Home » Why blame RN Ravi for problems in the peace process?

Why blame RN Ravi for problems in the peace process?

by Rinku Khumukcham
0 comment 4 minutes read

By- M Tomba Luwang

NSCN IM after eighty rounds of negotiations with Government of India has blamed RN Ravi for the situation that it is facing. The formation of NNPG has hit NSCN IM hard. NNPG wants to go its way taking with it Nagaland away from NSCN IM. With NNPG against NSCN IM, it is becoming difficult for NSCN IM to stay in Nagaland in the manner it used to. The recent order to high rung government employees in Nagaland to declare if they have their relatives in NSCN IM is the expression of the pressure the outfit is facing there. With this pressure, NSCN IM is facing difficult times in Nagaland unless it resolves its differences with NNPG. The brutal killing of NSCN IM cadres in Arunachal Pradesh is also an indication that if they become more active in Arunachal Pradesh, GoI would not hesitate to hit them. Can they move across the border, in Myanmar? Certainty, not. They would again land in an unfriendly terrain given that they have not resolved their differences with NSCN K, which operates there. It seems the only option for them if the situation continues is to move entirely in hills of Manipur. It is again easier said than done.
After the killings of NSCN IM cadres in Arunachal Pradesh, NSCN IM asked GoI to clarify its stand on the ceasefire, whether it extends beyond the borders of Nagaland. The outfit knows that it would be difficult for GoI to answer this question. For Meiteis, the ceasefire is confined to Nagaland. And, NSCM IM claims that ceasefire is without territorial limits. It is not surprising that GOI did not answer that question. Any answer they give, they will have a problem. Has GoI told different things to different entities? If they have said different things to different entities, then we can assume, from this, that it is a tricky business to negotiate with them. NSCN IM, with its battle-hardened politically savvy leadership, must have known this well.
NSCN IM, just as any sane entity, knows that peace process happens only with one’s opposition and not with friends as there is no need for peace among friends. RN Ravi represents their opposition, the GoI, in this peace process. He represents the interest of GoI and not NSCN IM’s interest. When it comes to Greater Nagaland, Civil Society Organisations in Manipur and the state government of Manipur is confident that Manipur’s territorial integrity would not be affected at all. Therefore, the demand for the constitution is a matter of utmost interest now. But, is it in the interest of GoI to grant NSCN IM’s demand for a separate constitution? After the abrogation of article 370 that pertains to the special status of Kashmir, GK Pillai, in an interview in The Print, feels that granting a separate constitution for the Nagas would be difficult now. Therefore, RN Ravi, being a credible opposition, representing the interest of GoI, would do things that serve the interest of GoI. So, the question comes why NSCN IM is angry at RN Ravi. RN Ravi is doing his job well. He was never supposed to root for them.
For now, we can only speculate why NSCN IM blames RN Ravi. What is NSCN IM getting out of this peace process if territorial integration of all Naga inhabited areas or a separate constitution is out of the question? Would they manage to secure a pan Naga cultural body? It is now doubtful that they will achieve to gain a pan Naga cultural body even. Here, the question comes. After so much hardship that Nagas who are in Manipur endured, what will NSCN IM tell them? Did they fight with popular support the nagas in Manipur for some monetary packages or their political rights? These questions are difficult ones. A way out is to blame RN Ravi, the messenger, for creating problems in the peace process and still push for further talks with the hope that they secure a better deal later. Hence, it seems NSCN IM has limited its displeasure to RN Ravi and has not blamed the GoI. Here, the messenger is the bad one, and the source of the message is the good one. Otherwise, who knows who Naga people in Manipur might blame for the hardships they have faced if they get peanuts at the end. RN Ravi, therefore, must become the devil in the land of Christ.

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