"Symbols of sovereignty Constitution, Flag are "never negotiable": story makes it to Page 1 of 'Nagaland Page'

Brother, you have the maturity and understanding. Please be realistic and not press for such demands. Please live and prosper in a democracy. Everything in this country belongs to the people.

Swaraj Kaushal 

"I have seen my brother T. Muivah’s interview to a digital media. Was this interview necessary ? I think ‘No’. Will this interview help you or your organisation ? I think ‘No’. 

Now let me discuss some of the issues that you have raised.

"You are angry with Governor Ravi. You say he has ‘betrayed’ you. You say ‘he has thrown us away’ and “he is acting at the behest of the Union home ministry.” Please appreciate. Mr. R.N.Ravi is an interlocutor appointed by the Union Home Ministry. He cannot act on his own. He is bound to act at the behest of the Union Home Ministry. What is wrong with that ? 

I ask myself a simple question. Can an interlocutor go beyond his brief ? My answer is ‘No, Never.’  Your answer should also be the same. Then why blame Mr.RN.Ravi in the media ? 

You remember we met over lunch in IIC. We had some thirty MPs present. You spoke to the MPs with a view to build consensus. Now you are addressing the media. Have such interviews ever built a consensus ? I think No. Then how do such interviews help ? 

I never mind when you get angry. In fact, I always enjoyed your getting angry.  But I do mind when you get very angry. In this interview, you are more than very angry. 

Brother, when you get very angry, reason flies out of the window. And that is precisely what happened here.

"Mr.Phizo met PM Morarji Desai in London in 1978. I do not wish to remember that Mr.Phizo carried a hidden tape recorder in the meeting. That created a communication gap. I wish the meeting could result in a meaningful dialogue and we had a settlement in Mr Phizo’s lifetime.

Once we miss one opportunity, the second comes only twenty years later. That is precisely what happened. The next meeting with the Prime Minister was only in 1997. If we don’t rise to the occasion now, the settlement will elude us for many years.

We citizens are here to strengthen the unity and integrity of the country. The symbols of sovereignty namely, separate constitution, flag, currency, defence and foreign affairs are sacrosanct and never negotiable. 

"Brother, you have the maturity and understanding. Please be realistic and not press for such demands. Please live and prosper in a democracy. Everything in this country belongs to the people. The state and the government are their trustees."

Muivah with Late Isak Chishi Swu 

The issues related to Naga insurgency dates back to the pre-independence era. Nagaland attained statehood in 1963 after signing of a 16 Point Agreement.

Originally led by A Zapu Phizo, the Naga National Council split a number of times especially after the 1970s.

The NSCN (Isak Muivah) faction was led by Late Isak Chishi Swu and Muivah. Swu, the former chairman of NSCN (IM) breathed his last in 2016.

On August 3, 2005, NSCN (IM) and peace negotiator Ravi had inked a pact which was later described as the Framework Agreement.

NNPG, a conglomeration of seven Naga groups operating in Nagaland, has expressed its readiness to ink a final accord with the Government of India at the earliest.

ends