The Naga Students’ Organization expressed ‘deep concern’ over border fencing across Naga ancestral lands, saying it “divides families, villages, history, and identity.”
.jpg)
Reaffirms commitment to Naga unity, indigenous dignity
Lahe Town, January 23 (MExN): The Naga Students’ Organization (NSO) has expressed its “deep concern” over the ongoing construction of border fencing across the Naga ancestral lands, particularly in the Pangsaung Pass–Nanyung Township and adjoining areas, arguing it “divides families, villages, history, and identity.”
In a statement released today, the NSO objected the ongoing construction of border fencing along the Indo-Myanmar frontier, stating it continues to pose “serious threats to the unity, cultural continuity, and inherent rights of the Naga people.”
The student body lauded the United Tangshang Naga Council (UTNC) for its “principled and collective decision” to abstain from attending the recently concluded Pangsau Pass International Festival (PPIF) in Nampong Town, India, held from January 20-22.
The NSO termed the UTNC’s abstention a “correct a correct, timely, and responsible step, clearly conveying to the world that the Naga people do not accept the imposition of border fencing across their ancestral lands.”
“This act was not one of hostility, but a peaceful, conscious, and dignified assertion of indigenous rights and collective conscience,” it added.
It asserted that by choosing not to participate, the Tangshang Naga people sent a clear and powerful international message that “cultural festivals cannot be celebrated meaningfully while indigenous lands are divided and indigenous voices ignored.”
Citing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the NSO said that the continued construction and expansion of border fencing divides families, villages, history, and identity, and disrupts long-standing social, cultural and economic relations among the Naga people.
Such actions raise serious concerns under the UNDRIP, particularly Article 36 on cross-border relations, and Articles 26 and 32 on indigenous land rights and free, prior and informed consent, it added.
“Development, security, or international cooperation cannot be pursued at the cost of indigenous dignity, unity, and rights,” the organization stated, calling for “meaningful consultation and good-faith dialogue.”
The NSO urged all Naga communities on across the Indo–Myanmar boundary to maintain unity through “peaceful, responsible, and rights-based engagement,” reaffirming that “imposed political boundaries cannot erase shared history, identity, and destiny.”
“This moment calls for collective clarity and moral courage from Naga political and representative bodies to safeguard the future of the Naga people through peaceful and lawful means,” the NSO stated while reiterating its “unwavering commitment to peace, justice, indigenous dignity, and Naga unity” and upholding the slogans to “Respect Indigenous Rights. No to Border Fencing. Preserve Naga Unity.”
