete and convincing evidence which establishes the direct involvement of NSCN-IM in the series of recent violent activities which have left several innocent civilians dead and many seriously injured in various parts of the state in recent times.
Further elaborating on the various violent incidents, he pointed out that the first incident was the ambush on Phungyar MLA on April 15 which had left eight Manipur Rifle escort personnel dead and seven others injured.
Subsequently a bomb blast on May 28 at Khuman Lampak complex apparently with the intention to target members and officials of the district councils who are functioning from there due to the threat held out by the NSCN-IM had left three members of a family injured.
He further pointed out that on July 9 another bomb was detected in a scooter from the Sangakpham market which too was aimed at the ADC guest house complex at that place.
Thereafter on July 24, the outfit killed a couple at Lungphu village in Ukhrul district and had openly claimed the responsibility for the same.
The fifth incident in the series was the hand grenade attack on MDC office at Ukhrul on July 23 while yesterday’s blast at Sangakpham is the sixth such incident, the Chief Minister added.
Referring to the mentioned incidents he stated that it is amply clear that the NSCN-IM has been directly responsible for at least six major violent incidents in the recent past.
He opined that these acts of terror are quite clearly designed to thwart the democratic processes taken up by the government of Manipur to introduce the democratic decentralization by successfully conducting elections to the six district councils which had remained dormant for over two decades. However the state government will not spare any culprit behind terrorism, maintained Ibobi.
Terming the act as anti-nation and anti people, Chief Minister O. Ibobi Singh, disclosed that the state government has apprised the central government and has started pressuring the central government to revoke the ongoing Indo-NSCN (IM) cease fire as the Naga militant group has continued with open acts of terrorism in the state, and also added that the people of Manipur are suffering on account of such incidents.
The Chief Minister has also appealed to the people of Manipur to maintain peace, tranquility and communal harmony to prevent any misunderstanding. He held that the Manipur government is committed to fight all evil designs of the NSCN-IM and other such forces as are perpetrating such terrorist acts. The state government seeks the support and co-operation of people to fight against such forces in a united manner.
While responding to queries on the security measures taken up for the ADC members citing the several attacks, the Chief Minister revealed that a location has been identified to build a multi complex to house the members which includes office and accommodation.
The press conference was attended by IFCD minister N. Biren, education minister DD. Thaisii, MOBC minister Md. Allaudin, DGP Manipur and commissioner education (s).
Source: The Imphal Free Press (unless otherwise specified)
Disclaimer: Source is responsible for the correctness and accuracy of the news. .
Rio to meet Chidambaram on Nagaland split Rahul Karmakar, Hindustan Times
Guwahati, Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio is scheduled to meet Union home minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday to find a solution to the problem of the growing demand for a bifurcation of the state. Nagaland has been in turmoil ever since the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (Enpo) revived
its demand for the creation of “Frontier Nagaland” earlier this year.
Enpo wants four of Nagaland’s 11 districts to be made the ninth state in the Northeast.
The Naga People’s Front government, which Rio heads, had taken a Cabinet decision last month to grant autonomy to the four “backward” districts. But Enpo won’t settle for anything less than statehood, and have cited “historical facts”, besides “perennial neglect”, to justify their demand.
“The CM will meet the home minister (Chidambaram) on Tuesday and brief him about the overall situation. Our government is strongly against the bifurcation of the state,” Rio’s office told HT from Kohima.
Enpo is the apex organisation of six Naga tribes inhabiting Tuensang, Mon, Kiphire and Longleng districts, bordering Myanmar. It believes the creation of Frontier Nagaland would help improve the overall condition of the people in these districts.
“Our demand is based on historical facts,” said Enpo general secretary Toshi Wungpung. Before Nagaland attained statehood in 1963, the area was under the Tuensang Frontier Division of the erstwhile North Eastern Frontier Agency. Mon, Kiphire and Longleng districts were carved out of Tuensang after statehood.
“The four districts have almost half of Nagaland’s population but they continue to remain extremely underdeveloped,” Wungpung added.
Frontier Nagaland is seen in some quarters as New Delhi’s “design” to counter the Greater Nagaland goal of the Isak-Muivah faction of the extremist National Socialist Council of Nagaland. The Greater Nagaland map includes all Naga-inhabited area of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur, besides Nagaland.
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND PUBLICITY
Press release
3rd August, 2011
The fact that some groups in Manipur targeting innocent public in order to make their political statement has become a matter of grave concern. NSCN is never desperate to make its point through such acts, by targeting innocent persons. We will not accept any blanket allegation and we are also serious about such actions.
The reaction of the Manipur Government and its Chief Minister Ibobi Singh is nothing but acts of impropriety and recklessness, considering their irrational opposition to peace and the ongoing political dialogue between the GoI and the NSCN.
We regret the press reportage and passing of allegation against NSCN for acts of violence. As far as we are concerned it will make more political sense to focus on the issue at hand.
Issued by MIP/GPRN
AFSPA, a reason for aggravating conflict
Morungexpress Dimapur (MExN): The enforcement of India’s villainous Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in the North East region, particularly Nagaland state, pushes the indigenous peoples to even more reasons to want to liberate from a government that enacts such evil laws, Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh is told by the Naga Hoho.
Naga Hoho urges PM to revoke Disturbed Areas Act
Apex Naga tribal organization the Naga Hoho today wrote a letter to the Prime minister of India earnestly requesting him to revoke the Disturbed Area Act from all Naga areas to ensure peaceful co-existence “without fear among different race in our land.”
“We strongly feel that the enforcement of AFSPA and declaration of DAA in the North East pushes the people to more reason to want to liberate from a state which enacts such powers and the agitation which ensues continues to justify the use of the AFSPA from the point of view of the Indian government,” the Naga Hoho stated in its letter.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of 1958 (AFSPA) is one of the more draconian legislations that the Indian Parliament has passed in its 54 years of Parliamentary history. Under this Act, all security forces are given unrestricted and unaccounted power to carry out their operations, once an area is declared “disturbed”.
Even a non-commissioned officer is granted the right to shoot to kill based on mere suspicion and assumption that it is necessary to do so in order to “maintain the public order”.
“Now, more than 50 years lapsed since the enforcement of infamous Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Nagaland under the pretext of waging armed struggle by the Naga people for liberation,” the organization stated. The Naga Hoho reminded of Manmohan Singh’s assurance during his visit to Assam in 2006 to replace AFSPA by a “more humane law.”
The Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee had recommended the complete repeal of AFSPA from the North-East, the Naga Hoho said, but the present situation broadly highlights the poor progress made in this regard.
“Moreover, the definition of key phrases, especially ‘disturbed area’ must be clarified. The declaration that an area is disturbed should not be left to the subjective opinion of the central or state government. It should have an objective standard which is judicially reviewable and the declaration that an area is disturbed should be for a specified amount of time. Such a declaration should not persist without legislative review,” the ‘hoho’ stated. The prime minister is well aware that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act contravenes both Indian and International law, the letter said.
Members of the UNHRC asked numerous questions about the validity of the AFSPA, questioning how the AFSPA could be deemed constitutional under Indian law and how it could be justified in the light of Article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) “Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, recognizing that these rights derive from the inherent dignity of the human person…..”
The Naga Hoho called “unethical” to extend and continue the “Disturbed Area Act” in Nagaland considering the current ceasefire with the Naga underground organizations, the current peace process and the overall improvement in the law and order situation in the state. “Under these circumstances, the Naga Hoho earnestly request your esteemed authority to revoke the DAA from all Naga areas so as to ensure peaceful co-existence without fear among different race in our land,” the Naga Hoho stated to the prime minister.
Designated camps is strictly for peace purpose: NSCN Khaplang morungexpress
DIMAPUR, (MExN): The NSCN Khaplang group has stated that the “People’s Army on routine duties and stationed in Nagaland particularly within various stationary/temporary designated camps is strictly for the purpose of peace and in conformity with the agreed CFGR with GOI and the COR signed by the top leaders of NSCN (K) led by SS.Khaplang, NSCN (IM) led by Isak Swu and NNC/FGN by Brig.Singya”. “Besides these three political entities the NSCN/GPRN is not aware of any group either in existence or functioning”, stated a press note from the MIP.
According to the MIP note, in light of the recent drama- “imitation of NSCN/GPRN’s image by few practical jesters”, who had taken “undue advantage of the NSCN’s courtesies extended to them by providing them the shelter in NSCN (K) Designated Camp in Khehoi and the prevailing peace-process” were now “resorting to certain manipulation by which the un-informed and innocent Nagas are being confused and mis-led”.
The NSCN Khaplang stated that its “brotherly mercy and concern extended to them in times of its survival crisis could no longer sustain their urge and penchant for rehabilitation and inclination to quick sub-standard piecemeal solution in the form of economic packages and compensations from GOI”. In this regard, it pointed out that despite various obstacles and sabotages from various elements both within and external, it would “firmly bond” “the resolve to fight for Naga Sovereignty” no matter how much or how long the battles may be fought and the battles may be lost.
“The NSCN/GPRN has also learnt to live with the lost battles on many occasions but the War/Struggle for Sovereignty shall continue undeterred”.
On the other hand, the NSCN Khaplang stated that “some disoriented Nagas choosing to act as enemy stooges and thus succumbing to enemy’s divisive policies to demoralize and weaken the NSCN/GPRN chose to create nuisances and are constantly engaged in enacting comical acts to impress its handlers and also desperately struggling to convey its existence”. “Their incessant childish and theatrically aping gangster’s armed drills, being staged somewhere in the periphery of NSCN/GPRN designated Camps has become an object of extreme ridicule and an extravagant fun”, the MIP note stated.
“As an elderly father and as Naga ourselves, we would advise Khole and Kitovi not to unnecessarily torment it’s boys, forcing them to stay away from home and family and made to sleep in thin jungles of village outskirts during these peaceful times”, it stated while adding that “being human, any Naga should not be exploited to satisfy few handful political and social outcasts trying to make their ends meet”.
Stating that except “mercenaries and bounty-hunters, the patriot Naga soldiers are normally and peacefully restricted to one’s own peaceful routine duties and formations”, it pointed out that “such cheap and senseless spectacles by imposters though insignificant to People’s Army, care should be taken not to entice or provoke the NSCN/GPRN’s intervention in the event of creating any law and order tensions”.
KPC condemns attack, robbery of journalists morungexpress
DIMAPUR, (MExN): The Kohima Press Club (KPC) has condemned the incident where two journalists from Nagaland Post where accosted by armed miscreants, robbed off their cash and belongings including mobile phones on Saturday night. In a statement, KPC President K.V.Nurumi and Vice-President Eric Machieo termed the incident as uncivilized in nature that should be condemned by all sections of the society. It expressed regret that though the media in the State functions under extreme duress with pressure from different sources, there are still some elements in the society that fail to understand the stress that media persons in the State undergo on a daily basis.
KPC has also questioned the motive behind the entire incident which involved a lady journalist, asking whether the miscreants had any pre-planned intentions to target the media or was it just a case of robbery. It however maintained that no amount of excuses can justify such an act which it termed is a direct challenge to the freedom of Press, committed by some ignorant and errant cadres of the faction as claimed by the perpetrators of the crime.
“This is not an isolated case of members of the fourth estate being targeted. There have been several incidents in the recent past where journalists have been targeted including by members of underground outfits but little or nothing has been done to ensure the security of the members of the Press community, particularly of the State, who continue to perform its duty in informing the people risking their very lives”, the KPC release stated.
KPC has therefore appealed to the law enforcing agencies in Dimapur to pursue the matter and book the culprits at the earliest and has also asked the State government to make serious efforts to ensure security to the media fraternity.
IFOR and the Nagaland Peace Mission Rene Wadlow
In a recent book on peacebuilding, Thania Paffenholz sets out functions that non-governmental organizations can carry out in situations of violent conflict: protection, monitoring, advocacy, public communication, in-group socialization, social cohesion, intermediation, facilitation, and service delivery [1]. In practice, some of these functions overlap, or more than one can be carried out at the same time by the same organization. Nevertheless, a function-analytical framework can be useful for a choice of activities and for building awareness of the ways different functions interact among each other. Thus it would be useful to analyse different experiences of peacebuilding done by the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) and the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR, in the U.S.) and see what lessons can be learned. For an example of the monitoring of a cease-fire agreement and facilitating communication among parties it is useful to look at IFOR and the Nagaland Peace Mission.
The International Fellowship of Reconciliation’s active interest in the fate of Asia’s tribal societies began in 1964, when the Nagaland Peace Mission — led by IFOR members Jayaprakash Narayan (former Indian Congress leader and Sarvodaya worker) [2], Rev. Michael Scott (later IFOR’s U.N. representative in New York [3], and B.P. Chaliha (then Chief Minister of Assam, the Indian state in which Nagaland was found prior to the 1965 creation of new states in northeast India) — was born.
The Nagaland Peace Mission was a decade-long effort to maintain a cease-fire agreement between the Indian government and the underground Naga rebels, who wanted to create an independent country. In fact, the Nagas claimed that they were already independent — Nagaland declared independence one day before India did in 1947.
The Nagas began a freedom struggle in 1951 using the Gandhian tactics of civil disobedience. Led by Angami Zapu Phizo, tribal people refused to sell food and other supplies to the Indian military and police. Teachers and children withdrew from schools and village headmen resigned their jobs. Angami Phizo had earlier been willing to use violence since he had fought the English with the Japanese-backed Indian National Army of Subhash Chandra Bose in 1944. However, he became convinced of the effectiveness of the nonviolent techniques of Mahatma Gandhi, and for five years the Naga struggle for independence was largely based on Gandhian methods.
The nonviolent protests came to an end in 1956 when a Naga army was created. The Japanese advance into India from Burma during World War II was stopped in Nagaland and many weapons were left over. Weapons were later received from China and Pakistan. Consequently, the Indian military moved into Nagaland. Repeated accusations of human rights violations were made against the Indian army.
There are some one-and-a-half million Nagas, evenly divided between India and Burma. Some 90 percent of the Nagas are Baptist Christians (although traditional religious ideas about the soul and contact with the ancestors continue) — the result of a century of American Baptist missionary work.The joke was that there was a higher percentage of Baptists in Nagaland than in Mississippi. “Nagaland for Christ” was the battle cry of the Naga insurgency.
In order to weaken the Naga Baptist leadership and to eliminate independent observers, the Indian government expelled all Baptist missionaries in 1955. The missionaries were blamed for abetting “a foreign conspiracy to separate the Naga Hills from India and retain it as an imperialist stronghold.” India has persistent fears of foreign manipulation behind all moves for secession or greater autonomy, as can be seen today concerning Kashmir and Punjab.
Such fears are not groundless. In northeast India, the fears were reinforced by the 1962 Chinese attack which reached the Assam foothills. As the Nagas and most other northeastern tribal societies are of Mongol stock and speak Tibeto-Burmese languages, the Indian government fears a ‘Pan-Mongol’ movement under Chinese influence. The Indian government has encouraged (or not prevented) Indians from other areas to settle in the northeast. This has been especially true for the Bengalis, who started coming in the 1930s, and has now escalated into a larger, illegal migration of Bengalis from Bangladesh looking for land and economic opportunities. Nagas and other tribal people feel that they are becoming minorities in their own land.
Tensions over the administrative divisions of India have existed since Independence and had grown to be an important national issue by 1964. Thus there was an effort to reorganize India into states according to linguistic lines. Northeast India which had been only the state of Assam was divided into Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachai Pradesh. The Indian government hoped that by creating linguistically-based states, local aspirations could be linked to the wider structures and goals of a national government.
The creation of a Nagaland state within the Indian federation divided Naga opinion. Some leaders were willing to go along with the new structure. Other leaders, including Phizo, considered the new Nagaland government an Indian puppet and continued working for a totally independent country.
The Nagaland Peace Mission members had been concerned about the tensions for some time. In 1958, Rev. Scott, who had contacts with the Indian government because of his support for Indian civil liberties in South Africa, had discussed the Nagaland question with Indian leaders. Gandhians in India were increasingly concerned by the violence. By 1964, enough contacts had been made between underground armed leaders, Baptist Church authorities, and Indian government leaders to propose and have a cease-fire accepted.
Much of the Peace Mission’s work consisted of Peace Observers teams, which included Gandhian peaceworkers such as Marjorie Sykes, a long-time close worker with Mahatma Gandhi and military representatives from each side. The Peace Observers’ job was to investigate complaints from either party about cease-fire violations. They also tried to promote a peaceful atmosphere. At the same time, work was undertaken to deal with the root causes of the tensions: poverty, ethnic-cultural differences and too little local political power [4].
J.P. Narayan played a role as an active mediator, but stressed the Indian Congress position that Nagaland needed to remain within the Indian federal unioin; “Within the broad limits of the Union of India,” he said, “it is possible to negotiate any special kind of relationship.” Just prior to Indian Independence, Prime Minister Nehru had told Naga leader Phizo that “We can give you complete autonomy but never independence. You can never hope to be independent. We will use all our influence and power to suppress such tendencies.”
By early 1996, Indira Gandhi became the Indian Prime Minister and began centralizing the government. In May 1966, Rev. Scott was deported from India and all his papers seized. The Nagaland Peace Mission came to a formal end, although peace work was carried on by Gandhian Indians and Baptist Church authorities under the name of the Naga Peace Council.
After 1966, the Indian government followed a two-track policy. One track was to stress autonomous institutions and development; the other track was to increase the activities of the Indian army and the police. Thus, Nagaland has democratic institutions with an elected state legislature and representatives in the Indian Parliament in New Delhi. Large sums of development funds come from the central government, which has led to the creation of an urban middle class which sees benefits in remaining part of India. A 2005 study by the United Nations stressed the great strides in education, health, and income — all of which are higher than the overall Indian average. At the same time, there was a heavy Indian army presence in Nagaland. Under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, the army was allowed to arrest on suspicion and without a warrant and to shoot to kill.
With Nagaland under close control of the Indian army, the armed Naga resistance moved across the frontier to the Naga area of Burma from where it would make cross-border raids into India while also fighting the Burmese government. In Burma, the Naga resistance movement took the name of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland —Isak-Muival after the name of its two leaders Isak Swu and Thuingaleng Muival. The Burma-based insurgency was too weak to modify the structures of Nagaland, but they were able to create a climate of insecurity. There was also a steady flow of small arms coming through Burma to Nagaland, and from there to other armed movements in northeast India. In addition, there was a flow of narcotics coming from the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Burma to Nagaland and then to other parts of India and abroad. Always on the trails of narcotics flows, one finds violence as criminal gangs try to control the flow or to get a “cut of the business.”
The situation was largely stalemated for nearly two decades of 1970s and 1980s, and there were no fruitful contacts between the Naga insurgency and the Indian authorities. In 1996, I was asked if I would sponsor a representative of the Naga insurgency to come to Geneva to lobby at the United Nations as I had already done with the Burmese national minorities and representatives of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh which also had an armed insurgency.
Such sponsorship poses at least three issues. One is to request a visa from the Swiss government on their behalf. I am a U.S. citizen and the headquarters of the Association of World Citizens is in California, so one must ‘play fair’ with the Swiss authorities.
A second issue is working with armed insurgencies while not justifying the use of armed violence. My position has always been that the insurgency did not ask my advice before starting. Thus my role is to see if there are some possibilities for a peaceful settlement.
The third issue is that I do not have any real control over the person coming and especially over other contacts that he may make while in Geneva. These are battle-hardened individuals who are used to dealing in life-and-death situations. Geneva has always been a city for arms deals although the arms are not located in Geneva. It is also a city where many political meetings are held in the shadows among people who can not be seen meeting elsewhere.
Thus in 1996, the leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland was with me for a week of meetings during the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. I helped set up meetings with Asian government diplomats and with NGO representatives. I tried to create a meeting between the Deputy Representative of India and the Naga leader. The Indian government representative, whom I knew fairly well, explained that just a few days before the Naga insurgency had killed three policemen and that he could not meet with a person who ordered the killing of the police. I said that I understood his position, and added, however, in my conversations with the Naga leader, I had the impression that some sort of an agreement might be reached. It was just a feeling; I was passing on no specific offer.
Other behind-the-scene negotiations must have gone on because less than a year later in 1997, there was a meeting in Zurich between the leader who had been with me and the Indian ambassador. A cease-fire was negotiated which has been renewed periodically since.
All has not become calm in Nagaland. There have been deep divisions among the Naga on tribal lines, and there have been fratricidal ‘turf wars’ along with extortion as ‘taxes’ to different armed groups. The arms have been less used, but they have not been collected either. There remains a constant flow of arms through Nagaland coming from China through Burma and Bangladesh. The narcotics flow has lessened as Afghanistan has largely replaced the ‘Golden Triangle’ as the home of opium production, but narcotics-based violence still continues.
There has been created a Naga Reconciliation Forum of local community groups. Some international mediation work would still be needed to strengthen the Forum. It would be useful for some FOR members to check with U.S. Baptist groups to see if any contacts have been re-established and if anything useful can be done by those outside to help in the reconciliation process in Nagaland.
The Nagaland Peace Mission is a good example of nonviolent monitoring and can be cited as a precedent when other such opportunities arise. It is also an example of the need to be able to field teams of experienced people over a long period of time and of the dangers of the banning of foreign members of such a team.
Rene Wadlow, a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, is representative to the United Nations, Geneva, of the Association of World Citizens. He lives in Gravieres, France.
Footnotes:
1. Thania Paffenholz (Ed).Civil Society and Peacebuilding (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2010, 511pp.).
2. For a good portrait of Jayaprakesh Narayan (1902-1979) see Bimal Prasad Gandhi, Nehru and J.P.: Studies in Leadership (Delhi: Chanakya Publications, 1985, 294pp.).
3. For a moving account of his work in South Africa see Michael Scott A Time to Speak (London: Faber and Faber, 1958, 365pp.).
4. For a short description of the Nagaland Peace Mission see the article by a chief actor M. Aram “Peace in Nagaland” in A. Paul Hare and Herbert H. Blumberg (eds.) Liberation without Violence: A Third Party Approach (London: Rex Collings, 1977, 368pp.).
Locator Map of the “Seven Sister States and Sikkim in India” by Jeroen, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Special package likely for Naga-inhabited areas in NE R Dutta Choudhury (The Assam Tribune)
GUWAHATI, – The Government of India is planning to offer a special development package for the Naga inhabited areas in the North East and will persuade militant outfit NSCN (I-M) to accept it. On the other hand, the militant outfit has coined a new term "shared sovereignty" and discussions are going on in this regard. Highly placed official sources in New Delhi told The Assam Tribune that though talks with the NSCN (I-M) have been going on since 1997, it would take some more time before any formal agreement is signed.
Sources said that the Government of India rejected the demand for sovereignty by the militant outfit and the possibility of integration of the Naga inhabited areas has also been rejected as the concerned State Governments have strongly opposed it. The NSCN's demand for a separate flag and constitution have also been rejected by the Government of India.
Sources revealed that though some differences between the Government and the NSCN still persist, the talks are going on in the right direction and leaders of the militant outfit have started using Indian passport, which can be termed as a positive sign. Sources said that the NSCN leadership is now demanding "shared sovereignty" but the new term has not yet been described properly. In federal structure, the Centre has very little role to play on the subjects included in the state list and even that can be termed as shared sovereignty, sources pointed out.
Giving details of the Government's plan for a special package for development of the Naga inhabited areas, sources said that though the package is yet to be finalized, it is clear that the package would be implemented through the respective state governments. However, before announcing such a package, the Government of India will take the views of the respective state governments.
The NSCN leaders further demanded that no non-Naga should be allowed to acquire properties in the Naga inhabited areas of Manipur and the issue is yet to be resolved.
As the traditional village councils are considered very powerful bodies in Nagaland, the Government of India is also planning to take the views of the councils under consideration before signing any formal agreement with the leaders of the NSCN.
Meanwhile, with the discussions between the Government and NSCN coming towards a logical conclusion, both sides have also started the process of discussing the issue of rehabilitation of the cadres of the outfit. The Government of India has made it clear that the NSCN cadres, who are eligible, can be appointed in the Central paramilitary forces. On the other hand, the NSCN leaders are more interested in creation of a separate battalion of Nagaland police with the members of the outfit and official sources said that the Centre would have no objection to opening of a new battalion of the state police force.
Awaiting Nachiso Bela Bhatia
Naga elders remember 1957
Time is known to be a great healer, but the injustice of some wounds cannot be forgotten. The Naga people had a land of their own until 1826, when the British colonialists, through the Treaty of Yandabo, drew the Indo-Burma boundary, thus arbitrarily dividing the Naga tribes and their lands between the two countries. The Naga resistance to British subjugation began in 1832, when the British army entered their ‘homeland’ for the first time. The Naga Hills, then part of Assam, were classified by the Indian Home Rule Act (1919) as ‘Backward Areas’ that were to remain outside the purview of the Assam Provincial Assembly. In 1929, the Naga leaders sent a memorandum to the Simon commission asserting that, after the British left, the Naga people wanted to be left as they were before the advent of colonialism – independent and free. There was some hope when the Government of India Act (1935) declared the Naga Hills as ‘Excluded Areas’ from both British India and British Burma.
In June 1946, the first agreement was signed between the Naga National Council (NNC, the first all-Naga political organisation, formed earlier that year) and the interim government of India. The agreement stated that a protected state would be formed in ‘Nagalim’ under the NNC, with India as ‘the guardian power’ for ten years, at the end of which the agreement would be reviewed. However, on 14 August 1947, the declaration of Naga independence by the NNC led to a dramatic volte-face, and the interim government deemed the previous agreement to be invalid. Thereafter, in May 1951, a Naga-organised plebiscite in all Naga-inhabited areas resulted in an overwhelming vote in favour of Naga independence. The Indian government responded by sending the Assam Rifles to the Naga Hills.
These circumstances led the Naga to take up arms, presenting the Indian state with a rationale to silence the insurgency with brute force. Security forces were sent in large numbers, and severe repression of both the underground cadres and ordinary Naga ensued. In 1962, the state of Nagaland was officially created, following a 16-point agreement between the Indian government and Naga leaders. These leaders were actually intermediaries between the government and the underground leaders, but the latter were excluded during the crucial negotiations. The Naga people thus became Indians by deception and force. Today, the Naga tribes and lands are divided between India and Burma, wherein they have been further sub-divided into four states in the former and two in the latter.
During 1956-57, the Indian state used ‘strategic hamletting’, a counterinsurgency strategy first employed by the British in Malaysia and the US in Vietnam, to isolate the Naga insurgents from the people. These forced amalgamation of villages, called ‘groupings’, proved to be one of the most trying experiences that civilians were subjected to, as elaborated upon in the following conversations with Naga elders.
The groupings
Tekayangshi (84) and his wife Tepdakyangla (79) live in Mangmetong village in Mokokchung district of Nagaland. Three years after their marriage, in 1953, Tekayangshi joined the underground, commonly called UG, as did many other ‘volunteers’ from their village. He remained underground for the next two decades. The Naga Hills were then part of undivided Assam, and the Assam police arrived in the area in 1953, based in Longkhum village of which Mangmetong is an offshoot. Although harassment of villagers and burning of granaries started soon, large-scale and systematic aggression began only after the arrival of the Indian military, in 1956.
The ‘grouping’ of villages began in earnest later that year and continued into 1957. This involved moving the entire population of adjacent villages to one village, typically close to a road or an army camp. In February 1957, the whole population of Mangmetong was taken to Longkhum. The thousand-odd families of Longkhum and Mangmetong were moved into an area enclosed by two bamboo fences; in certain places, spikes were installed between these fence lines. Families of individuals who had gone underground were further segregated from the general population (referred to as ‘General’), with a third fence around them. Tepdakyangla said that they were given one-week advance warning before being made to move.
They had burnt our house and destroyed our granary stores before the grouping. We took whatever rice remained and slaughtered our biggest pig. Those days there were no shops, but I managed to buy a tin of rice later in Longkhum. We also collected leaves of the sura tree to make our shelter in the grouping.
Our daily lives were full of difficulties. We did not have enough food to cook. We did not even have clean drinking water. We were not allowed to collect firewood, and there was no space to store wood. We cooked in milk cans and everybody got only a small portion to eat. Toilet facilities were a major problem. In the absence of any open space, we had to defecate on leaves, which we then tied up and threw on the roof of our huts. Most of us slept on the floor, except some who were able to find enough material to make mats. The army gave us a few blankets, which we shared, and sometimes they surprised us by giving food and clothes.
My eldest daughter was born there on 30 July. My older son was with me, but I had kept him with my brother, who was in the General. My mother-in-law, who was very old, also stayed with my brother’s family. When my daughter was born, the child had to be washed with drainage water. I sent word to my husband through some people who were allowed to go to their paddy fields. But it was impossible for him to come and see the child – he saw her only in March 1958, when we were allowed to return to our village. That year, three other babies were born in the grouping.
Every morning there would be a roll call. If we did not go, we were fined one rupee. The armed forces were there in large numbers. They would be there all the time, checking, questioning and so on. But the greatest difficulty of all was that those of us who were segregated were not allowed to go to the paddy fields. And even those who were allowed had fixed timings.
We were not beaten in the camp. Before the groupings, a lot of rapes were committed. The Assam police would come home and commit rapes. Even mentally unbalanced women were not spared in Longkhum. But during the grouping, no rape or sex work took place. After the grouping, however, the army came, and whenever they got a chance they continued to molest and rape women, up to 1974. The peace accord was signed in 1975, halting the atrocities. In those days, women would smear soot over their faces and act as though they were mad, so that they would not be raped. Here most will not admit it, but it was very common in those days.
During the grouping period, three people were shot dead by underground cadres on suspicion of being army informers. Before the grouping, two other members of the village had been shot by the Assam police. After the grouping, civilians were also shot, including one from this village, leading to the suspension of two army personnel. From this village, 20 of those who were in the underground were killed. Tepdakyangla continued:
All of us called this ‘grouping’ without knowing the meaning [of the term], because that is what the government called it. The younger generations now call these groupings ‘concentration camps’. When we asked the security forces why they were troubling us like this, they would reply, ‘Since you are demanding independence … So that you have no link with the underground … So you can’t supply food to the underground.’ The groupings were therefore done both to terrorise us and to cut off the supplies to the underground. One morning around 3 am, they came and started banging on the sides of our houses and told us that we could now go back. After returning, we rebuilt our houses. Even before the grouping our house had been burnt more than three times. After the first time we would make only temporary houses, but they would come and set fire even to these.
Tekayangshi’s wife said she was happy that he was in the underground during the grouping period, as he was serving their community. Today, however, Tekayangshi expressed unhappiness at the state of the underground groups, saying that there were too many factions with no united aim. He also complained that some of the rebel leaders had been corrupted by money, others by power. He also said that he has hopes from the peace process, and said that India was a good friend.
How could he call India a ‘friend’ after all that had happened? Tekayangshi said that even though the Naga have suffered so much, ‘Because we are neighbours, we will have to live together. Therefore we must live as good neighbours and friends.’ However, this did not mean that he had forgotten the dream of an independent Nagaland, and continued to use the word Nagalim – the term for the historical, and hoped for, Naga homeland.
Internal autonomy
In Ungma, on 12 May 2010, I spoke with Bengangangshi, a Naga elder, leader and intellectual who used to be active in the underground. He told me:
1957 was the year of groupings in most parts of what is now Nagaland. The government’s objective was to apprehend all those underground, and this was difficult without the groupings. By grouping the area of operation is reduced, and therefore the army can function effectively. People were allowed to go out only for farming. A single grouping covered a large distance [five or six km]. Because of this, the economic situation of the people was reduced to nothing. They could not cultivate like before. Medicine was also not available, but it was difficult for sick people to go to the hospitals, since there were no vehicles.
Even when the people went for cultivation, the army was in the jungle. If they saw anybody in the jungle, they could simply shoot – could kill a man for no reason. A hawaldar could shoot a man or two, and no one could question their authority. Women could be raped while in the fields or jungle, but again no one could question the army – even married women were not spared. They could just carry them away in their vehicles and keep them for days, weeks or months, and then release them. Nobody could question their authority. All these areas have witnessed all this.
Whenever we would go for cultivation, the army would detain women and also men whom they suspected had links with the UG. They were constantly looking for UG freedom fighters they could round up and kill. Whenever any incident took place, their argument always was that, ‘You people have given them shelter and food’ – as though this was a good reason to round them up and rape them.
The groupings did not have the desired effect, however, because the people were indeed supporting the UG. Wherever the cadres went, people would freely give them food. In those days, Bendangangshi was also in the UG. He and others would come to the grouping from the back, remove the fencing and put it back; in this way they would carry away the rations. He said:
The groupings did not weaken the UG. But it did cause immense suffering to the common people, just because they were supporting the UG. People would supply [arrowroot-like] puglashi, and they would themselves consume local vegetation and grasses in the absence of rice, meat or vegetables. Therefore, only due to poverty were the people unable to support the UG, as they did earlier during the grouping period.
When the army personnel would come, they would stay in the churches and carry away the women there. It was all very open. There was no shame at all. All this went on for one year – 1957 – from the beginning to the end.
In those days, the big leaders were trying to bring about a solution. Periodic meetings were held in Mokokchung, Kohima and Wokha. Through that initiative, the Naga People’s Convention [NPC] was born. The aim of the NPC was to bring the underground and Indian leaders together. But during the final stages of negotiation, even though the Indian government had given assurances to the UG leaders that they would be involved, they cheated and called only the above-ground NPC leaders to Delhi, and signed the 16-point agreement with them.
In 1956, thousands of houses were burnt, including churches. People were shot and killed. Granaries were burnt to ashes. During this period, not only the freedom fighters but much of the general public also went underground, since they were all in any case without food or shelter. Schools had also been closed down. At that time there were only two high schools, and the army occupied their hostels. Therefore, many of the students went underground.
Bendangangshi joined the UG just after his matriculation exam, in 1956. He was there until 1958, when he was so badly wounded that he had to be admitted to the mission hospital in Jorhat. Before joining the UG, he had been an active supporter. He continued:
It is difficult to say what the strength of the UG was during 1956-57. Every tribe had its own collection of names, its own organisation and registration. But these papers could not be kept intact, because if they were written one day they would need to be burnt the next day. At that time all the tribes worked together, and there must have been a few thousand underground cadres.
UG action started in the Mokokchung area in 1956. It started in Tuensang in 1954, and there was heavy fighting there in 1955. Fighting continued until the ceasefire on 6 September 1964, even though an agreement was reached in 1960. The second ceasefire was in 1975. The third ceasefire started in 1997. It has now been 14 years, and nothing substantive has been achieved – it has continued without bearing any fruit.
The demand from the Naga side is very simple. We want freedom from India. It has been put in writing, and has been placed before India. But it is no longer rigid. Before, the demand was only sovereignty. But ‘sovereignty’ was never defined. Sovereignty in the present context is defined in other ways. We want an ‘honourable settlement’. In the present context, it is like a give-and-take policy. We would like two constitutions, one for India and one for Nagas. We would like it to be as in a federal system, where there are certain rights that would be with the Nagas and there would be certain portfolios that would be given to the central government, such as external affairs. In short, we want internal autonomy.
A large number of Nagas are also in Burma, where we have ancestral lands. In 1953, Nehru allowed the Burmese government to occupy our land, even though the Burmese people never claimed that it was theirs. That land is also a part of the Naga Hills. The Indian government does not want to consider our demand for greater autonomy, because it would involve disintegration of some states as they are organized today. But our demand will be continued by the coming generations, because Nagas cannot forget their demand. The Naga people will never swallow the bitter pill that India wants us to swallow.
CIDs then, CIDs now
Chuchuyimpang is a village of 861 houses, 6 km from Mokokchung. On the way up, my companion points out the college and the church, which he says during the late 1990s was pockmarked with bullets due to intense factional fights between the two factions of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim – the Isak-Muivah (IM) and Khaplang (K) factions, which were created when the NSCN split in 1985, five years after its formation. The army did not intervene in this intense fighting.
The Chuchuyimpang forest was not burnt before or after the grouping. However, sexual assaults on women were fairly common, and men of the village were frequently asked to do labour for the army. The grouping in Chuchuyimpang brought four villages together, around 1150 houses in total. It started in March 1956 and continued for the following year. This grouping was fenced, with one gate at each end, but the UG families were not segregated. Still, no food (cooked or uncooked) was allowed to be taken when the farmers went to their fields, since the officials believed that this would be passed on to UG cadres. Thus, farmers were forced to go without food for the entire day. Elsewhere, people suffered every day in order to meet their basic needs of water, firewood and food – for everything, permission was mandatory. In one incident, a woman from Longmisa had gone home to get rice from the stores that her family had hidden without the army’s permission, and was shot dead while returning. During that period many people chose to live in the jungle, even though they were not with the UG; many died there due to malnutrition and illness.
In Chuchuyimpang, we met with three elders who were also good friends, Soupongyanger (83, a retired school teacher), Nungsangtemjen (86, also retired school teacher) and C Aliba (85, a retired government employee). None of the three were ever in the UG. The story that follows was told collectively by these three:
The severity of the army action on a village depended on its relationship with the UG. Some villages were burnt many times. They could get all the necessary information about hide-outs, etc, from the CIDs [army informers]. When even this did not meet their objectives, they started the groupings. During that period, selected persons were also taken to the army camps, where many were tortured and killed. Before the grouping in a village, the army personnel would come and check the village. They would first group all the men in the open ground. Then they went for checking in the homes when only the women were there. Many women were raped during such checks, and household valuables were stolen.
In 1956, before the grouping, there was a major ambush in Chuchuyimpang in which seven army men and one UG were killed. After that, the army returned and took all the men aside and selected four suspects. C Aliba was one of them. Severe beatings followed, he said – on the soles of their feet, behind the ears, on the head and knees. With rifle butts they would prod and pound their bodies. Aliba said that he still felt dizzy sometimes due to the beatings he received on his head. He is the only one of the four who is still alive.
Soupongyanger recalled the story of Toshinungsang, the first man from their district to be shot by the Assam police, though he escaped death. The incident occurred on 27 February 1956. He was not in the UG, and was in the village when he was shot. Soupongyanger, who witnessed the shooting, was also taken into custody, along with one other witness. He said they were taken to the army camp, where they had needles inserted under their nails, and were beaten repeatedly. They were kept in a prison in Mokokchung for three months; he had to pay 500 rupees for his release. Even after his release, he had to report to the army every day for a month – punishment for refusing to divulge information on the location of the UG camp, details on the rebels’ weapons, etc. Information about them had evidently been given to the army by informants, of which there were four in the village at the time. Indeed, ‘The CID system continues till today,’ said Soupongyanger. ‘Since we have not gotten independence yet, they also need CIDs.’
These three elders believe that they will get independence one day.
Our ideology was simple. Phizo told us that we will take the full rupee coin. Not more, nor less. Even today we believe in this. For that one rupee coin we have struggled. If we do not get our sovereignty, then what use was our sacrifice? Even if we die we will get our independence. Our relationship with mainland India is only for political reasons – for all other reasons we are different.
And as I took leave and turned to go, one of them called out: ‘When you write, do not forget our sovereignty!’
As I walked down the hill, I thought of Tareptsuba. It was late evening too like this one the other day when we were preparing to leave Longkhum when I was told that one other person wanted to meet me. Eighty-eight-year-old Tareptsuba had come after he learnt that an Indian had come to their village. An old shawl draped around his shoulders, leaning on his cane, he insisted on standing while speaking, as though making a formal deposition before a court of justice. I felt humbled and disturbed.
‘We are still waiting for nachiso [independence],’ he began.
In 1951, I put my thumb along with the rest of the Nagas for independence. Why is it that Nagas have still not got their independence? Right after that we were tortured – my teeth were smashed. Today, you are asking all these questions. Will you send the Indian Army? We might not be able to wield weapons against mighty India, but our willpower will win.
This article is being published with the permission of the author. It was originally published in the August 2011 issue of www.himalmag.com. Bela Bhatia is an independent researcher and
human rights activist currently based in Mumbai
Wages Of War Tehelka
The insurgents take a cut out of every Central and state fund meant for Nagaland. The governments know about this, but do nothing. Jimi Dey Gabriel scoops documents to show how the extortion happens
HE HELD the dreaded ‘love-letter’ in trembling hands. His heart raced. Line by line, the 40-year-old Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO) read the extortion note with a sinking feeling that there was no choice but to pay. Twenty-five percent of his salary and that of every other employee in his department was to be handed over to the Naga Underground (UG) — or the safety of their families would be jeopardised.
G3 Rs 4.5 lakh M16 Rs 2.5 lakh AK-47 Rs 3/4 lakh
When the movement for Naga sovereignty started in 1946, there was one group: the Naga National Council (NNC), with AZ Phizo as its founding father. “Supported by the people, fighting for the people, it was a noble movement,” believes P Chase*, author and custodian of Naga history. But about the various factions of the UG now, he says, “They have corrupted what was once a people’s movement.” Today, there are seven such groups. Many hands in the till and crores to be made.
In the US, the military-industrial complex ensured that going to war made financial and political sense. As long as the country was involved in various wars, the arms industry boomed and politicians got their donations. Nagaland has a similar political-insurgent complex. According to locals, intelligence sources as well as senior politicians, to win an election in Nagaland you need the support of the UG.
When asked about this, Nagaland Home Minister Imkong L Imchen let slip the truth, “I won’t subscribe to that view, but perhaps there is some truth in it.” He said, “It is not the only factor, though I don’t deny the link. It is not absolute, but some people patronise them.”
Related
Physician, first heal thyself
Screams from the Valley
The Dry Well Of Promises
Once in power, politicians turn a blind eye to the ‘tax collection’ by the UG groups because as long as there is an ‘insurgency problem’, the Centre will pump in money for ‘development’. At present, the Centre contributes Rs 1,750 crore annually, roughly 70 percent of the Nagaland state budget.
All of this is taxpayers’ money meant for development — for building roads, schools, hospitals and basic infrastructure in the Northeastern state. While development and employment generation remain political rhetoric, an estimated Rs 600 crore of government money is siphoned off by the different UG groups annually. Money that is then used to buy arms, maintain camps, pay cadres and run a parallel government. In this way, one could say India has been funding the Naga insurgency for over 20 years — with the state government’s complicity.
Parallel Economy
Estimated annual extortion:
Government Staff Salaries
Rs 4,02,19,86,862
House Tax
Rs 16,19,38,800
Highway Tax
Rs 32,85,00,000
Collective UG Groups’ Revenue
Rs 1’300 cr annually
Since the mid-1980s, the groups have established a highly evolved and organised extortion network. According to documents from intelligence sources, as ‘governments of the people’, UG groups have divided the entire state into administrative regions based on tribal demographics. Each region is handled by a ‘Central Administration Officer’ (CAO) or ‘Regional Chairman’. Regions are further divided into sub-areas that are handled by the ‘Leacy’ and the ‘Razou Pio’.
Each group has a ‘Finance Ministry’, locally know as the ‘Chaplee Ministry’, which sets revenue targets for each region based on the CAO’s evaluation of the local economy. The CAOs undertake an in-depth study of their region — IT returns, names and number of businesses, banks and insurance documents are collected. Taxes are collected annually or bi-annually. The system is professional to the t — on receiving payments, tax receipts and tokens are issued. Businesses that provide goods in lieu of tax are given a tax waiver certificate.
Not only does the UG web collection cover all 1,143 villages in Nagaland, the groups have managed to infiltrate the government at every level. Each of the seven groups collects a specific percentage from the salaries of the 1.60 lakh government employees in Nagaland. According to government sources, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland–Isaak Muivah (NSCN-IM) collects 25 percent, while NSCN (Khaplang), NSCN (Khole-Kitovi) and NSCN (Unification) collect 24 percent each from one month’s salary of each government servant, once a year. While the two factions of the Federal Government of Nagaland (FGN) collect 20 percent each, the NNC has stuck to a donation system — you contribute as much as you can. Based on the salaries and wages allotted in Demand for Grants (2011-12) of the Government of Nagaland and the different collection percentages, six groups jointly collect a staggering Rs 402 crore annually from 73 departments of the state government.
The Extortion Machinery
There is a proper finance ministry with each Naga faction, known locally as the Chaplee Ministry
The state is divided into administrative regions based on tribal demographics and region-wise revenue targets are set
Each region is handled by a ‘Central Administration Officer’ (CAO) or ‘Regional Chairman’
Rates are based on the CAO’s evaluation of the local economy
Regions are further divided into sub areas that are handled by the ‘Leacy’ and the ‘Razou Pio’
‘Taxes’ on government officials are collected through the department head or the Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO)
The DDO is responsible for deducting the ‘tax’ and ensuring the cash reaches the designated drop-off on a fixed date
Village Council members are made to collect ‘personal taxes’ like house tax, soil tax, domestic animal tax, etc
“The system is simple. Since all credit and debit entries of a government department are maintained by the (DDO), each group addresses its demand note to him and delivers it to their office in person. The DDO then deducts the specified percentage from each employee’s salary and ensures the cash reaches the designated drop-off on a fixed date. It is TDS (tax deducted at source), Nagaland style,” said T Ao, the head of a government department in Nagaland. (Though TEHELKA is in possession of several extortion letters served to government departments — the department names, dates and designations have been obscured keeping the source’s safety in mind)
According to senior politicians, you need the support of the UG to win an election in Nagaland
When asked how tax collection from government employees continues unhindered, minister Imchen says, “Unfortunately, some government employees are collaborating with the underground groups. We have been taking certain steps, but I don’t think it would be appropriate to discuss my strategy with the media.”
9mm Beretta Rs 60,000/1.5 lakh GPMG Rs3.5 lakh Ammunition Rs 250/Round
IN THE 1960s, every tenth household in each Naga village contributed a soldier, while the other nine undertook the responsibility of feeding his children. Money came from donations and those who could not, did so in kind, explains historian Chase.
However, there is growing discontent amongst those who are forced to bear the burden of the UG tax. “Who wants to ‘donate’ their hard-earned money for the ‘cause’? If they were doing something positive with our money, no one would complain. But they are just getting rich. Unfortunately, we can never refuse to pay; it’s not worth the risk. Nagaland is a small place, everyone knows everyone,” explains Ao, sitting in a third-floor office, guarded by 10 armed men. “We are stuck in the middle. On one side, we are harassed by the ultra national groups to pay up. When we do, the security forces harass us,” he adds.
Notes of amour? The extortion notes from the Nagaland underground are called ‘love letters’
While there is a growing sense of helplessness, Imchen believes the solution lies with the people. “Unless they cooperate, share information and tell us about the trouble they are facing, how will we know? As a government, we cannot track every individual’s activities. People need to come forward and give information to the police.” However, with UG cadres roaming freely, it’s easier said than done.
The Centre pumps crores into Nagaland, playing up the development plank which is crucial to resolving the 64-yearold Naga insurgency. However, every government scheme ends up getting taxed by the underground. Each group collects anywhere between 10 and 15 percent of the allocated funds.
Having spent three decades as a government employee, S Keyho is disillusioned with the state government. “The government talks of quality control but if six groups collect roughly 10 percent of the funds allocated for a said scheme, 60 percent of the funds is gone. Then we wonder why there is no progress.”
Keyho, who served as a member of his Village Council post retirement, is also well-versed in Naga politics and believes the state government is responsible for the rise in extortion. “They know everything, but won’t act. They are unwilling to risk challenging the authority of the underground groups because they need them to win elections. Our present chief minister follows a policy of ‘equi-closeness’. How can he be close to an underground group?” asks Keyho angrily.
By collecting an estimated Rs 402 crore from government employees and a further Rs 200 crore from government schemes, the UG groups are siphoning off an estimated Rs 600 crore of government funds annually.
Commercial Vehicle tax (2011)
Rates (in rupees) per vehicle per trip
Taxes are collected annually, but even donations for Christmas, tribal festivals and sometimes personal demand letters from senior UG ‘officials’ find their way to the DDO’s table. However, where there are taxes, there are also rebates. Concessions are made for a department involved with development, education and medicine.
As the head of a department dealing with development, Sara Kemp believes that negotiation is critical to getting discounts. “You know the person who comes to collect the tax and a lot depends on your negotiation skills. I have managed to get discounts for my department by explaining that the government barely allocates enough money for us,” she says. “I have even gone so far as to tell the collection ‘officer’ that since his organisation is very rich, they should contribute to our department. He wasn’t very amused but I got a discount.”
WITH AN extensive network in place, the underground groups have found a sure-shot way to track fund allocation — the Right to Information Act. “They track the funds released from the Centre and even before the department receives the draw authority letter, the tax notices are issued,” avers Kemp. “This is how RTI is misused. If all the processes are followed, we cannot legally reject their request. I often recognise the names of the underground members, but we are bound by the law to provide them with the requested information,” she says. Irony at its best, a law made to empower the people is serving the UG purpose.
As hundreds of crores are annually diverted from the government’s coffers to wage war against India, the question of balancing the books arises. How do you account for the extortion? “You inflate your bills. Extortion is propagating corruption. We have to show the money spent somehow; we cannot put it down as underground tax. So we are forced to fudge our bills,” says an employee working in the finance section, on conditions of anonymity. On the other hand, Keyho believes that many DDOS have started using demand notes to extract money for themselves. “They give a part of the money to the group and pocket the rest. Since the payments are covered by the bills they make, who can check them?”
While government funds make up the lion’s share of the UG revenue, everything from land to ice-cream is taxed. Though the rates are low ( Rs 1 per sq ft) the revenue generated is substantial. Each house in Nagaland has to pay Rs 120 to each of the six groups annually as house tax. According to a government study, the 2,24,915 taxpaying houses in Nagaland generate a house tax of roughly Rs 16 crore a year.
Taxes such as house tax, domestic animals tax and soil tax are collected through the Village Council (VC). Each village is governed by a VC. To simplify the collection process, the UG issues demand notes to them. The VC then works for them and is responsible for collecting the money and giving it to the groups. They have little choice in the matter.
“A few years ago the Rosoma Village Council refused to pay a particular group,” narrates a former Village Council member. “The group surrounded the village, kidnapped the VC members as well as the Gaon Buras (village representatives) and took them to the jungle. While the VC and GB were kept tied and blindfolded in the jungle, a note was sent to the villagers: Pay the tax or collect their bodies.”
While taxes relating to individuals and houses are collected through the VC, businesses are taxed individually. Dimapur is not only the financial capital of Nagaland but is the extortion capital as well. According to government sources, in 2009, NSCN (IM), NSCN(K) and NSCN(U) collected over Rs 200 crore from the 9,500 non-Naga traders in Dimapur.
SITTING OUTSIDE his kirana shop in Kohima, Bihari shopowner Rahul explains what life for an outsider is like. “As outsiders, we are soft targets. They use it as their propaganda that they are taxing outsiders, weakening our financial hold. But we don’t bear the burden of their tax. What they don’t release is that when they tax us, we increase our prices and shift the burden on to the locals. It is the Nagas who suffer. As long as I make my payments on time, they don’t harass me.”
The system of business extortion is based on tax slabs. After determining the size of revenue generated by a certain business, they are allotted a tax bracket.
Taxing Business
Extortion Rate (In Rupees) Is Based On Shop Income
Another source of revenue generation is the UG’s highway tax. National highways passing through Nagaland are divided into zones. Each group collects tax from all commercial vehicles passing through their zones. Vehicles are categorised according to carrying capacity and taxes are collected on either an annual basis or per trip.
Checkpoints are set up along the highway and receipts are issued upon payment. Trucks from other states are charged an extra Rs 3,000 entry tax. Government sources estimate that 150 vehicles enter Nagaland daily. Even if we take Rs 2,000 per vehicle between NSCN (IM), NSCN(K) and NSCN(U), the total revenue generated from toll tax comes to Rs 32.85 crore annually, which is a moderate estimate.
Recently, TEHELKA managed to ask various Naga underground leaders the question, ‘As a government of the people you collect taxes, but why don’t you undertake development work?’
The answers varied from “We have no money, fighting a war against India is expensive” , “Before we can have development, we need to have peace” to “We have taken up welfare activities for the Burmese Nagas.” However, according to local intelligence officers, a modest estimate of the NSCN(IM) budget is Rs 250 crore annually. Though NSCN(K) and NSCN(U) don’t earn as much, their annual budgets are said to be Rs 160-200 crore. While underground sources deny receiving any salary, documents recovered from government Accordofficials reveal that the amount budgeted for just salaries of top leadership was Rs 2.8 crore annually (2005) and Rs 5 crore was allotted for political meetings.
Seized UG budget copies reveal that groups spend a substantial amount on education. UG groups fund the higher education of many Naga students. They are sent to Delhi and Shillong for their Bachelor’s and Master’s degree. When they return, they are honour-bound to join the group,” says Keyho, confirming intelligence reports.
The UG rank and file is filled with undergraduates and post-graduates from Delhi University, Jamia Milia Islamia, Jawaharlal Nehru University, North East Hill University and even a few IITians.
Given the lack of job opportunities in the state and rising number of the educated unemployed, the underground has become a logical professional choice.
Thriving on fear, the cause has become a lucrative industry, stagnating Nagaland in the process
“There are many youngsters in my village who are joining the underground because they have no other source of employment,” explains Sam, a Naga student in Delhi. “If you join, you get a gun. A weapon brings respect and money.”
It seems strange that a so-called ‘government’ of the people, that has an expansive network across the state, that tracks every development and commercial project, that spends over Rs 50 lakh on stationery and over Rs 1.5 crore on carrying out its duties, hasn’t taken up a single development project.
Underground overlords The palatial bungalows belonging to leaders of the Naga UG
Over the past six decades, the Naga movement for sovereignty has transformed into something not all Nagas identify with. Though the idea of sovereignty based on the uniqueness of their history is very real for a majority of the Nagas, there is a growing sense of disillusionment with the movement’s present leadership.
A 28-year-old computer engineer is exasperated. “You can’t do anything without having them come to collect,” he says. “I wanted to start a computer training centre. I had filled out the paperwork to buy the computers, but I was told that the second I set up my centre, UG groups will come knocking. They don’t understand that we take loans to start a business. They may be worth lakhs, but it’s not our money. We start off in debt and if we already owe the bank Rs 10 lakh, how can we pay their taxes? The movement has lost its way.”
AS POLITICIANS up the anti-extortion rhetoric, it remains a mystery why it has taken the state government over two-anda- half decades to address the issue. Imchem suggests the present anti-extortion wave is a reflection of the popular sentiment. “You cannot arrest political motivation, it is a democratic society,” he says. These are characteristics of democracy. The people have woken up to it now. However, with the help of the home ministry, our government has drastically normalised the situation. In 2008, the situation was not good, we have brought it to a state of acceptable normalcy.”
Nagaland is stagnating because of the fear fuelled by political helplessness and a cause that has become an industry. As conflicts of interest lead to factional splits, the state is in the throes of a fratricidal battle for dominance. He who brings the solution first will be immortalised, but he who controls the cities, roads and businesses will live as king.
As groups mobilise the masses to support the ‘cause’, it is clear that the longer it takes to reach a solution, the richer the players get. Till then, the people of Nagaland can take respite in the words of a smiling government official, “Today at least there is some sort of peace. We are only losing our money, not our lives.”
* Some names have been changed to protect identities
Arunachal opposes Naga party in state Press Trust Of India
Itanagar, August 06, 2011
The Arunachal Pradesh government for the first time has expressed objection to the reported formation of a Naga political party in the state. Home minister Takar Marde, during his whirlwind tour of the trouble-torn districts of Tirap and Changlang recently, reportedly denied existence of
a regional party by the name of Naga People’s Party of Arunachal and opposed formation of any, official sources said here today.
Addressing a series of public meetings in interior administrative circles of the twin districts, Marde clarified that the people of Arunachal respect and regard their brothers and sisters in Nagaland but will not accept any attempt to create a regional political party based on cultural affinity between the two states.
He appealed to those divisive forces to refrain from such activities, the sources said.
In one of the meetings, Marde assured that the central and state governments are closely monitoring the prevailing law and order situation in both the districts.
70 Naga Army from Konyak Region Affirm Gen. Khole’s Leadership
We, the Senior Naga Army Officers and men from from Konyak Region would like to clarify to the Naga people that Konyak Region and Konyak Community in general have always stood strong in support of the Naga political right. Our physical and moral contribution to the political struggle is second to none. Recently, owing to impeachment and expulsion of S.S Khaplang from NSCN, few vested elements created a slight confusion within ranks and file in Konyak region. After thoroughly examining the transitional period, we understand that it was a very important decision and crucial for the Naga people. With his participation in the Burmese election, S.S Khaplang lost all interest in the Naga political issue. We know that Mr. Khaplang had become a shadow only very few people could see and communicate with. These people are responsible for creating undue commotion in Nagaland recently.
We have realized that Mr. Wangtin Naga, in his seven year stint in the National struggle, has clearly identified himself as an infant in Naga politics. As an educated man with college degree, we expected him to assist Gen. Khole in fulfilling the vision of the Naga people. He has played a very dirty policy to divide the Konyaks in particular and Nagas in general. We condemn him for betraying his mentor GPRN/NSCN President Gen.(Retd) Khole. We urge Mr. Wangtin Naga to either go to Burma in search of S.S Khaplang or surrender to the Indian government because his chameleon character will not help the Naga cause.
It is extremely unfortunate that Mr. Wangtin Naga tried his best to isolate GPRN/NSCN President Gen.(Retd) Khole Konyak by misleading the Konyak people with unfounded allegations. President Khole’s principle and commitment towards the Naga cause is unquestionable. He has rightly been honored by the NSCN National Assembly as Chairman of the NSCN party and President of the GPRN. We, along with our junior officers, NCO’s numbering more than seventy with equal number of arms have decided to serve the Naga nation faithfully under the leadership of President Gen.(Retd) Khole Konyak and Ato Kilonser N Kitovi Zhimomi.
Naga Army, Konyak Region.
1. Col. Tinpho Konyak.
2. Col. Shawa .
3. Khatwang.
4. Lt. Col. Longpa.
5. Maj. Ngumayi.
6. Maj. Khenli.
7. Maj. Langpai ( Defence Commander, Aboi)
8. Maj. Asahah
Phonghong Designated Camp, GPRN/NSCN
1. Col. Noktu, Commander.
2. Maj. Noktha
3. Capt. Manchu.
4. Capt. Wangpoh.
5. Capt. Nokyem.
Issued through MIP, GPRN/NSCN.
Frans on 08.09.11 @ 02:22 PM CST [link]
