I write this supplement as a back-up to my earlier article ‘Nagaland: The Myth and the Truth’ which was published by this daily on 11th June 2012 (Monday). I do this because on the morning of 29th June, I came across a short write-up in this same daily wherein a concerned citizen of Kohima challenged some of the things which I had mentioned in this said article.
At the outset, I admit that I must have created some confusions and misunderstandings by inadvertently not mentioning some of the things which I should have mentioned in the original article. One thing which I should have certainly mentioned is the fact that with the departure of the Britishers from the Indian sub-continent, the lands of the Nagas came to be divided between India and Burma. Therefore, I fully agree that the lands of the Nagas had been already divided between India and Burma long before the creation of the Indian state of Nagaland in 1963.
I did not mention this fact in my original article because this fact is an open secret and I believe everyone is aware of this fact. Therefore, when someone assumes that I am probably unaware of this, I find it really funny, hilarious and surprising.
Coming to the second point, I also agree that in 1963 it would not have been possible for the Nehru government or the NPC to create an Indian state of Nagaland incorporating even the lands that had been already placed under Burma. But what about the lands of the Nagas that were and are still under Indian domain? Even these lands measured much more than 16,579 sq. km? The question is why was it that the new state of Nagaland had to be only 16,579 sq. km in size when even the total area of the Naga lands under the Indian domain measure much more than this.
What I had mentioned in my original article, I mention here also. I doubt whether the Nehru government would have actually granted full-fledged statehood to the Nagas under normal circumstances. But the situations and the circumstances that prevailed in the Naga hills during those years left the Nehru government with no other option other than to accept the 16th Point Agreement which had been earlier grafted by the NPC.
Therefore here, since the Nehru government was already cornered, an ample opportunity presented itself to the NPC to negotiate with the Indian government with regard to the territory of the new Indian state of Nagaland that was about to be created. Thus, my point is even if it was not possible in 1963 to create an Indian state of Nagaland incorporating even the lands of the Nagas that had been placed under Burma, the NPC could have at least negotiated with the Indian government to create an Indian state of Nagaland that encompassed at least all the lands of the Nagas that were under the Indian domain. Even such an Indian state of Nagaland would have been much bigger than the present 16,579 sq. km Nagaland.
Therefore, I did not mean that the NPC should have gone to war with Burma. But I meant to say that the NPC squandered away a golden opportunity even though it was in a very good and commanding position to have a much better deal from the Indian government as far as the size of the new state of Nagaland that was about to be created was concerned. And if, in 1963, an Indian state of Nagaland that encompassed at least all the lands of the Nagas that fell under the India domain was created, this would have been a big stepping stone towards incorporating even our lands that are currently under Burmese domain.
In the rejoinder, the concerned person had also mentioned that the Nagas living in the lands that would ultimately become Manipur also refused to partake in the Naga movement and in the 1951 plebiscite. Even if this is true, I wonder what would have been their response if they were asked to become a part of a full-fledged state of Nagaland under the Indian union. Remember, there was no Manipur in the 1960s. Manipur became a full-fledged state within the Indian union only in 1972.
The concerned person also mentioned that many NNC cadres perished at the hands of the famous Zelaingruang ‘Rani’. Regarding this, I have nothing to say and I have no comments to make because this is new information for me and I am coming across this information only now. As far as I know, the famous ‘Rani’ was someone who fought against the Britishers and not against the Nagas.
The writer of this said rejoinder also expressed his doubts whether the real and actual Nagaland is actually 120,000 sq. km in size. Regarding this, I would like to mention that I have not measured the land area of this real Nagaland personally myself. But I read somewhere that the total area of the lands occupied by the Nagas here in South East Asia including those lands presently under Myanmar comes to this figure. And as far as I am concerned, I do not mind believing in this assertion or claim until it is proven wrong by someone someday.
In my original article published, I had mentioned that I blame both the Nehru government and the NPC for the distortion of our lands. Here, let me clarify that they were not the only ones responsible for this distortion because our lands had already been dissected by the Britishers. But, up to a certain extent, I feel that both the Nehru government and the NPC were responsible for further bifurcations of our lands. And here, I mean those lands that were and are still under Indian domain.
Here, let me also mention that I write not because I know everything but because I want to know and experience more. Therefore, it is always an eye-opening experience whenever I am provided with genuine feedbacks either verbally or in writing. And all those people who have given me genuine feedbacks till date, I hold them in high esteem and respect.
If a person plans to write on a subject only after coming to know everything about the subject, I believe his moment will never arrive. This is so because we can never know everything about anything. As the saying goes, ‘William Shakespeare did not start writing because he was inspired….. but rather, Shakespeare was inspired because he started to write’.
Lastly, with due respect and in humble submission, I convey my heartfelt gratitude to this concerned citizen of Kohima for sharing his concerns, thoughts and ideas on the topic not only with me but also the people of Nagaland through this esteemed daily.
