His 'Mysterious' Voice ..... is back again !!
No one can actually give a solid reason what made the Congress party in Nagaland release the 18-page booklet 'Bedrock of Naga Society' in 2000.
Worse, Congress claimed 5000 copies were printed in June 2000 and this was followed by 10,000 in July 2000.
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| Blogger and other news persons at Kohima Raj Bhavan with Jamir - 1998 (Swearing in day) |
Probably much more interesting is why the booklet was burnt and flayed so much. I know a young student activist of that era and he too could not give a convincing answer why the booklet was slammed so much.
Was it S C Jamir's idea to bring out that tiny publication or was he advised by some political lieutenants or close Babus of their hey days ?
Left to me, I would always say -- much more controversial and sharp things are spoken (or addressed in various speeches) and written in newspaper articles.
But around that time - the gimmick worked for NPF and anti-Jamir forces.
Was K Therie, the smarty operator behind the move. Nevertheless, Therie and Neiphiu Rio and even T R Zeliang and many others were in the Congress once.
Therie and Rio joined hands with NPC-led by Shurhozelie and the rest is history. Also part of the history is Therie went back to Congress and even led it as the pradesh Congress chief for years. But he could not oust his 'former but a weak-heart friend' Rio from power remains an altogether a different story.
Coming back to the 'Bedrock of Naga Society' -- In the last page -- under a caption 'The Last word' - the publication says --
"Statehood fulfilled the aspirations of the Nagas to a large extent. The identity of the Nagas have been preserved as desired by Naga leaders ever since the feeling of Naga-oneness began".
It also says -- "The leaders of the Naga People's Convention were genuine patriots who fervently desired a bright future for the people. They were practical and realistic and knew that dreams alone cannot provide bread and butter to the people". The booklet further said -
"The Future is the theme, not the past. We cannot afford to live in the myths of the past".
In the Foreword to the booklet, Jamir had written -
"It's also not the purpose of the book to glorify the 16 Point Agreement..... The booklet merely points out the falseness .... The truth, no matter how bitter, must be told in totality - it should not be twisted to suit one's stand nor should it be misinterpreted...".
The book was a bit harsh on some and had said -
"But of late, there has been an increasing tendency to criticise the 16 Point Agreement.... The criticism implies that the 16 Point agreement was a mistake, as the demand of the people was for complete independence from India....
"When carefully analysed, much of this criticism is bereft of historical facts".
There's a subtitle in the booklet - Sovereignty: Myth and Reality.
The booklet countered many perceptions and notions - and said : "We continue to claim we were an independent nation till the British conquered us. Did we have a boundary for our nation ?
As late as the 1940s, when British rule was almost over, large parts of today's Nagaland did not even exist on their maps....
A sub-title 'Origin of Naga Nationalism' says: --
"Most scholars agree that the whole Naga problem was ineptly handled by the then police and administration. The banning of the NNC in 1952 was a blunder which compelled the leaders to turn underground once and and for all".
The booklet also said -- "It is clear that ours would be a bankrupt and insolvent country .... Let us not march backwards but forward along with the rest of the world".
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| NPF leader Azo Nienu : A strong Pro-Merger protagonist |
Instead of 'merger' .... NPF and other parties including the likes of Congress and NPP could use 'Intangki controversy' and turn it as the
'Bedrock society' moment for the NDPP and the leadership of Rio and Chingwang Konyak.
Kohima players "banking" on "weakness of rivals" enjoying the season of socio-political indifference.
(** To quote some extract from my old news story published in 'Nagaland Page' - in October 2o22
"Land is sacred in Nagaland like in any agrarian and traditional society.
One Pakistani official a few years back told me, "It astonishes many in Pakistan that Indians still consider partition as an assault on their Mother".
Does this make a democratic India 'different' from Islamic Pakistan?
The locals-outsiders is a long lasting menace in northeast and also in Nagaland.
Some of us grew up seeing the 'intolerance' against and 'humiliation' of 'plain manu' in Nagaland, Dwakher in Meghalaya and Vai Naupang in Mizoram.
In Tripura, the story sees another twist - where tribals have been
outnumbered. Assam's agony is well known.
But now in Nagaland, the Senior Citizens Association of Nagaland (SCAN) has lambasted the inaction of the State Government for failing to protect the Intangki National Park from being fully occupied by cadres of NSCN (IM). (2022)
The same state government now has the 'nationalists' BJP in power since 2018.
The latest round of 'revelation' is from an RTI response and hence things appear more serious.
In 2003, the Congress party headed by S C Jamir lost the polls perhaps more for the booklet 'Bedrock of Naga Society' published on June 19, 2000.
Once the booklet was published with a Foreword from S C Jamir that some readers have come up with "juvenile and jaundiced conclusions", the Congress had lost control of things.
In 2022, the issue will be more serious. The 'land' is lost to 'outsider Nagas' from the state of Manipur.
This issue was flagged off earlier too.
The SCAN has a point in articulating that - Nagaland cannot "whimsically" be converted into make-believe
“Naga Nation” without integration for all Nagas from everywhere to share equal rights with the Nagas of Nagaland.
The NDPP spin masters may ask - why a non-Naga is talking about these?
(In 2025 -- NDPP has intellectual supporters to question 'speculative' blogger....)
Well, even if emotion has no place, there is something called tax-payers' money !
Some political parties are neither nationalists BJP or Congress nor 'committed regionalists' or fighting cocks, NPF. In terms of Naga peace talks, sovereignty and integration stand rejected by the Government of India.
Land is strictly a state subject and here the state seems to have failed. It is criminal negligence. This is a season to stop writing, or one could be picked up ?
Mr Chingwang, are you listening ?
Some press statements sound more like 'love letters' of the 1990s. I told a Delhi-based state government functionary, journalists may stop covering Nagaland.
Does it suit my pro-merger friend Mr Azo Nienu ?
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| Time to pay more attention on Ground Zero |
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