New Delhi
One ceasefire related statement not long back said - "On the Government side, a concern was expressed that forcible collection of money on essential supplies and intimidation of individuals including government officials were taking place in the state...... in view of the concern expressed by the Govt of India and in the interest of promoting the peace process, the NSCN representatives have agreed that the above activities would be prevented".
Most often the worst damage is done by indifference and incompetence and not evil intent.
Thanks to the government headed by five-term Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and his legislative affairs and legal team(s), the state has earned the tag of "very sad" way of running of affairs from the Supreme Court of India.
This is a legacy Nagaland will remember for sometime and many public spirited leaders have told the 'Nagaland Page' they all are not very happy with the way the things are moving.
Legacy issues have different meanings in different contexts. A person in Bangladesh around the age of 80 years and that way even twelve years younger to our own S Chubatoshi Jamir -- has handled three passports in his or her life -- India (till 1947), Pakistani (between 1947 and 1971) and Bangladesh (since 1971). Take these paradigms in the larger context of a community. These Bengali Muslims in Bangladesh could grow up now as anti-India and anti-Pakistan. What were the ancestral links? The contradictions are inherent.
Almost the same argument about 'identity' comes from people in Pakistan. For Pashtuns in
Pakistan yet again, the saying goes 'I am Pasthun for 6000 years, Muslims for centuries and
a Pakistani for the last 75 years'. These happen with people who make a choice to define themselves in a certain
manner.
About Pakistan, it is said the country has been most often defined as "we -- who are not Indians". Sadly and incidentally these problems remain with other communities, tribes and sub tribes in the vast sub-continent.
From my personal experience, I can say as I spent childhood in the north east and initial years of profession in Nagaland -- at least my late father used to reprimand me stating that I think more like a Naga.
My daughter brought up in Delhi is madly in love with Chhole Bhature as I am with pork rice with bamboo shoots. The Lotha preparation is a weakness. How will my coming generations work out a balance between these? Adding to the complexity is my wife's adulation for Tripura food, Bengali literature and culture and an overdose of Marxist politics.
Mizos or the state of Nagaland need not be told more on these lines.
Some Muslims or Pakistanis for that matter were once taught that -- it is wise to stay away from a Hindu house
'so far that you do not see the smoke coming off a chimney in that Hindu house'. But there are ancestry problems.
Like for example former Army chief of Pakistan Gen Qamar Javed 'Bajwa' still carries a Hindu or a Sikh surname.
Now Nagas of Nagaland cherish Article 371 (A). Nagas in Myanmar are altogether a different world and Nagas in other states have their own problems and merits. Lately an episode has surfaced wherein the NSCN-IM leaders and cadres have displayed photographs destroying some capsules and drugs in Dimapur.
The episode will not bother many people outside the Nagaland state.
The version from central security forces is different. It is obvious the centre has taken cognizance of the developments
and the Home Ministry has sought detailed reports -- let us presume free, frank and candid ones -
from the state police, the state civil administration and other agencies.
Somewhere the reports could be similar and also there would be differences.
This 'difference' is essentially political. It is also debatable whether one side or the other has gone defensive
at this critical juncture when the Modi Govt 2.0 hardly has two-three months to do something solid for
Solution as well as resolve the demand of Eastern Nagaland.
Sources revealed that the centre is keen to mount pressure for Solution. And at the same time various other Naga militant groups have taken a jaundiced view of the episode.
The NNPG led by N Kitovi Zhimomi is more than sincere about a solution. My interaction with Mr Kitovi on the outskirts of Dimapur last month suggested that he is keen for economic uplift of the younger generation.
"Please try to understand even socio-cultural matters such as the Urban Local Body matters have reached the Supreme Court because there is no clarity under Article 371 (A)," Kitovi has said.
It is true the assembly was 'not given' adequate power and so the confusion has led the state to face a breach of court proceedings in the Supreme Court.
The NNPG wants all these powers to be independently handed over to the proposed Nagaland Federal Hoho as proposed in the Agreed Position.
The route to this is a pretty simple one - the Solution. Whether a militant organisation can 'arrest or confine people' with medicines and drugs during the ceasefire period may be debated another day. But the truth of the matter is the law and order agencies and even Narcotic departments have their powers and responsibilities to do their job.
In the current case, we may expect a harmonious stand between central forces and the state police. The state DGP Rupin Sharma has a particular image, and thus he should be still seen as someone who continues to have the appetite for delivering justice and good governance.
On the broad spectrum, ethnic and socio-political linkages are one thing which is crucial. But at the same time people ought to be pragmatic. Here comes the underlying message from Kitovi that - yes, let us go for an early Solution.
The delay is truly dangerous as the ENPO development already suggests one area of concern. The status quo has divided the society and opened the floodgates of further fragmentation. If ENPO goes away with 20 legislatures, people are already debating whether Mr Rio may be the last Tenyimi Chief Minister because Central Nagaland will then have 25 MLAs. Only the remaining 15 will be left for the Tenyimi region.
In next door Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma is working hard with even small tribal groups and making them give up arms. In Nagaland, the five-term CM and his colleagues - obviously of many years - will do well to realise how they all are missing the bus.
Let us presume there is a stock market for Nagaland and Naga economy. Do we all realise how much will the share price of Naga economy rise when a final peace pact is inked between the NNPG and the NSCN-IM with PM Narendra Modi's government ?
ends
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