Rebel leader Phizo wanted to make the region 'suitable location' to fight India
New Delhi
In 1997 around the time India celebrated 50 years of Independence, this scribe was
in Kohima associated with premier news agency the Press Trust of India (PTI).
While working on a developmental story of Nagaland's progress between 1963 and 1997, I was told by a Statistics Department officer that the state's march was spectacular in industrialising a virtually primordial economy. He shared some impressive figures vis-a-vis achievements since statehood.
Prior to Independence, there was only one road worth its name between Dimapur and Mao in Manipur. Before Nagaland became a state (1963 Dec.), there were just 56 km of black-topped roads and 300 km of unsurfaced roads. By August 1997, there were over 5500 km of metalled roads and 2300 km of black-topped roads.
There were similar achievements in the power sector, health and education.
But he had also shared lights on some peculiar aspects of developments in a few rural Nagaland hamlets.
A few interesting stories came about Aghunato.
Developmental works in these areas proved a nightmare for civil administration. It was a virtual Sumi heartland,
and in a geographic sense foggy, chilly and windswept.
The official had said that there was a time when shopkeepers hesitated to keep 'costly items' because
the general apprehension used to be that once taken away, they would never get the payments.
This was also a region where Dobashis were quite powerful and they could even impose financial
penalties on civil officials who were above them.
In the late 1970s when there were plans for starting a Catholic educational institute in Aghunato,
there was strong resentment.
The fear of 'conversion' into Catholicism was pretty strong. There was quite a paradoxical situation
and this is best exemplified in page-turner 'Encountering Life - Antics of a Govt Servant'.
"The Catholics have never heard of Aghunato. The people there haven't heard of Catholicism," says the book.
When the Bishop in Dimapur was finally convinced about starting a Parish school, many thought -- "The GBs of
Aghunato had taken the first step with courage to breach the dogmatic stance of the Sumi Church".
The number games vis-a-vis communities population were also important aspects to note of.
I was told of Khumishi village where a time came when Sumis lost in numbers to Yimchungru. The climax
was when during Area Council elections, a Yimchungru candidate had fought the polls much to the surprise of
the local Sumis.
Aghunato has another interesting legacy.
At one point it came under the erstwhile North East Frontier Agency (NEFA);
and thus the civil servants who served in that region in and around seventies
used to say "the NEFA fixation had still not worn off completely".
According to the book, 'Encountering Life ....', the communities' population issue was vital.
A "similar serious scenario" could be waiting to explode in the planes of Dimapur vis-a-vis
illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.
The Bangladeshi Muslims have been perhaps "recklessly" harboured in the Dimapur region and hence the
compendium cautions - "Today they are our obedient servants. Tomorrow it will be our optionless turn
to serve them".
During the peak of insurgency related incidents in the early fifties, Aghunato was also often described as "the Free
Naga region".
In 1953, NNC chief A Z Phizo had visited Aghunato with NNC leaders Luzukhu Sumi and Tolhopu.
Later on writers and contemporary historians had recorded that - "Phizo had already discovered that
this Free Naga region could function as a suitable location".
ends
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