Z Lohe
For decades, the people of Nagaland in general and the Nagas of Nagaland in particular have been subdued to the whims and fancies of certain groups of pseudo Naga nationalists and certain State politicians with the art of exploitation of the economy of the public for years together. These people in hobnob created a corporate power by which they extensively abused their respective powers to illegally rob both the public and the private sectors with vengeance. With avarice, these people destroyed the future of hundreds and thousands of the youth of Nagaland since the young entrepreneurs were all nipped in the bud due to incessant and destructive illegal taxations. The systems of recruitment are opaque and remain partisan under which deserving candidates are robbed off their chances. Today, thousands of the displaced youth from Nagaland migrated to other cities across India in search of private jobs. The greatest fear is that how these displaced thousands of our youth, both boys and girls, in Indian cities are sustaining their respective lives as to whether they could remain in one piece or being shattered into pieces in respect of faith.
On the contrary, the exploiters have built their financial empires here in Nagaland as well as in mega cities across India and beyond. Due to economic strangulation for decades together by these exploiters, many parents failed to finance their children for proper education. Whereas, the exploiters could send their children to the most expensive institutes in the country and even to foreign countries for education at the expense of the indigenous citizens of Nagaland. What I am talking is not a news and all sensible people know the prevalent situation all these years. Yet, many of these sensible people tend to become either booth lickers of those exploiters or prefer to remain evasive due to lack of gut and selfishness. Thus Nagaland has already been destroyed by the exploiters and the lethargic and selfish onlookers in the gallery. Besides, there is another section in our society found to be the armed-chair commentators whose pleasure is to give their best private comment on any given issue through social medias to keep themselves in the limelight, yet, these section is the most timid from stepping out of their cozy rooms for a cause, and thus they don’t become a substance.
The State Government has availed loans under the guise of physical developments from many financial institutes. I believe the loan dues with the principle and the interest must have been accrued, possibly, to the tune of thousands of crore. “Our fathers sinned and are no more, but we have to bear their iniquities” (Lamentations 5:7). It is definitely impossible for the borrower to clear the loans in those banks during their tenure of holding the office. This immense financial burden is to be passed on to the future leaders, the next generation to bear. Not only the existing generation but including the future generation is robbed by the exploiters.
Of late, these exploiters have exposed themselves in telling lies with the intent to bluff the public so as to continue their fishing out of troubled waters. The Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the Government of Nagaland demanded the appointment of the ministerial level Interlocutor for the Naga peace process which appeared in the local paper dated 5.8.2026. Subsequently, the Chief Minister Dr Neiphiu Rio surprisingly announced that “the Union Government had constituted a committee headed by the Minister of State for Home Affairs to lead the Naga peace talks following the State’s repeated appeals” in his official Independence Day speech (August 15, 2026) at Kohima as appeared in the local papers dated 16.8.2026. Is it true that such a committee headed by a Union Minister has been appointed by GoI? Has the GoI given written order to Nagaland CM to officially announce on that day? On the contrary, the GoI remained totally silent on the very matter till date. VS Atem, Deputy Ato kilonser of NSCN (IM) endorsed the demand of PAC in advance which appeared in local paper dated 15.8.2026. Strengthening what the CM had stated, the NSCN (IM) announced and also congratulated the so call appointment of Ajit Lal as the Interlocutor which was widely circulated in the social media.
The said announcement of the Chief Minister was a total lie. The NSCN (IM)’s claim of Ajit Lal’s appointment as the Interlocutor too is a total lie. Ajit Lal has replaced RK Mishra, and thus Ajit remains to be the Advisor, North East as his predecessor held it as before. The CM’s claim and the NSCN (IM)’s claim are not accidental but indeed both are intentional bearing much implications. These white lies are the very specimen of how these type of leaders and the very type of the pseudo Naga national workers have jointly been subjugating the common man of Nagaland to their whims all these years since from 2003.
It’s much beyond my imagination of how would the Chief Minister who is a Christian and from a Christian dominated State stooped so low to spread such utter falsehood with the very intent of befooling his beloved citizens without hesitation. None of his predecessors was perfect and yet none of them created such a record of promoting falsehood in Nagaland as the present CM has done. The very ploy is a harsh insult to the people of Nagaland as such is the very off-shoot of undermining the integrity and intellect of the citizens of Nagaland. For more than two decades, the people of Nagaland have been taken for a ride. But enough should be enough.
Not every cadre, and obviously not those cadres from Nagaland in NSCN (IM), but the higher echelons in this group love the existing status of ceasefire with the GoI and the indefinite political negotiation which is their paradise. The strategy of the higher echelons, the sole decision makers, is how to prolong the process of negotiations by invoking unpractical agenda as to intricate the process. The longer the negotiation is prolonged, the wealthier the higher echelons become at the very cost of the indigenous citizens of Nagaland. These decision makers are no more fighting for the Nagas but they strive to retain the status quo so as to continue their exploit of the people of Nagaland in connivance with the present State Govt. We are unfortunate that we have this set of leaders as national cadres who are laced with avarice, malice and prejudice towards their own brethren. As long as we remain under their command, we can hardly become a blessed community since God hates dishonesty.
In matters of the Naga National Movement, the public is the water and the cadres are the fish. Who survives by whom? By the water the fish survives. Look at the recent smack of the two NSCN (IM) leaders, namely, VS Atem and Raising at Dr SC Jamir, the former CM and former Governor saying the latter has no legitimacy to talk about Naga politics. In the event of the water having no mandate to talk about Naga politics, what mandate the fish can have to talk about Naga politics either. This is exactly how these people from Manipur used to rate the Nagas of Nagaland. The bona fide citizens of Nagaland are considered and treated to be the secondary citizens by these opportunists as though we are born to serve them. Yet, these outsiders are emboldened by the local sponsors.
When I speak the truth about their anti-Nagaland people activities, I am branded as anti-Naga nationalism and its unity. Whereas, when the Nagas in particular and the indigenous citizens of Nagaland in general are mistreated, harassed, intimidated, threatened and illegally taxed by the exploiters, it is patriotism and those patriots are sacrificing their lives for the Naga unity. This is the neo-Naga-culture invented and established by the opposition less NPF Government. Nevertheless, the locals preferred to remain subservient to the exploiters, what else one can do. May God remember the few remnants upholding the truth.
