News Analysis India

Tag: Nagaland

  • Naga tribe stops paying ‘taxes’ to rebel groups, asks them to get united first

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: A tribal community in Nagaland has declared that it will not pay “taxes” to the myriad extremist groups in the state unless they unite for the greater cause of the Nagas.

    The leaders of the Konyak community made the declaration at a “historic event” held in Mon district.

    There are over a dozen extremist groups in Nagaland and barring one, the others are lying low following their signing of separate ceasefire agreements with the Centre. These groups run parallel governments and survive on multiple taxes collected from all and sundry. Defiance had led to many untoward incidents in the past.

    The Against Corruption and Unabated Taxation (ACAUT) was the first civil society organisation in the insurgency-ravaged state to speak up against taxation by the groups. The ACAUT had led a public movement a few years ago, insisting on “one government, one tax”. However, no community, perhaps, ever made a declaration not to pay the taxes like the Konyaks.

    A statement issued by the Konyak leaders from various spheres of life said ever since the beginning of the Naga independence movement, the Konyaks, or for that matter, the other Naga tribes, had “endorsed sovereignty/integrity to protect the people and their land despite suffering “brutality” at the hands of “Indian military” but even after such sacrifices, the Naga “national workers” continued to remain divided.

    They said the division not only burdened the communities with multiple taxes but it also acted as an impediment in achieving an early and acceptable solution to the vexed “Naga political problem”.

    Insisting on the slogan of “unity first”, the Konyaks resolved that they would temporarily refrain from paying the taxes to any group until they stand united for a unified Naga solution. They asked all concerned to adhere to the “Konyak Referendum until further affirmation”.

    The Centre has been long holding separate peace negotiations with the Naga National Political Groups, which is a conglomerate of eight rebel groups, and the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim or NSCN-IM. However, the much-talked-about solution continues to elude all parties.

  • Centre extends ceasefire pacts with three Naga insurgent groups by a year 

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Centre on Monday extended the ceasefire agreements with three insurgent groups of Nagaland for one more year till April next year.

    In a statement, the Ministry of Home Affairs said the ceasefire agreements are in operation between the government of India and National Socialist Council of Nagaland/NK (NSCN/NK), National Socialist Council of Nagaland/Reformation (NSCN/R) and National Socialist Council of Nagaland/K-Khango (NSCN/K-Khango).

    “It was decided to extend the ceasefire agreements for a further period of one year with effect from April 28, 2021 to April 27, 2022 with NSCN/NK and NSCN/R and from April 18, 2021 to April 17, 2022 with NSCN/K-Khango,” the statement said.

    These agreements were signed on Monday.

    The three outfits are breakaway factions of dominant groups NSCN-IM and NSCN-K.

    The NSCN-IM had entered into a ceasefire agreement with the central government in 1997 and has since then been engaged in peace negotiations.

    The NSCN-IM had signed a Framework Agreement on August 3, 2015 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to find a permanent solution to the Naga issue.

    The Framework Agreement came after over 80 rounds of negotiations spanning 18 years, with the first breakthrough made in 1997 when the ceasefire agreement was sealed after decades of insurgency in Nagaland which started soon after India’s independence in1947.

    However, the talks with the NSCN-IM is currently going nowhere as the group has been insisting for a separate Naga flag and constitution, a demand rejected by the central government.

    The NSCN-K had signed a ceasefire agreement with the Centre in 2001 but unilaterally abrogated it in 2015 when the then chairman of the group, S S Khaplang, was alive.

    In December last year, the NSCN-K, led by dreaded militant Niki Sumi, had announced a ceasefire and said that the outfit has contacted the central government for initiating peace dialogue.

    Sumi was also the prime accused in the killing of 18 Indian Army soldiers in Manipur in 2015 and the National Investigation Agency had announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

  • Nagaland assembly forms seven-member committee to draft resolution on Naga problem

    By PTI
    KOHIMA: The Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) on Tuesday unanimously constituted a seven-member committee to draft a resolution on the decades-old Naga problem.

    The committee including members from both the ruling and opposition benches was formed following a marathon discussion on Naga political issue as matter of urgent public importance on the third day of the ongoing budget session of the house.

    It was initiated by Naga People’s Front (NPF) MLA Toyang Chang and equally participated by members of the ruling and opposition including Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and Leader of Opposition T R Zeliang.

    The committee members have been asked to meet in the Speaker’s chamber Wednesday to draft the resolution on the issue which would be placed in the house for adoption as the assembly resolution.

    The committee members are ministers Neiba Kronu and Advisor Toshi Wungtung of the ruling NDPP, ministers S Pangnyu Phom and Jacob Zhimomi from BJP, minister Tongpang Ozukum (Independent) and MLAs Chotisuh Sazo and Imkong L Imchen from the opposition bench.

    During the discussion, the members expressed concern on the prolonged negotiations between the Government of India and the Naga political groups, including the NSCN(IM) and Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) comprising of the seven groups.

    Initiating the discussion, NPF MLA Toyang Chang said retrospection of the Naga conflict for the past 60 years has only resulted in fear, chaos, confusion, mistrust and economic imbalance in the Naga society.

    MLA Dr Chotisuh Sazo said Indo-Naga political issue has being dragging for almost 100 years since the submission of Naga Representation to the British Simon Commission by the Naga Club in 1929.

    Deputy CM Y Patton said the journey of our people in the pursue of final solution to Naga political issue has passed several milestone in last more than 70 years.

    Several agreements have been signed as well as ceasefire agreement while landmark achievement was August 3, 2015 Framework Agreement and the signing of Agreed Position by NNPGs in December 2017.

    The quest for final solution has various other tribal hohos, civil society, FNR and others making efforts, he said while appealing to all the stakeholders to continue the spirit of unity in the pursuit.

    NPF MLA Imkong L Imchen said even as Nagas do not have a distinct script as others but Nagas as a race is a distinct entity in the history of mankind, he said.

    He was also sarcastic about Prime Minister Narendra Modis silence on solution of the Naga issue after the signing of the Framework Agreement.

    “I am happy with the firmness of the PM as he has not uttered a single positive or negative word till today from signing of the Framework Agreement,” said Imchen.

    BJP president and minister Temjen Imna Along said “We are at a threshold where everyone speaks of solution but we do not have that meeting point.

    “He said Naga people may be confused but PM and Union Home minister are not confused as they want the solution to happen and want to give us the solution.

    Along suggested that Naga legislators and Nagas in other Naga inhabited states Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur- should also called for discussion on the Naga issue for a final solution.

    Opposition Leader T R Zeliang said Naga political issue is not about who is right but about what is right for the Nagas.

    He said there is an apparent gap between the Naga negotiating groups and as such the elected representatives of the people, and facilitators, all the honourable members also have a big role to play in bridging the gap and differences between them.

    Zeliang said the current government at the centre has shown the political will to solve the Naga political issue.

    And towards this end, he said, the positive vibe which the Prime Minister instilled in the Naga People and also within the functionaries in his government, when he visited Nagaland on November 30, 2014 and held extensive deliberations with all the apex civil organisations, brought about a paradigm shift in the way the talks progressed between the Naga groups and the Government of India.

    Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, responding to the discussion said the assembly is the highest platform of democracy in the state.

    “A political solution that is honourable and acceptable to the Naga people will usher in a new era of rapid economic growth, all round progress and greater employment opportunities for our youth,” said Rio.

    Rio also accepted the suggestion of the opposition leader and other members on constituting a committee to draft a resolution considering the discussions held in the house.

    They would present the resolution on Thursday for adoption by the members.

  • Implementation of RIIN will take time: Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio

    By PTI
    KOHIMA: Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Tuesday said that implementation of Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) will take time and no deadline should be set on this matter.

    The state government had in 2019 said that the RIIN, a register of all the indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland, is required to prevent issuance of indigenous inhabitant certificates to ineligible persons.

    According to a notification of June 29 that year, the RIIN will help identify the citizens who settled in Nagaland prior to December 1, 1963, the day it became a full-fledged state.

    On the appeals of the civil society organisations and tribal bodies asking the government to implement it, Rio said that the government is working on the issue.

    “We have to give protection to all and everybody should get their rights,” the chief minister said.

    Rio told the media that the government should be allowed to function without setting any deadline as such matters have to be done properly.

    Only those whose names figure in the RIIN will be issued indigenous inhabitant certificates and all other certificates would become invalid after the final register is ready, the government had said earlier.

    The RIIN Committee has already submitted its report and the Cabinet has also approved it, but the implementation is taking time, Rio said.

    The chief minister refused to comment on a recent letter written by Governor R N Ravi asking his government to act against employees posting “seditious” materials on social media, but said that steps will be taken against anyone uploading such posts.

    However, he said, “If any government servant or member of the public writes things which is against the state, the law will take its own course.

    ” Rio said that the state assembly will pass resolutions during the upcoming budget session of the assembly to implement the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest (Sarfaesi) Act, 2002 in the state.

    The Sarfaesi Act allows banks and financial institutions to auction properties (residential and commercial) when borrowers fail to repay their loans.

    It enables banks to reduce their non-performing assets by adopting measures for recovery or reconstruction.

    During the budget session to be held from February 12 to 20, a resolution will also be passed on the vexed Naga political issue, the chief minister said without elaborating.

    The government will also take up a discussion on improving revenue generation in the power sector as it has become “very very important” for the state, he told reporters after inaugurating the Nagaland Assembly’s automated digitised library and online training centre.

    He described the Union budget as people friendly and expressed hope that the farmers issue will be resolved through dialogue.

  • Dzukou Valley fire put out? Officials say no active blaze spotted

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: Ten days later, no active fire was spotted in areas near the ecologically-sensitive Dzukou Valley on the Nagaland-Manipur border on Friday.

    Official sources in both states confirmed it.

    “No active fire was spotted today. However, smoke was found in three locations. It was controlled in two of them. The third could not be reached,” Rajkumar M, who is the Divisional Forest Officer of Kohima in Nagaland, said.

    He said over 150 personnel of the police, National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, forest department besides local volunteers, stationed at a base camp, would try to reach the spot on Saturday and control the smoke.

    His Senapati counterpart in Manipur D John Sha said neither fire nor smoke was detected on the day.

    “There was no active fire. There was also no smoke. Things are almost under control now on our side,” the forest officer said.

    The Indian Air Force (IAF), which deployed four helicopters to douse the inferno, said it would continue its mission on Saturday.

    “The IAF helicopters will continue the mission to assist fire-fighting at Dzukou Valley tomorrow,” Shillong-based Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh said.

    The choppers, which used Bambi Buckets to tame the fire, were requisitioned by the Nagaland government. The Manipur government had also sought the Centre’s help in controlling the situation.

    The Dzukou Valley is known for its natural environment, seasonal flowers, and flora and fauna and is a popular tourist destination.

  • Forest fire in Nagaland’s Dzukou valley increasing its magnitude: NDRF

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The forest fire in Nagaland’s Dzukou valley is “continuously increasing its magnitude” and spreading towards the hills of neighbouring Manipur, the NDRF said on Tuesday.

    The federal contingency force said it has deployed seven teams in the affected areas of Kohima district in Nagaland and Senapati district of Manipur to assist firefighters in extinguishing the forest fire.

    The fire broke out in the picturesque Dzukou valley, a popular tourist destination, on December 29.

    “Originally it was confined to Nagaland state but now it has spread towards the hills of Manipur and is continuously increasing its magnitude,” a National Disaster Response Force spokesperson said in a statement issued here.

    He added that out of the total seven NDRF teams, three are approaching the affected area from the western side near Essi hills in Kohima district, while the rest are approaching from the eastern side at Mao in Senapati.

    “NDRF teams are employing all possible techniques to check further spread of fire,” the spokesperson said.

    He said teams of fire brigade, local police, Nagaland and Manipur state disaster response force teams and some NGOs are also working to check this “fast spreading” fire in the hills.

    Indian Air Force helicopters are also engaged in the operation, he said.

  • IAF choppers, NDRF teams try to extinguish wildfire in Nagaland’s Dzukou Range

    By PTI
    KOHIMA: Indian Air Force choppers, NDRF teams, forest and police personnel on Sunday tried to extinguish the wildfire in the Dzukou range in Nagaland’s Kohima district, officials said.

    The fire broke out in the Dzukou range in Southern Angami region of the district on Tuesday afternoon.

    The scenic Dzukou valley, a tourist hot spot in Nagaland, is located in the Dzukou range.

    The District Forest Officer (DFO), Kohima, Rajkumar M said IAF choppers have dropped 24,000 litres of water to extinguish the wildfire in 12 sorties.

    He said that ground operations to extinguish the fire were carried out by Nagaland Police, Forest, NDRF, SDRF and SAYO volunteers on Sunday.

    The DFO said the fire is under control as reported by the pilots and the teams are trying to prevent it from spreading to the Dzukou valley.

    SDO (Civil) Jakhama, SDPO South and Range Forest Officer, Kohima are coordinating the ground operations to extinguish the fire, he said.

    To maintain seamless communication with the ground operation team, Kohima Police has set up a control room at Dzukou entry point at Viswema village and two relay stations also set up in the Dzuku base camp, he said.

    The DFO said that Kohima Forest Division and SAYO volunteers had already cut a 5 km fire line on December 31 while another 2 km fire line was cut by SAYO volunteers on January 1.

    This was done to prevent the fire to spread to the Dzukou valley, he said, adding that they were assisted by Kohima Police and State Disaster Response Force.

    Meanwhile, the president of Southern Angami Youth Organisation (SAYO) Zakieletuo Tsukru claimed that around 10 square kilometre of Dzukou range has been razed by the wildfire.

    SAYO volunteers along with personnel of Kohima Forest Division, Police and Fire and Emergency Services have been engaged in fighting the fire in an effort to contain its spread since day one, he said.

    Briefing reporters at Viswema Village, Tsukru said that as per the latest communication from the volunteers who are up there at Dzukou valley the fire which was in the Southern range till Saturday is slowly spreading down towards the western side of the valley.

    The SAYO president said: “We detected the fire at Dzukou halfway during the afternoon hours on December 29.

    It was reported that some people have trespassed into the Dzukou valley from Kezotsa after which the wildfire was reported, as reported by the caretakers of the valley”.

    “On receiving the information, we dispatched SAYO volunteers to intercept those trekkers while 21 of them were initially reported to be spotted by the villagers. However, the volunteers could not intercept anyone,” he said.

    “Our suspicion is that the trekkers have fled towards the Kezotsa in Manipur side,” he said.

    The SAYO president also urged upon the people visiting the valley to be more careful and follow all necessary instructions printed in the tickets issued by the SAYO.

  • IAF battles odds to douse Dzukou Valley fire

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The Indian Air Force (IAF) is undertaking a complex operation as it is trying to douse the wildfire in the ecologically-sensitive Dzukou Valley on the Nagaland-Manipur border.

    The operation involves complex calculations and skilled flying for the pilots. The fire is raging at different pockets of both states despite efforts being made by multiple agencies.

    A gust and difficult terrain is only one problem for the pilots. With the help of Bambi Buckets, the IAF pilots are lifting thousands of litres of water from a water body in Nagaland’s Dimapur district and making sorties for 15-20 minutes before they reach the site of wildfire that has wreaked havoc in the “Valley of Flowers”.

    A retired IAF pilot told The New Indian Express: “The practical difficulties will be precision dropping of water. Since it is a hilly region and there is air turbulence, steady flying will not be easy. It’s a difficult operation.”

    Four IAF helicopters are engaged in dousing the fire. The IAF’s help was sought by the Nagaland government. Forty-eight personnel of the National Disaster Response Force were airlifted from Guwahati on Friday for deployment at the site.

    Two days ago, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh stated that the fire had crossed Mount ASIi, the highest peak in the state.

    Union Home Minister Amit Shah is taking stock of the situation. He assured Singh of all assistance from the Centre. Singh had requested the Army and the Assam Rifles to extend their help in controlling the inferno which broke out four days ago.

    In Nagaland, the authorities are trying to control the blaze through traditional “fire line cutting”. Personnel from the State Disaster Response Force, police and forest departments besides volunteers are deployed to the site.

    The Dzukou Valley is known for its natural environment, seasonal flowers, and flora and fauna and is a popular tourist destination.

  • Editorial: – Surya Namaskar of Seven Sisters to make his beloved brother Modi the Prime Minister again in 2019

    There are seven states in the North East of India. They are also known as ‘Seven-sisters’ .

    These seven states are Arunachal, Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram.

    Brother PM Modi had told the BJP workers that when the sun goes down it is reddish and when it rises, saffron is painted.

    Modi ji also clarified that those who are Vastu Shastra, they have a belief that according to Vastu Shastra, the structure of the building is the most important of the North East. If once the North East is well then everything goes fine. Today the country is leading the journey of North East Development.

    This is the reason why PM Modi had resolved to follow the Act East policy.

    The second one is the mantra of Modiji, with the development of everyone, the government dedicated to the well-being of 125 crore people of India.

    The result of this is that in today’s North East states, there are mostly BJP governments except for Mizoram, except for zero in all the states.

    Except Assam, before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the presence of Bharatiya Janata Party in the northeast states of the country was not something special.

    For the Prime Minister and the BJP who had organized successful election rallies in many parts of the country, it was worrying for the low number of people to attend the rally at Swami Vivekanand Stadium in Agartala, Tripura.

    But in the year 2016, the BJP defeated the ruling Congress in Assam with a big difference and got the power of there.

    Those who look after the party on the assumption that it was a turning point for the BJP, trying to make penetration in the Northeastern states.

    Will the teacher disciple  the game of Gogoi?

    The Congress has suffered a major setback in the North-East, 5 times the CM, the legendary Lapang left the Congress ‘hand’, say- ‘The party’ is not giving the ‘sense’ to the senior leaders.

    Apart from this, Mizoram’s home minister Laljiriana has given up resignation, the Congress has increased the difficulties.

    In Meghalaya, the BJP is ruling by two legislators on the basis of a government.

    BJP expects from the North-East in the 2019 elections: In 2014, BJP has won only eight seats out of a total of 25 Lok Sabha seats in North-Eastern states. This year, winning the two state-run Meghalaya and Mizoram in front of BJP will be the biggest challenge. For this, the party has aligned with the late PA Sangma’s National People’s Party, in which five Congress MLAs have recently left their party. Congress is also making a big issue for eating Goumans to create an environment against BJP, as people in both states traditionally eat cow-milk.

    Mizoram also traditionally dominates the church, and the current Congress government is making a serious issue of the BJP and RSS. Congress had won 34 out of 40 seats in Mizoram in the Assembly elections in the year 2013. The BJP’s direct fight in Tripura is on the Lefts, where some five days ago, five big leaders of the Bharatiya Janjhans have got the support of the BJP. BJP has been successful till now by breaking the second party’s strategy to strengthen the party, the BJP has also formed a government in Mizoram and Tripura.

    In the last assembly elections in Tripura, the BJP, which contested 50 seats and seized the security of 49 seats in them, in the assembly elections this time, the Indian National Congress was reconciled to zero and the manner in which the stronghold of the village of Byomantha It is an unprecedented event in Indian politics, demolished.

    It is worth noting that Mizoram, which is going to be held in December this year, has also raised the flag against Rahul Gandhi. The Mizoram Congress was not included in the Bharat Bandh against the increased prices of petrol fuel, and today Mizoram’s Home Minister Laljiliyana has given a sign that he is now going to bloom lotus.