NSUD Diamond Jubilee Celebration at Delhi
- 11th November 2023 : Naga Students Union Delhi -

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Speech of Sh. T.R Zeliang, Dy. Chief Minister (P&T,Nh) at NSUD Diamond Jubilee Celebration cum Nagas Meet on November 11, 2023 at Talkatora Indoor Stadium, New Delhi.

1. I take this privilege to congratulate the Naga Students Union Delhi (NSUD) for attaining 60 years of existence and as we celebrate its Diamond Jubilee Cum Nagas Meet under the theme ‘Rekindling the flame of Naga Unity,’ I extend warmest greetings to all of you present here this afternoon.

2. First and foremost, I am grateful to Almighty God for bringing us together to this place this afternoon and I hope that everyone attending this program will be blessed and enriched in many ways.

At the outset, I must say that the theme, under which this auspicious occasion is being celebrated, is most appropriate. This is because of the fact, that today, we live in a world where our history, tradition and culture is being diluted by foreign ethos, culture and values, with or without our knowledge. The 21st Century has changed the facet of Naga Nationalism and our land. Fratricidal killings, kidnappings and extortions has stained our land. Corruption has become a vicious cycle and money has become the master of the Naga people as foretold by our great leader Late A.Z Phizo who once said: “Nagas will never surrender in the Battle field, but many Nagas will fall when money is shot through the barrel of the Gun.” This is the situation we live in today and, under such a paradigm, it is only fair to say that after 60 years of existence, the time is ripe for NSUD, and all the Naga people in general, to ‘rekindle the flame of Naga unity’ and retrospect the lapses on our part.

3. Today, Tribalism and Sectarianism is the problem of the Naga people. It is because of this, the Nagas are unable to match with the higher order of democratic values. It has created a negative attitude of one tribe over the other and ‘Unity’ applies mostly to one’s own Tribe. We favour our own dialect, culture, tradition, practices etc. but pave no way for other tribes to co-exist among us. Tribalism and Sectarianism have been directly or indirectly effecting the Nagas politically and socially and we must get rid of these setbacks in order to secure a safe future. We blame external forces for geographical division and sub-division of the Nagas and although this is true, I want to put across one simple question: Who can stand in our way if we are united politically and socially? It is in our hand to repair this damage and I strongly believe that Student leaders in this Capital City can bring the desired transformation if you all are prepared to forgive, forget and move forward.

4. My dear Naga friends, let us not allow the ugly past to haunt and divide us further and it should be the bounden responsibility of every Naga to stand together in order to resolve the long struggle of our ancestors. Though there may exist tough challenges ahead of us, I am confident that there is no problem that cannot be resolved through mutual understanding and cooperation. The challenges before the Naga people are many, and in order to come together and unite as one people, we have to set aside our differences at all levels. Having said this, I wish to highlight in brief some of my personal experiences during the last few years on how the Naga negotiating parties, namely the NSCN (IM) and the 7 NNPGs came to engage in Peace Talks with the Government of India following the signing of the ‘Framework Agreement’ and the ‘Agreed Position’.

5. As I remember, the erstwhile Nagaland Legislators Forum (NLF) under the Chairmanship of the then Hon’ble Speaker, Dr. Chotisuh Sazo was formed on May 25, 2015 following a Meeting attended by 60 Legislators of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly in order to bring early solution to the Indo-Naga Political issue. Under this Forum, a Parliamentary Working Committee (PWC) was created with 23 Members on July 5, 2015 comprising of Representatives from Political Parties, Tribal Representatives and 2 MPs which met various Central leaders during 2015 and 2016. On July 16, 2015, the PWC met Hon’ble Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi. The next day, on July 17, 2015, the PWC met Sh. Kiren Rijiju, then Hon’ble Minister of State for Home and Sh. Rajnath Singh, then Hon’ble Home Minister of India along with the then Interlocuter Sh. R.N Ravi. The response of Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi including top Central leaders whom we met then were very positive. Subsequently, after about 2 weeks of PWC meeting with the Hon’ble Prime Minister and other Central leaders, the Framework Agreement was signed on August 3, 2015. The same evening, Hon’ble Prime Minister called me up over phone and expressed his satisfaction that a ‘Historic Agreement’ had been signed as desired by all section of Naga leaders and that the Naga people should be happy and live peacefully with development and progress.

Dear friends, we should not blame only the Government of India for undue delay in resolving the Naga Political Issue but somewhere we have to admit our own shortcoming ~ which is, infighting within ourselves particularly between the two negotiating Naga groups. As far as MLAs and MPs from Nagaland and Manipur are concerned, we have given our best and we will continue to do so as facilitators.

6. It is also in my memory when I, along with Sh. G. Kaito Aye, then PAC Chairman, met 6 NNPGs to listen to their grievances and identify remedies. During the course of our discussion, the 6 NNPGs expressed their disappointment for not being invited officially for talks. Taking this into consideration, with all sincerity I met Interlocutor Sh. R.N Ravi on September 2, 2017 in his Office Chamber and requested him to invite the 6 NNPGs for talks. On September 4, 2017, Sh. R.N Ravi invited me to his residence and requested me to speak to Sh. Th. Muivah, Ato Kilonser of the NSCN (IM) so that a dialogue could be started with the 6 NNPGS in a smooth manner. I agreed with this and the next day on September 5, 2017, I met Sh. Th. Muivah and briefed him of the same. Everything went well by the grace of the Almighty and subsequently, on September 28, 2017, the first official dialogue between Government of India and 6 NNPGs took place which was followed by signing of the ‘Agreed Position’ on November 17, 2017.

7. I also remember writing to Late S.S Khaplang, the then Chairman of the NSCN (K) during my tenure as Chief Minister. In this letter I requested the NSCN (K) to come back and resume the Ceasefire Agreement with the Government of India. We had taken this initiative with the best intention but some people interpreted differently. Yet, we went ahead with the true spirit of inclusiveness to include all the Naga groups in the peace process.

In 2016, a 6-Member Team comprising of Naga Hoho and ENPO was also sent to meet Late S.S Khaplang, after obtaining requisite clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. The Joint Team of Naga Hoho and ENPO proceeded to Myanmar from January 24, 2016, till February 2, 2016. Upon reaching Myanmar, the Joint Team initially called on the then 5 Naga MPs of Myanmar on January 26, 2016; Myanmar Union Minister Sh. U Aungmin on January 27, 2016; and Emissary/Representative of the Ceasefire Monitoring Group-NSCN (K) at Mandalay, Sh. Kyaw Win Swe on January 31, 2016. An official and formal letter signed by 8 representatives and addressed to Late S.S Khaplang, Chairman of the NSCN (K) was submitted to the Emissary, Sh. Kyaw Win Swe appealing for review and resumption of Ceasefire with the Government of India. The Team also appealed for equally strengthening of Ceasefire by the NSCN (K) with the Myanmar Government at the highest level. The Joint Team also met Sh. Vipin Sharma, the then Consul at the Consulate General of India, Myanmar and highlighted before him the prevailing state of affairs. I wish to remind all of you present here today that our sole intention of sending this good-will Mission to Myanmar was driven by the strong belief that Naga Political Issue should be resolved through peaceful dialogue and not otherwise.

8. In today’s scenario, Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) has 6 Political Parties including 2 Independents and all the 60 Members are in unison for early solution to the protracted Naga Political Issue and wants solution in letter and in spirit. In recent times, with the formation of Coordination Committee on Naga Political Issue (CCoNPI), the NDPP led Government in Nagaland under the leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister, Sh. Neiphiu Rio has been pushing forward the issue at various levels and is actively facilitating in finding a solution to the decades old Naga Political issue. My dear Naga friends, I am sharing all these facts today because we need to know what had happened and is happening around us. We are at a crucial juncture when the Indo-Naga Peace Talk is either at the verge of a final breakthrough or is going to face a dead-lock.

Dear friends, it is my longing that both the negotiating parties, namely the NSCN (IM) and the 7 NNPGs on one hand and the Government of India on the other, should come to an amicable settlement with inking of a settlement – one that is inclusive, honourable and acceptable as aspired by the Naga people at large. At a critical time such as now, a time when the Nagas are encountering various social and political issues both in India and Myanmar, it is important for all of us to stand together as a united entity. It is true that ‘Together we stand, Divided we fall’ and we cannot afford to sing different tunes and foster divided opinions at this crucial juncture. The present generation is faced with numerous obstacles in several front due to the unresolved Naga Political Issue and we should not leave it unsettled for our posterity.

9. My dear Naga brothers and sisters, through this platform I also wish to express my inability to understand why other Nagas have refused to recognise Zeliangrong leaders like Haipou Jadonang and Rani Gaidinliu who fought against the British colonial power to integrate the Zeliangrong people who were arbitrarily divided geographically through artificial boundary line and placed under 3 parts of present States namely~ Assam, Manipur and Nagaland through their colonial ‘Divide and Rule Policy.’ Apart from our Naga brothers and sisters living across the international boundary - if any tribe living in different States within India desire to come together in their own land under one umbrella, and for that matter, if the Konyak Tribe in Nagaland and the Wancho Tribe in Arunachal Pradesh desire to come together under one umbrella, why should we not support their demand? Sometimes, such matter should be debated in this kind of forum in order to remove confusion and misunderstanding among us.

10. My dear Naga brothers and sisters, the Naga people are one by blood: we all share the same history, practise the same culture, follow the same faith and the word of God is our foundation. Empires may come and go, but our history will stay. We may be small and weak but we must defend our foundation or we will perish. Today, it is unfortunate to see that our Civil Society Organisations and Students Organisations at various levels are fragmented and it has reached an almost irreparable stage. However, there is a ray of hope for coming together because sensible citizens under the banner of Organisations like Naga Students Union in Delhi and other Cities are working hard and have continued to keep the torch of Naga unity burning till today.

11. Before I conclude, I have to say, with great pride, that Naga Students have cracked the top-notch Competitive Exams of India from Delhi, be it IAS, IPS, IFS etc. May this spirit of stiff competition be rekindled in each and every Naga student here in our National Capital. It is also my fervent appeal to all the Naga Tribe Students Union in Delhi to reconsider your respective position and reunite through this Jubilee with the true spirit of forgiveness if you have hurt each other's feeling in any way.

I wish the Naga Students Union, Delhi all the very best in all its future endeavours. On this day, as NSUD completes 60 fruitful years in existence and look towards a new beginning, may you re-dedicate yourselves to work for the cause of our people and in carrying the dreams and aspirations of the Naga people forward.

I wish this 60 Years Diamond Jubilee cum Nagas Meet celebration a grand success. Thank you all. God bless the Naga people. Kuknalim!