WHEN Th. Muivah joined the Naga national service in 1964, he expressed his selfless commitment to the Naga national cause passionately, stating, “Where was I, what was I doing when our people were suffering from all kinds of torture, unlawful atrocities, and killings.” Certainly, he arrived at the right place at the right time.
Kedahge of FGN Scato Swu was able to grasp the potential revolutionary traits in Muivah: his integrity and willingness to do the hard things and build the environment necessary to take forward the national cause. “He slept on the hard ground as the national workers did. He instantly demanded an action rifle for him to go to the war front and fight but he was reserved for some important job”-Scato Swu.
No wonder it took no time for NNC Secretary Th. Muivah to find favor with FGN Kedahge Scato Swu who was already empowered by Naga Hoho to pick any number of delegates and its leader for the China Mission as deemed fit. “My choice for the leader was a foregone conclusion in my heart. I favored Th. Muivah, Secretary, NNC, the man I found admirable”-said Scato Swu.
Muivah was thus sent to China in 1967. It was a high-profile diplomatic position of trust with plenipotentiary power. With his diplomatic credentials well acknowledged by China, he was sent again to China in 1974. Accordingly, he was steadily working to accomplish the mission assigned to him. Ironically, the infamous Shillong Accord came as a rude shock to them. There were no other options but to abort the mission as the Chinese advised them to return home and rebuild the Naga government was not an option. Not a man to be bogged down in political pragmatism, he stood out like a true revolutionary leader and gave words to the Chinese leaders that there would be revolutionary change and transformation in the Naga political movement as they would pass the test of time and reorganize the movement. True to his words, he reorganized the Naga political movement from the ashes of the Shillong Accord, and within no time, he rose like a phoenix to become the firebrand leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) that he formed with Isak Chishi Swu and SS Khaplang in 1980. He was rewarded for his groundbreaking political concept as the Naga political movement went through the type and scale of change demanded by the existential crisis. With his new firebrand leadership, the revolutionary landscape in the northeast made giant strides. So powerful was the voice and weight of NSCN that its influence spread like wildfire in the revolutionary movement all over the northeast. Significantly, NSCN was soon given the sobriquet of the “mother of all insurgency movements in northeast India” and leading the armed struggle in India to settle the score that Nagas are not lost people.
While in China, he won the hearts of the Chinese leadership, hailing his ideas as visionary and dynamic. He was given the liberty to visit any place in China for his political education except Tibet.
It was ironic that an unpleasant situation in Eastern Nagalim after the Khaplang crisis in 1988 forced late Chairman Isak Chishi Swu and General Secretary Th. Muivah to go for a tactical change and shift their base of operations to Bangladesh. Th. Muivah knows too well that politics is not only about arms; international support is needed. The change of their base came as a blessing in disguise. The Bangladesh base became the launchpad for internationalizing the Naga political issue across the world. With the help of well-wishers and sympathizers, they went on a whirlwind tour crisscrossing Europe, America, and Asia, determined to make the world listen to the plight of the Naga political issue suppressed by India in the most despicable manner. The duo successfully presented the political status of the Naga issue under India before the UNPO in 1993 and thus established the legitimacy of the Naga political struggle with NSCN as the flag bearer. Having been admitted as the bona fide member of UNPO, they were given the platform to speak in the UN Human Rights organization in Geneva and the UN Working Group on Indigenous Peoples in New York (USA).
Finally, the change of political perception and reality guided the approach of the Government of India towards the Naga issue and started sending feelers to NSCN for starting the peace process for the Naga solution, leaving aside the failed military aggression. The first step to approach NSCN was taken by the then Prime Minister of India PV Narasimha Rao on June 15, 1995, in Paris, followed by his Emissary Rajesh Pilot in November 1996 in Bangkok when a closed-door meeting was held among the three, Th. Muivah, and Anthony Ningkhan Shimray with Rajesh Pilot. Here it was made clear that the Naga issue would no longer be treated as a “law and order” issue but as a “political issue.” Finally, a ceasefire was declared on August 1, 1997, and thereafter, the Indo-Naga political dialogue started in earnest.
Muivah, as the Chief Negotiator of NSCN, left no stone unturned to present the detailed narrative of the history of the Nagas. This led to the signing of the Amsterdam Joint Communiqué of July 11, 2002, whereby the GOI recognized the “Unique history and situation of the Nagas.” This official recognition of the unique history and situation of the Nagas was mutually accepted by the government of India and NSCN as the realistic step forward in solving the Naga political issue.
After the recognition of the unique history of the Nagas and situation, NSCN with Th. Muivah as the chief negotiator, braced for some tough talking before the historic Framework Agreement was signed on August 3, 2015, wherein the sovereign identity of the Nagas was recognized. As a straight-talking negotiator, Muivah unequivocally stated that the Naga flag and constitution are indivisible parts of recognized sovereignty and the unique history of the Naga people, and there will be no Naga solution without the flag and constitution as these were the symbols of Naga Nationhood.
On the day he was felicitated at a grand function at Hebron for completing 60 years of outstanding service for the Naga nation, he urged the Naga people to safeguard Nagas’ rights and to keep on fighting without fear lest it slip away.
Muivah’s statements in defense of Naga’s rights:
- “Nagas are not lost people, and if India respects the history of the Nagas, we will respect India 10 times more.”
- “Nagas will never join the Indian Union nor accept India’s Constitution.”
- “Nagas and India will remain two separate entities.”
- “There could be no compromise on the NSCN’s insistence on the Naga flag and Naga constitution. We have stood our ground on these two non-negotiable issues, and we shall continue to stand till the last man standing.”
NSCN felt enormous pride as it celebrated NSCN General Secretary and Ato Kilonser of GPRN Th. Muivah’s 60 years of national service. Such is the duty of NSCN to honor Th. Muivah: RENEW THE SOLEMN PLEDGE THAT, WHATEVER MAY BETIDE, WE WILL REMAIN TRUE TO NAGALIM AND THE YEHZABO (CONSTITUTION), AND STAND BY THE NAGA NATIONAL FLAG.
(Source: Nagalim Voice News Bulletin)
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