"India has everything, it has given Nagas everything" -- the veteran Congressman had said. Keishing was a member of first Lok Sabha.
New Delhi
Nagas, Meiteis and Kukis of Manipur are making news and are among the headlinesthese days.
Altogether 1229 Nagas have been 'evacuated' from Manipur by Assam Rifles. As many as 47 Konyak girls/women were extricated from a veneer factory. The para military called it'Operation Kohima Calling' -- One and Two. Forces have again plunged into humanitarian assistance in coordination with state authorities.
Rishang Keishing was a towering personality. A former Manipur Chief Minister and a Tangkhul Naga,he has been into the first Lok Sabha as MP. Interviewing him in 2009 was a privilege.I had rushed to him in Parliament premises after the presentation of the Union Budget.
Religiously he sat in the Lok Sabha special gallery meant for Rajya Sabha members and listened to the entire Budgetspeech. Yet he met me readily instantly.
Our interaction was quite friendly and the veteran Rishang, then 89, was quite candid.One may add here that the interview was done at the directives and under the supervision of senior colleague J B Lama and my interview was used by 'The Statesman' for their special 'North East Page'that came out every Monday.
To one of my questions, will he stick to the 'nationalist agenda' vis-a-vis Naga peace talks
as well, Rishang Keishing almost reprimanded me, "Why I should not? Why doesn't everyone realize that this country, India has given enough to Nagas and other northeastern people".
He explained, "I am the most happy (happiest) man in this country today. Lifelong I have stuck to the integrity of India. If you are saying or doing anything on going outside Indian framework and sovereignty, I will have nothing to do with it. Any solution has to be within the constitutional framework and acceptable to all concerned".
Of course it was the period when the umbrella group NNPG had not been formulated and Dr Manmohan Singhwas the Prime Minister.
A dutiful Congressman that he was, Rishang Keishing also had stated: "This country has everything and has given us everything. We have every concession, every freedom and 'every' means the best education and development. This is going on for years and under the present government of Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi’s leadership we are getting a much better deal. That’s my point".
Notably, another senior Congressman S C Jamir was then Governor of Maharashtra. There were always talks ofgood friendship between Jamir and Rishang Keishing; and one inside story was -- both were together on the samepage when it came to Congress principles and ideologies; but apparently they never discussed certain thingsbeyond a point.
I had carefully asked Rishang -- "A few years back, your good friend and present Maharashtra Governor Mr S C Jamir had demanded that the subject matter of Naga peace talks should be made public. Do you also make the same demand from both the Government of India and NSCN?"
Rishang's response was emphatic but cleverly guarded, "I don’t do what others have said in the past. But the solution to the Naga problem is everyone’s desire. Let them do the talking. But it should be in a good direction. Earlier, there were talks about the integrity of Naga contiguous areas. Then that was stopped after violence in Manipur in 2001. Whatever they talk my emphasis is the NSCN leaders should also look for a workable solution".
To my plea for elaborating the phrase -- “workable solution”?; Rishang Keishing had said, "Firstly, the solution should be acceptable to both – the Government of India and Nagas and the people in general so that there’s no major problem once we have a solution package on our table. Today we are in darkness. I am saying we need an amicable solution within the constitutional framework of India".
He also made one vital point. "So far we state politicians either in Nagaland or Manipur have not been taken into confidence. Well, we could come at a later stage and I will give my opinion firmly when that time comes".
This was also the time when news surfaced in the media that the NSCN-IM leaders could hold discussions on theNaga issue with the legendary Nelson Mandela.
On this he had told me: "You have a point. There is no denying the fact that we all don’t know what’s really being talked about. The talks are going on between the Government of India and the NSCN. But I take your question. If NSCN leaders are talking to the Government of India, I don’t find any reason why they should talk to Mandela or anyone else. Such talking to international leaders might not help the progress of the talks".
Rishang Keishing expired at the ripe age of 97 in 2017. By then the BJP-led government under N Biren Singhwas in power in Imphal.
Though no government or family source revealed why his body was not taken to his native village, former CM and senior Congress leader Okram Ibobi Singh told 'The Indian Express' that it was “most unfortunate” that Rishang Keishing’s body was not allowed to be taken to his village Bungpa Khunou in Kamjong district.
ends
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