The peace accord, or rather the preamble of the agreement between the government of India and NSCN-IM has been signed. But no one except for Th. Muivah and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi knew what the content of the agreement will be. It was important for all of us, especially for the people of the entire North Eastern Indian states to know the conditions with which the central government of India has managed to entice Muivah in its effort to solve the vexed issue of Naga as demanded by the NSCN-IM leadership.
It is worth mentioning that Manipur was on fire when the ceasefire agreement between the NSCN-IM and the Government of India extended it to the state of Manipur. 18 lives were sacrificed and many offices of the political parties including the state assembly secretariat were burnt by the people of the state.
And the news leaked from the intelligence department of India about creating a supra state as proposed by the NSCN_IM created another scathing criticism from the people of the state.
It is a known fact that the idea of integrating all the so called Naga inhabited area of Manipur is not accepted by the people of the state, nor any of the neighbouring ones for that matter.
The recent result of the Autonomous district council election turned to be the perfect opportunity to show that not all the people are supporting the NSCN-IM. Though not official, it is an open secret that a political party projected by the militant group has managed to get elected at some of the seats. But there are other political parties which managed to get elected by defeating the powerful candidates projected by the militant groups. It is also a known fact that many communities in the state which the NSCN-IM claimed to be Naga never accepted themselves as Naga. The Aimol, the Maring and many Annals never wanted to identify themselves as Naga but are happy to be identified by their own unique community.
Even though the signing of the peace accord or preamble of the accord is a welcoming step, the content of the accord should not be concealed. If the peace accord contains materials that would affect the interest of the state then it is most unfortunate that the state government has not been consulted at the time signing the agreement.
The content cannot be kept as secret. It will be announced soon and God knows what will be the consequences the moment it was let known to the public.
Already Manipur is on the fire with the demand for introduction of Inner line permit system and the government has been facing the worst time with the addition of the nature’s anger.
If the matter regarding the issue of the NCSN-IM affects the sentiment of the people in other states, there is no force strong enough to stop or withstand the uprising of the people. For sure the state government will cease to exist and the central government will rule the state and the people will have the worst nightmare. Multiply such a situation by the number of affected states, and imagine the scenario- if only we can.
