“We talk of the unique history of our free country, our inherent sovereign right, and our unique identity and culture. However, talking alone is not enough if these aspects are not recognized as entities. We have confronted our enemies in the east, west, north, and south, but confrontation alone does not solve the problem. Confrontation without negotiation is an act of militarism. Confrontation must go along with negotiation. All disputes among peoples and nations over land and water, and all international disputes, are settled through negotiations. We believe in negotiated settlements through bilateral or multilateral talks. From the very beginning, we Nagas chose political dialogue, not armed confrontation. We focus on peace, not war; we focus on solutions, not problems. We are for the peaceful coexistence of the two peoples, but we strongly oppose forced union.
The past Indian leaders viewed the Naga national resistance movement from a military perspective. As such, hundreds of thousands of innocent Nagas were indiscriminately arrested and ruthlessly tortured; thousands were killed or slaughtered to frighten those uncommitted weak people. However, the real revolutionary sons and daughters of the land stayed the course. They tried to impose a military solution upon the Nagas, but it was proven to be a futile exercise. The Nagas survived many horrible onslaughts of the enemies by His grace.
Thereafter, the Government of India switched over to stage-managed negotiations with its henchmen and dictated the so-called 16-point agreement. It was, however, rejected by the Naga people. Realizing the mistake of seeking a solution without the consent of the Naga people, the Government of India invited the Naga leaders for political talks. Accordingly, a cease-fire agreement was signed on 6th September 1964, paving the way for political talks at the Prime Ministerial level. Ironically, negotiations ended in a deadlock due to the unacceptable colonial policy of India.
The Government of India committed another blunder in orchestrating the Shillong Accord on 11th November 1975. But the Accord was outrightly condemned by the Naga National Assembly as a sell-out. Seeing the strong opposition and reaction of the Nagas from all quarters to the infamous accord, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, sent feelers to the Naga leaders for political talks without conditions.
The Indian leaders and some of their prominent military generals who conducted military operations in Naga country stated that a ‘military solution is not possible’ and stressed the critical need to seek a political
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