S. VARAH, a Member of the Steering Committee of NSCN and Former President of Tangkhul Katamnao Saklong, who has been deeply involved in the peace process, shared his views on the scrapping of Free Movement Regime, Scheduled Tribe demand by the Meetei/Meitei, and Separate Administration demand by the Kuki-Zou community.
Ukhrul Times: What is the position of GPRN on FMR and border fencing?
S. Varah: This is not a new issue. The fundamental issue the Government of India has to address is the forced occupation over Naga ancestral homeland. That is the beginning of the crisis. When the Union of India encroached on Naga ancestral land without prior informed consent, that is the crux of the issue. This has to be politically addressed and resolved. NSCN leadership is engaged in political dialogue with the Union of India. Therefore, imposing or curtailing the movement of traditional family life in the border struggle across two nations, Myanmar and India, is more disturbing. This will severely impact particularly the most marginalized sections in the northeastern frontier of what we call the Sagaing Division. When we think about their lives, they have been marooned away for more than a century now. There is no medical attention, no road communication, and the way they live is nothing less than what they call an inhumane life for many generations. This will exacerbate the suffering when free movement in the region is scrapped. This is a demonstration of the reckless nature of forcible occupation of Naga land.
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Ukhrul Times: What is the political position of the GPRN on the Meitei demand for ST status and the Separate Administration by the Kuki-Zou community?
S. Varah: Their demand is the creation of Separate Administration for the Kuki-Zou community. They have every right to demand under the Constitution of India. The Constitution of India has enough space to accommodate all these to address the difficulties of the Kuki-Zou and Meitei people demanding Scheduled Tribe status. We don’t have to be overly concerned about this. The Government of India can either grant it or reject it. The case of the Naga people with the Union of India is a territorial dispute. The dispute is between the Naga people and the Union of India. That is the fundamental issue. As I have said earlier, the Naga leadership is engaged in a political conversation with Union leadership, and the dialogue has continued for more than 25 years. Somehow, the conversation appears to be not progressing these days. What will finally come out, let us wait and see. But when it comes to the demand for scheduled tribe status and separate administration of the two parties, the political position of the NSCN must be very clear that we have nothing to do with any state within the Union of India. Our issue is with the Union of India and the Naga people. And when it is a political issue as admitted by the Government of India, if the Naga case is a political issue, then it must be about the land and the people.