NSCN (IM) cadres
NSCN (IM) cadres presenting march past at the 73rd Naga Independence Day. File mage: Northeast Now

The Naga Club on Friday said the Naga sovereignty should not be assuaged but ‘left untouched’.

The outfit said that when the Indian government will be ready to discuss for settlement with the Nagas that will be honourable and acceptable to both sides.

The Naga Club in a statement on Friday said when the British Parliament’s Statutory Commission headed by John Simon came to Kohima in 1929 “to ascertain the wishes of the Indian people for reform measures”, a very small area of Naga homeland had also been illegally and purportedly made a part of the British empire.

It was made a district of Assam by the then British India without the consent of the Nagas.

Explaining its position on current Naga political issue, the Club said India has erroneously prevailed over the Nagas by use of its superior military might and continued to govern over the Nagas rejecting their unique historical, legal and political position.

The Club said the Nagas declared their claim long before the arrival of the Britishers, whose illegal trespass of their land they had fought for half a century, culminated in a friendship agreement on March 27, 1880 without a treaty.

Therefore, it said, the question of invasion by the British does not arise.

“The Naga struggle today is not secessionist. No intention of ill-will to harm India motivated the Nagas.

“They harbour no sense of guilt that they have done anything illegal or morally wrong against any of their neighbours because of the stand they have taken to defend their sovereignty, dignity, land, identity and history as understood by them.

“The claim of their sovereignty status made by the Nagas was on the basis of the indisputable facts of their history,” it claimed.

The Naga Club said it would never ever act contrary to what has been laid down or forbidden by the Naga forefathers at all cost for the welfare of Nagas as a whole.

Bhadra Gogoi is Northeast Now Correspondent in Nagaland. He can be reached at: [email protected]