Dimapur, June 27 (MExN): The Zeliangrong Student Union, Nagaland (ZSUN) and the Zeliangrong Students' Union, Delhi (ZSUD) on Saturday strongly condemned the use of the term "Kacha Naga" by Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) Chairman Henlianthang Thanglet, describing it as derogatory, historically untenable and deeply offensive.
In a joint statement, the two student bodies said the term was used by the KZC chairman during a press conference and in a statement issued on June 25, and termed it "irresponsible" and "deeply provocative.”
The organisations said the Naga community was still mourning the killing of six Naga civilians, who, they alleged, were abducted on May 13, held captive, tortured, mutilated and later killed within the Lailon Vaiphei Kuki village area in what they described as ancestral Naga territory.
They termed the incident "a grievous and calculated assault" on the dignity, security and collective existence of the Naga people and demanded that those responsible be identified, apprehended and punished in accordance with the law.
The two unions said there could be no peace, reconciliation or normalcy until justice was delivered.
Rejecting the statement issued by the KZC chairman, ZSUN and ZSUD said it neither constituted a genuine apology nor amounted to an admission of the alleged crime. Instead, they claimed it reflected arrogance and amounted to an insult to the Naga people.
"Justice cannot be supplanted by rhetoric, nor can accountability be substituted by carefully crafted declarations bereft of legal consequence," the statement said, adding that no apology could be considered credible until those responsible for the killings were brought to justice.
The student bodies said the use of the term "Kacha Naga" in the same statement purportedly expressing remorse made it unacceptable.
They asserted that the Zeliangrong people identify themselves as Nagas and that "Kacha Naga" was a colonial-era misclassification that had historically been used to demean and delegitimise Naga identity.
According to the organisations, the deliberate use of the term by a senior civil society leader following the killings reflected continuing prejudice and communal disdain rather than remorse.
Questioning the intent behind the KZC chairman's statement, the unions said the choice of the expression was "neither accidental nor ignorant" but "a conscious assertion of contempt". They rejected the statement in its entirety as insincere, inadequate and unacceptable.
The two organisations also urged the Manipur government and the Centre to ensure that those responsible for the abduction, torture, mutilation and killing of the six civilians are identified, arrested and prosecuted without delay.
They appealed to Naga organisations, churches and civil society groups to respond with unity and firmness, saying silence or half-measures would only encourage further insults to Naga identity and dignity.
ZSUN and ZSUD also urged the Government of India and relevant central and state authorities to remove the term "Kacha Naga" from official records, government documents, websites and communications, replacing it with what they described as accurate, respectful and constitutionally appropriate nomenclature.
They further appealed to print, digital, electronic and social media organisations to refrain from using the term, saying no community should be identified through a derogatory misnomer.
The student bodies expressed solidarity with the families of the six victims and appealed to Zeliangrong and Naga youth to remain calm, united and disciplined, urging them to pursue justice through peaceful, lawful and constructive means.
They maintained that genuine reconciliation could only be achieved through truth, accountability, respect for identity, acknowledgement of historical facts and the delivery of justice.
