Praise the Lord!

Beloved Countrymen, twenty six years ago on this day, a solemn pledge was made to our God Almighty and to our people: That the Naga Nation shall be ‘a People’s Republic’ and march on under the banner, ‘Nagalim for Christ’. The decision taken that glorious day rejuvenated entire rank and file of the NSCN and we stand committed to it today as we did twenty six years ago. We are convinced that the unrestrained physical, moral and spiritual support of our people, over the years, has been our forte. In the overwhelming response, we see the triumphant spirit of the unbowed people. I salute you all!

Allow me to pay homage to our incomparable men and women who laid the foundation of our Nationhood with their blood and guts. Thousands of our comrades are gone having given their best for the nation. Their insurmountable courage shall be imbibed by every succeeding Naga generation. May the soul of each and every Naga be as precious in the eyes of our Almighty God as they are to us. Naga History shall be richer for their lofty sacrifice.

NSCN was founded when a hitherto unknown danger faced our Nation with the betrayal and signing of the infamous Shillong Accord. Its formation was the only realistic step to move forward after such a catastrophic blunder. Our adversaries, in their ill-advised plan, threw Nagalim into great turmoil and in their lust for power, shut us out from the rest of the world and committed the most heinous of crimes against our brothers and sisters. Alas, many precious lives were lost during the terrible period and despite the grave danger, the pursuit for God’s purpose for the Nagas and the inalienable right to determine our own future was unquestionable. Thank God, our decisiveness prevailed. We survived the onslaught and defended Nagalim with all our might; for it is the greatest gift that we have on this Earth. In our most vulnerable period we drew strength from God. The passion to serve the Nation to the end was evident in our men and women. It was but a manifestation of God’s great love for the Nagas. We were insignificant in the eyes of our enemies but in our hearts we were the strongest even while being hunted day and night like creatures fleeing from sweeping wildfire. God was our refuge and He made good our escape many a time from utter hopelessness. A man is at his courageous best when he realizes God’s love and charts his own destiny. Thus, a handful of men and women, much harassed yet armed with faith in the creator of nations and commitment to the cause, became a force to be reckoned with.

My Countrymen, decades of uncertainty have swiftly gone by. The future of Nagalim must be secured above all else. A confused generation cannot mould its young. We have come to the point where our minds must embrace higher values.. The world may appear to be progressing at an astonishing pace but on closer observation, we realize that nations must maintain their geo-political identity for meaningful existence, because there is no meaning to life if a mirage of economic prosperity takes away political and historical rights of peoples and nations. An avalanche of modern ideas can neither erase the legitimacy of Nagalim from the facts of history, nor can it stop the pulse of the Nagas from embracing what is theirs’

Remember, beloved Nagas, the purpose of your creation as a ‘Naga’ shall have no value to either your nation or yourself if you were to commit into economic enslavement initiated from the corridors of Delhi, giving up on your God given right. Alas! You shall be nothing more than a defeated man in a defeated nation. God is blameless and therefore you and I shall be solely accountable if future Naga generations live in shame and humiliation. NSCN recognizes its own deficiencies and loopholes and to this, we shall seek to commit ourselves to our nation and allow truth and justice to prevail on all matters pertaining to our civil and military duties. We shall never shy away from the responsibilities entrusted upon by our people.

Today we face a two pronged strategy in India’s policy: One hand, the Government of India agrees that only political solution and not military, is the answer to end the Indo-Naga conflict. On the other, Indian Army continues to offer logistic support to Khaplang gang and the Accordists with least regard for the agreed principles in the ceasefire signed between the two entities in 1997. NSCN has explored all possible options to show its firm commitment in letter and spirit yet is not the same from the Government of India’s side. We insist that it is one sided and peace anywhere cannot be achieved unilaterally!

Fellow Nagas, decisiveness is the need of the hour. Let us be on our guard against those inconsistent Nagas who are eating out of India’s hands. They have resigned to their fate for they know the truth yet they have been conditioned to chant against the Nagas! They are nothing but servants of capitulation. We shall not succumb to such political infidelity. Let us not be like the Israelites who, when faced with occasional hardships on their way to Canaan, kept looking back towards Egypt, fully aware of the fact that they had escaped eternal slavery!

It is wise for us then, to realize that the greatest issue of life must be understood by each and every Naga. We must seek repentance from God and demand from man what belongs to us. God created the universe and in it a tiny portion was given to our forefathers to inherit; as a nation and as a people. He did not create for us to sit back and witness our land being divided for the convenience of our neighbors, nor were we placed on this earth to surrender our inheritance to stronger forces. Our conscience must be very clear on this. Triumphant moments in history are often recorded when tiny nations first conquer their own fears and march on to claim their share of greatness. Shall we fear our enemies after fighting 60 years? After much heroism and tenacity, shall we accept the badge of cowardice? No! For centuries Nagas have been vigilant, never in our history have we been prey to any power.

I wish to applaud the remarkable role being played by the NGOs such as the Naga Hoho, NPMHR, NMA, NSF, Church associations and various other organizations. NSCN belongs to the people and therefore the unprecedented support to the ongoing peace process is but a benchmark for any fertile nationalist aspiration. NSCN appreciates the commitment of organizations such as the UNPO, Forum Asia, NAC, NISC, IWGIA, KWIA, Geneva Call and others in the US and Canada, for endorsing the Naga cause to the world community. We also deeply cherish the solidarity of our friends and well wishers from around the world for their relentless pursuit in having the Naga issue heard across the globe.

May our redeeming God continue to instill the great spirit of freedom in our hearts. AMEN!

KUKNALIM!

Source: NSCN