Nagaland and the problem it faces today

I will try to bring up a very less touched topic on this site today. A state of India which has been constantly neglected by the government and is now fighting a losing battle to terrorism.

Nagaland is situated on the eastern most border of India. Surrounded by states of Assam, Arunanchal Pradesh, Manipur and Myanmar, Nagaland is a hill state whose beauty is said to be beyond imagination. Its rich culture and heritage are renowned world over. But since a long time now, the state has been crippled due to insurgency and terrorism. Terrorists have been stoking fires of a separate naga nation amongst the people of Nagaland since some time now. The organisation which spearheads this cause and has damaged our nation in doing so is Nationalist Social Council of Nagaland (Isac-Muivah). NSCN (IM) is headed by it’s leader T.Muivah who has 150 personal bodyguards and 30 guards from Indian Armed Forces.  He has been touring Nagaland since 6th May and has been giving inflammatory speeches against our nation. This is blatant misuse of the freedom given to him by our government. Centre has provided him with ‘Z+’ security cover. The question arises, if Muivah is so popular and his demands so widespread, what is the need of elaborate security setup while touring his own people? It is obvious that even today a majority of Naga people do not see any logic behind Muivah’s demands and would remain happy with India.

NSCN (IM) has given training to other organisations like National Liberation front of Tripura (NLFT) which were instrumental in kidnapping of 4 RSS members. Apart from raising money for there cause, these militant groups are front runners in forcible conversion of people to Christianity. There are around 40 rogue missionaries working in Nagaland alone whose funding sources are shady. NSCN has also coined the phrase Nagaland for Christ. One can see this slogan on the churches of one of the NSCN camps where Sunday service is regularly conducted by NSCNs  ‘Chaplain Kilonser’ (Religious Affairs Minister). In the area bordering Nagaland and Arunachal, NSCN cadres have converted indigenous minorities on gun points; these groups are said to be funded by international Christian organizations. One of the school teachers in Changlang had to ban the national anthem and start church prayer due to repeated threats from the NSCN groups. The more they convert the more they become successful in creating anti-national feelings. (Here)

NSCN (IM) and its supporters break Hindu temples and these missionaries go on building Churches on those places so that there is no evidence of Nagaland being connected to India, ideologically, theologically or emotionally. The Foreign contribution (regulation) bill of India has gaping loopholes which provides several opportunities for such organisations to launder their money in and out of India. If political parties can’t get foreign funding under FRCA so should religious organisations be prohibited from receiving foreign funds. Many leading national dailies have already reported these loopholes (here)

• Between 1993-94 and 2006-07 a sum of Rs 64,670 crs was received as “Foreign Contributions” by organizations registered with the Home Ministry Govt of India and who filed their declarations.
• Between 1993-94 to 2006-07 the total funds received went up from Rs 1865 to 12290 crs i.e. an increase of 650%
• The % of Associations submitting details of foreign contributions however fell from 66% in 1997-98 to 56% in 2006-07 – meaning that the actual amount of foreign contributions received is much higher than what has been reported.

Many prominent christians and religious heads have denounced this activity and blatant misuse Church’s holy name in the region too.

It may not be known to many people that Nagaland has been a hub of nationalists and patriots. Few such examples are Rani Gaidinliu, N.C.Jediyang. Unfortunately, The voice of such patriots is squashed by gun totting terrorists. Many prominent Nagas like Chale kevichusa, T.Saakhe, Dr.Imkang have been killed for supporting unity and development. Despite of all the adversities, Naga Nationalists did not back down. The ex-chief Minister of Nagaland, Dr. S.C Zamir too stood up in their support. As a result he has been attacked numerous times by terrorists and lives in constant threat.

Fatal Mistake of Cease-fire:

On 1st August 1997, Devegowda govt. under international pressure ceased fire with NSCN (IM) for the first time. This was not needed at all as our security forces were having an upper hand the terrorists were backing off. There support bases were rapidly depleting and the people were absolutely against them. There were many instances that angry people charged militants and killed them. In one instance, mob pulled two terrorists out of courtroom and killed them. Youth declined to join the terrorists even after the offer of heavy compensation was given. But then in Bangkok, Govt. of India signed a peace treaty with NSCN (IM) and the army was sent back. This was used to replenish their energy and within 3 years they started coming out again. In 2000 AD, they killed 1000 prominent Nagas who spoke against them. After Zameer, Neiphieu Rio became the Chief Minister of Nagaland and unfortunately this was a blessing for NSCN (IM). Today the entire govt. is full of NSCN (IM) supporters and situation is worsening rapidly.

JAI HINDApart from these activities a malicious campaign of distorting history has been started which in short states that ‘Nagas’ were never a part of India and always a separate nation which is an absolute lie. Naga association with India is pre-historic and does not need any evidence of unity. It is high time now and intellectuals of our nation should understand that secular fabric of India is not based upon what a political party preaches rather it is based upon the fact that we are a tolerant society. Such extremists should be swiftly tackled with priority. They already pose a threat to our national unity and security. Instead of promoting caste based reservation for petty gains, we need to promote and bring people from all the parts of India in mainstream.

Image courtsey- Outlook