Niki Sumi led NSCN accused ZUF of dividing the lands of the Nagas with “jurisdictional divisions” based on Indian states of Assam, Arunachal, Manipur and Nagaland.
By Imna Longchar, TFM Nagaland Correspondent
The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) led by Niki Sumi and Startson Lamkang has come down heavily on Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) on issues related to territorial jurisdiction of the Nagas.
In a statement issued by its MIP on Thursday, NSCN (Niki Sumi) asserted that the Naga political movement was conceived with the ideology to work for the rights of Nagas, inclusive of all Naga inhabited areas.
NSCN (Niki Sumi) said that it was not under any “illusion or confusion” as to the objective of attaining an inclusive political goal spanning across the Naga inhabited areas.
“Our collective leadership has always maintained the stance of NSCN/GPRN that we heed to the clarion call of the Nagas for an inclusive political settlement, discarding the artificial boundaries imposed against our will by the colonialist”, asserted the statement.
“It’s a sad state of affair to learn of the divisive and disintegrating policy of some misguided groups such as ZUF who have started to divide the Nagas lands with jurisdictional divisions based on so called Indian states of Assam, Arunachal, Manipur and Nagaland. The ZUF making frivolous statements mentioning ‘Nagaland based faction’ and along the same lines using ‘jurisdiction’ and ‘infiltration’ reeks of Indian policy of divide and rule”, said NSCN (Niki Sumi).
The outfit asked whether or not ZUF was “challenging the wishes and aspiration of the Naga people” and pointed out that ZUF’s approach to Naga people’s aspiration is “subtly inclined towards the divisive policy of the adversaries that have created artificial boundary demarcation which geographically and physically divide our people; adamantly making attempts to disintegrate our people and lands”.
“All section of Naga society should seriously ponder on the ZUF’s jurisdictional view of the Nagas and our lands; when all people desire to live as one people with one common goal to achieve. Naga Political Groups must not encourage the notion of maintaining its jurisdiction of operation or function. The NSCN/GPRN has made immense sacrifices and contributions in our quest to ascertain and achieve inherent and inalienable political rights, not for a particular Naga tribe or a particular jurisdiction but for the entire Naga people across all Naga inhabited lands. Creation of self claimed jurisdictions and areas for self-benefit with vested motives will not do any good towards building a nation of Unified Nagas, but will only lead to fragmentation of Naga people. Most NPGs have wrong impression that “yours is ours and mine is mine”, said NSCN (Niki Sumi).
The outfit said it will not succumb to the “motives of the adversaries” who are hell bent to sow discord among the Nagas but will steadfastly follow the common ideology of the Naga people of attaining a common unified Naga nation.