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Naga peace plan deepens ethnic
wedge
By Suman K Chakrabarti
KOHIMA, India - When leaders of a group fighting
for an independent Nagaland state in India's volatile
northeast arrived on Indian soil after 37 years of exile
early last month, it was seen as a breakthrough in
resolving one of the world's oldest ethnic conflicts.
But the upbeat mood in the corridors of central
power in New Delhi at the prospect of ending the
50-year-old bush war was dimmed by differing perceptions
of a possible settlement among other ethnic groups that
share what the Nagas consider their own turf.
"The Indian government has a difficult task in
balancing the demands of the Nagas with the wishes of
other tribal groups in the northeast," said Reishang
Keishing, a Naga from the Thangkul tribe and former
chief minister of Manipur state, which is adjacent to
the existing Nagaland.
After the talks, ethnic
sentiments are being roused once again in Manipur, which
saw rioting and violence after the central government
extended a ceasefire with the National Socialist Council
of Nagaland (NSCN), whose leaders came to India last
month, to territories outside Nagaland state. At the
root of the trouble is NSCN's demand for the creation of
a Greater Nagaland or Nagalim, which would incorporate
the Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal
Pradesh and even Myanmar. But the Meiteis, an ethnic
group which dominates Manipur as well as insurgent
groups representing them, have threatened violent action
if Naga-dominant districts are parceled away to the
hypothetical Greater Nagaland.
For Thuingaleng
Muivah, the NSCN chief, it is essential to retain the
Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur from where he himself
hails. A member of the Thangkul Nagas, Muivah's
political existence depends on the support from his
tribe.
"There would be more turmoil than peace
in the region if Delhi tries to appease the NSCN by
agreeing to a Greater Nagaland," said chief minister of
Manipur, Okram Ibobi Singh.
The state
governments of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have also
strongly expressed reservations about any settlement
that will reduce their domains and have threatened to
ignore any ceasefire with the NSCN.
According to
S C Jamir, the elected chief minister of Nagaland state,
Muivah does not have much of a political base outside
Manipur. "Greater Nagaland has an emotional appeal for
the Nagas living outside [Nagaland], not those within,"
said Jamir.
In Manipur's central region, which
lies in a lush, rice-growing valley, a majority of the
people are Hindu Meiteis. But the Nagas and the Kukis -
martial tribes with a fierce tradition of clan warfare -
control the hills around the valley and make up about 30
percent of the population.
Within Manipur, the
Nagas fought a bloody tribal war with the Kukis in the
90s while Naga-Meitei relations have taken a downturn
ever since the NSCN began negotiations for lasting
settlement with the Indian government.
When the
Naga insurrection began in the 1950s, the Indian army
tried to take control of the hills of Manipur, which
caused the insurgency to spread throughout the Manipur
valley.
Neidono Angami, founder of the Naga
Mother's Association, says that the Nagas are fighting
for "a righteous peace deal". "We are tired of different
Naga tribes fighting among themselves and killing our
own brothers. We want a peaceful coexistence," she said.
But the Naga Students Federation, which claims
to represent the aspirations of the modern Naga youth,
is still not ready to shed their demands for a sovereign
Naga state. "We are part of the younger generation which
has grown up with this conflict, we want our future
back. But at the same time, we want a honorable
settlement which is nothing short of sovereignty and
self-determination," said Vivi Nyuthu, general secretary
of the Naga Students Federation.
Like many of
those molded by the fight for an independent homeland in
Nagaland, Niketu Iralu is bitter with the NSCN. A senior
leader of the Naga Ho Ho, a powerful civil society
group, Iralu said that while thousands have died in the
fight for a separate homeland for the Naga people, "the
NSCN has to share responsibility for the deaths of many
of these people".
"Peace comes with political
agreement but here it is the sheer fatigue with violence
that's forcing it," Iralu said.
Keishing feels
that that the Naga tribes like the Thanngkul and Mao
living in Manipur have a greater chance of living in
peace and enjoying power if they consolidate their
position inside the state, rather than pushing for a
Greater Nagaland.
But peace is not just the end
of violence for Athili Mao, general secretary of the
Naga People Movement for Human Rights. "The road to
peace has been laid, but it is not a final determined
route. The negotiations are secretive, but I personally
believe that the NSCN leadership has not failed us yet,"
Mao said.
The Meiteis remain very suspicious
about a possible division of their state. "The Nagas
have always been very clever at getting all the
development funds from Delhi, while other northeastern
states have lagged behind. Now, they want a piece of our
land to keep their political dreams alive," said David
Manohar Mayum, a local journalist.
All this has
eroded the credibility of the political system in
Manipur and people, particularly youth, are turning to
militant, non-political groups to lead the agitation.
"The deal with NSCN can actually backfire on the
[Indian] government. It will drive the ethnic wedge
further," said Yambem Laba, member of the Manipur Human
Rights Commission.
At the carefully tended war
cemetery for a British soldier who died in the battle of
Kohima, one of the fiercest in World War II, a British
soldier scribbled a message that is inscribed as an
epitaph. "For your tomorrow we gave our today".
Nagaland is still waiting for that tomorrow.
(Inter Press Service)
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