NSCN: Nagas can be happy about pact with Centre

The National Social Council of Nagaland said on Wednesday that Nagas have every reason to be content as the government of India, in its framework agreement, has recognised the legitimated and sovereign rights of the Naga people.

The collective leadership of the NSCN(I-M), in a joint statement, not only rejected those criticising the framework agreement, but also expressed satisfaction with the agreement between the Nagas and the Centre. The joint statement said, “It has been the result of prolonged and dedicated talks between the two parties, who have submitted themselves to settling the final question of the Naga people.”

Saying that the Centre has recognised that Naga integration is a legitimate right of the Naga people, the NSCN(I-M) also questioned the intentions of the Naga National Council, which was campaigning against the the agreement. “Nagas who were forced to live under politically tormenting situations inside different political structures of India and Myanmar are not as happy and comfortable as those who have aggressively reaped the fruit of the quick-fix 16th state of India,” the statement said, adding, “The framework agreement now in place announces the way the on-going political talks between the two separate political entities will ultimately culminate into what is best for both the parties.”

The NSCN (I-M) in its hard-hitting statement also said, “There is no first class Naga and second class Nagas, all Nagas are equal. Whoever fights for the cause of the Naga nation, they are Naga patriot or National patriot.”

Pointing out that Naga people know how it did come about in a defining moment and a treacherous situation the Nagas faced in past, the collective leadership of NSCN (I-M) said, “When leaders of Government of India say they now well understand the ‘Naga’s situations’, they do not mean the present Nagaland State and its ridiculous situation today. And when successive Indian Prime Ministers say the case of the Naga people is ‘unique’, the term ‘Law and Order’ has been completely ruled out now.”

The collective leadership asserted, “The realization that seeking military settlement has proved its own futility explicitly and the case between the Naga people and Government of India need be settled politically.”

It also regretted that a section of their own people, groups and individuals who have stated different narratives about the current political situations have been trying to confuse people.