New Delhi
This piece is being written with an element of sadness though while refreshing memories about Naga politicians, one did not want to feel somber.
I tried to get in touch with former Nagaland Chief Minister K L Chishi on the contemporary developments and got a whatsapp message - "I am better now, but not vocal".
To me this came as a shocker. I always held him as perhaps the best debater in English, Nagaland politics has produced. It is also sad that never such a good orator made it to Parliament. Naga issues would have got better voice in him, but that was not to be.
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| K L Chishi and blogger: Feb 2021, Dimapur |
Hence, this piece is essentially on some of the one-liners and quotes of Naga politicians - starting with Chishi and I would try to cover the galaxy of Naga leaders of my time in the state - Hokishe Sema, S C Jamir, Vamuzo and Chingwang Konyak.
Chief Minister Neiphio Rio and his contemporaries K Therie, Neiba Ndang and a few more would be dealt with separately some other day.
Chishi's ready wit has been extraordinary and something I find can easily outshine many good debaters in Indian Parliament.
Once as the Leader of the Opposition, he was speaking about corruption and there was thunder. It appeared things cracked on the roof of the old Assembly Building near the Old Secretariat. Chishi up on his feet and very quick and apt: "Hon'ble Speaker Sir, even heaven agrees there is corruption in Nagaland".
Late T N Ngullie as the presiding officer could not conceal his laughter and on the other side Chief Minister Jamir was also smiling to I K Sema sitting next to him.
As per my interaction with him, some of it is ever memorable. When he was expelled from Nagaland People's Council (NPC) by Vamuzo-Vizol duo, Chishi had famously remarked: "NPC is my baby, I created it. Now they say I am not
the father of my child".
Prior to that on the formation of Vamuzo-led consensus government (that had brought down his one-month old ministry in 1990), Chishi's remarks were latched with humour: "JLP relation was like dogs in love, they never faced each other".
So in effect Vamuzo was the first non-MLA Chief Minister and JLP was the 1990s version of what we have today, the PDA. S C Jamir was the architect of JLP.
During by February 2021 visit to Dimapur, I shared with chishi these few anecdotes and he added a fresh one for me: "Sir, you are not being fair and lovely to me". This is Chishi had said while addressing the Chair, he said who was forcing him
to cut short the speech.
I did not quite understand the context, Chishi explained : "That was for a presiding officer who somehow did not look smart on that particular day". He was laughing in his signature style.
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| Hokishe had handed over this snap with Rajiv |
When Governor M M Thomas dissolved Nagaland assembly without giving chance to opposition Congress to form alternative government, Chishi was diplomatic but critical of Raj Bhavan's role saying - "Governor Thomas has applied emotional yardstick and obliged Vamuzo".
With S C Jamir, some one liners I remember include this - "Politicians never lie".
On allegations of his nexus with one faction of Naga underground, Jamir told me "I am the most harassed Naga politician, I never met Khaplang". This really made headlines in 1993.
Unlike many Naga politicians of his time, Jamir never quite trusted journalists and would hardly share his future moves. But on certain issues, he would be frank. Once at a media conference, if my memories do not fail, late senior colleague P P Rai (Dimapur based) had asked "What you have to say as Hiteshwar Saikia told Assam assembly, there is no Bangladeshi illegal immigrant in Assam?".
Jamir, then CM Nagaland, said - "Bangladeshis are increasing like rabbits".
After I shifted to Delhi and Naga peace talks had started, as Chief Minister he had told me, "The agenda of peace talks between NSCN (IM) and the centre must be shared".
The veteran Congressman had reportedly entrusted G K Pillai, then Joint Secretary in the Union Home ministry, to pass on the requisite question and information to L K Advani. But Jamir's voices were ignored.
Interviewing Hokishe Sema, former Chief Minister and protagonist of naionalism, used to be a difficult proposition. He used to be very frank often making it difficult to do the screening what to report and not to report.
Once he flayed Jamir (CLP leader and then pradesh Congress chief Shikhio Sema) saying the "present leadership should step aside". I had reported the same and a few days later he issued a denial.
Later of course, a true gentleman he was, Hokishe understood my position and we became quite close.
One of his sincere one-liners was - "Politicians never retire". And he declined to put up his boots.
Subsequently, he lost 1993 assembly election from Dimapur I. But he still remained active politically.
For sometime, he and Chingwang associated themselves with Arjun Singh-N D Tiwari faction of Congress and Hokishe was founding president of Nationalist Democratic Movement (NDM).
But the party died a natural death as opposition parties in Nagaland did not contest 1998 assembly polls.
To be continued
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