STORY OF SHILLONG ACCORD –II: Hopes and Reservations

The feeling that the Naga underground movement is going to the walls seems to be widely shared among the older generation of the Nagas. When I met Mr. Vizol, the Ex-Chief Minister of Nagaland, he admitted frankly that the Naga underground move­ment was going downhill. At the risk of being labelled unpatriotic, he considered the Shillong Agreement as very opportune.
From the horse’s mouth
The same opinion was expressed to me more articulately by Mr. Z. Ramyo, one of the negotiators of the Shillong Accord. According to him, the Naga under­ground movement during the last few years had been kept alive in only five areas, viz, Angami, Chakeshang, Mao, Tangkhul and Tamenglong. He was even prepared to admit that the Naga underground movement could have been physi­cally crushed. In the same breadth, however, he also added that physically crushing the Nagas would not solve the Naga problem for India also. Because a new generation would rise to take up the struggle. Being an essentially political problem, he felt that the military aspect could be delinked and the political issues discussed across the table to bring about an honourable settlement.
So, he along with a few like-minded persons, had taken it upon themselves to start negotiations with the Govern­ment of India without consulting the Federal authorities. He, however, added that, with the curfew and army operations all over Nagaland, it proved practically impossible to establish contact with the Naga Federal Government authorities. 
Mr. Ramyo is also aware of the fact that the Shillong Accord has not met with popular approval. To quote his own words, for instance, “the Tangkhuls have chosen to reject the Shillong Accord for reasons best known to themselves”. Further, in the Emergency meeting of the Federal authori­ties at Dihoma some­time after the Shillong Accord was signed, Mr. Ramyo along with the other negotiators of the Shillong Accord was censured heavily for having taken such an important issue into their own hands. Apparent­ly the negotiators seem to have weathered the storm admirably and differences now seem to be patched up.
 Onus on the Govt, of  India
When asked specifi­cally what he thought of the chances of a final agreement satisfying the basic aspirations of the Nagas emerging out of the foundations laid by the Shillong Accord, Mr. Ramyo expressed his conviction that there is a fair chance provided the Government of India is sincere. From their side they had played ball with the Govern­ment of India. Recently, the Government of India had been approached with the proposal for sending a three member delegation to London to invite Mr. Phizo, the chairman of the Naga National Council, to conduct further negotia­tions as envisaged under clause 3 of the Shillong Accord. This Mr. Ramyo feels, will be an acid test of India’s sincerity.
Contradiction
When asked what he thought of the merger of the Naga Nationalist Or­ganisation with the Con­gress, he strongly ex pressed that it consti­tuted a betrayal of the Shillong Accord. He felt that contrary to its publicly expressed desire that there should not be “any trail of bitter­ness left”, the Govern­ment of India is introducing a new source of bitterness by setting up one Naga against another. Apparently, Mr. Ramyo seems to feel that one case of bad faith should not be permitted to wreck the edifice of the Shillong Accord.
On Integration
Though Mr. Ramyo was non-committal about the issues likely to be framed as envisaged  under clause 3 of the Shillong Accord, Mr. Ramyo forcefully claimed that it was the birthright of every Naga to be united under one roof. However, when asked whether his idea of a unified Nagaland embraced the Nagas across the Indo-Burmese border, he indicated that this question did not come within the ambit of the Shillong Accord as it had inter­national ramifications.
Even in such an emo­tionally identified issue as integration, there seem to be a divernence of expectations regarding its scope. General Mowu, whom I had met earlier, expres­sed that any final settle­ment would have to take into consideration the question of Naga inhabited areas outside Nagaland, including more than 20,000 square miles in Burma. He expressed his conviction that any settlement for only the Nagas of the 6000 square miles of present Nagaland cannot be a lasting agreement.
 A Soldier only ?
General Mowu was very guarded in ex­pressing his opinion about the Shillong Accord. When he was asked how he interpreted clause 1 of the Shillong Accord, he would not venture any further beyond saying that as he was basically a soldier, he would not comment on political matters. Being a soldier, however, did not prevent him from being forth­right on some of the important issues. For example, when asked if a restatement of the objectives of the Naga. The National Council was not called for in the light of the Shillong Accord, he replied in the negative, Citing his reasons, he said that the Shillong Accord was signed by some indivi­duals taking the entire responsibility on their own shoulders. [This fact is corroborated by Mr. Ramyo’s own admission to this effect.] As such the question of restating the object­ives of N.N.C. anew does not arise. For he feels that the stand of the Federal Government of Nagaland or N.N.C. for that matter, will be clarified only when the stage of framing issues under clause 3 of the Shillong Accord is rea­ched.
Rationalisation
General Mowu ex­pressed that the struggle the Nagas had waged for over 20 years had been forced on them. When circumstances so conspired to threaten their independence, they had to fight for their honour and rights. But all along the Nagas had been under no illusion that they could defeat India militarily. Against this back­ground, he expressed his hope that the Shil­long Accord could bring about a final settlement satisfying the basic aspirations of the Nagas provided the Government of India approach the problem sincerely. However, he was also conscious that there are even to­day Nagas outside the border, whose opinion, he felt, would have to be heard in bringing about any lasting settlement.
Mr. Imkongmeren, Vice-President of the Naga Federal Govern­ment, seems to be still feeling his way. He is meeting neither the press nor members of the younger generation of the Nagas who are looking up to him and others who were released recently under the Shillong Accord for guidance. Significantly, the feeling that the Shillong Accord is a terrific let­down seems to be gaining ground among the younger generation. They seem to be impotently flailing their arms against everything that the Shillong Accord symbolizes. Some of them have strongly charged the Church of having put religion above the nation. The negotia­tors of the Shillong Accord who until yesterday had commanded their respect, seem to have lost caste in their confusion they are looking up to the Gene­rals and political leaders released recently for guidance.
Though Mr. Imkong­meren’s refusal to see them is not helping matters any for the young Nagas, the words of General Mowu deli­vered during the public reception to the released prisoners at Kohima, “I am ashamed that I could not finish what you had entrusted me with” are still ringing in the ears of the young generation of Nagas. But it is very doubtful that the Messiah that the younger genera­tion of Nagas are wait­ing for would come from these quarters.
****This write up was written by THOUNAOJAM TARUNKUMAR, EDITOR : RESISTANCE, It was published on June 29, 1976.