Mokokchung, Nagaland : Hope mixed with caution and some apprehension is the common refrain one encounters as one travels from one hamlet to another in the lush green Naga hills. Even as the monsoon rains wash the picturesque landscape several times a day, the Nagas can be seen frequently gathering in small groups to share their expectations, apprehensions and prospects of a supposedly ‘historic’ accord being worked out in far away Delhi. Doubts are many, ranging from the fact that ‘real’ insurgents have not been taken on board to the fact that Isaac Muivah is not a native of Nagaland but a Naga from Manipur which the locals claim makes all the difference.
Yet despite half a dozen big and many small reasons for doubt, the craving for peace beats all other apprehensions. Young Nagas are visibly more hopeful than the older generation, perhaps because the latter have seen earlier peace efforts losing steam again and again.
A young Naga, who has taken up a government job in a small hamlet just short of Mokokchung, says the accord is really good news for the state and the Naga people in a long time. This engineer, who requests that his name be not published, has been witness to countless threats and a few violent incidents in his village. He points out that the biggest hurdle in the way of lasting peace would be the fact that Muivah may command one of the biggest insurgent groups but his Manipuri Naga background is a huge cause of trust deficit in actual Nagaland. He also thinks that not consulting the Naga HoHo, a prominent civil society group working for peace, and leaving out leaders of other insurgent outfits would come in the way of lasting peace. He is referring to the NSCN (K) and others actively involved in armed insurgency. Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju is on record that the government would welcome if anybody is ready to initiate negotiations with the NSCN (K).
Meanwhile Aotoshi, a middle aged entrepreneur, who has many firsts to his credit in promoting self employment and grassroots development in the state, thinks the whole issue is linked to employment. ‘‘There is nothing great in signing an accord in the national capital. Even if Muivah has come round there are half a dozen other insurgent groups with equal strength, if not more. Till all of them eschew violence for good Nagaland will continue to witness bloodshed.’’
After almost three decades sent in developing local skills and talent he is quite certain that promoting employment opportunities suited to the unique situation of the state must go parallel with peace efforts. Muivah himself has been giving indications that ‘‘there would be no compromise on the territorial aspirations’’ of the Naga people even as the Centre claims the demand for Greater Nagalim is over with this accord.
Most of the people this correspondent met in the villages and small market towns point out that there is little point in discussing the future prospects of the accord till the nitty-gritty of the pact is revealed to the people.
Ao Sanan, a dynamic youngster who is now the Chairman of the Village Council Chuchuyimlang, about 3 km away from the Mokokchung district headquarters, said this was perhaps the best time to work out a lasting peace accord for the state. ‘‘We have witnessed a lot of violence in these areas right from the pre-statehood days. We think the government of India should involve all the stakeholders in the state to ensure lasting peace. Only then can we have an accord which is peaceful in letter as well as spirit. Those who are negotiating the deal must keep a true Naga’s aspirations in mind above all’’ Ao Sanan says with conviction. His ideas are echoed by most youngsters both in and outside and the Council.
The Village Council, a representative body of all Naga clans of the village, is a unique institution which continues to be constituted in the Naga tribal tradition with the blend of a Village Development Board and government funds to implement its programmes.
