Jun 10, 2001

NISC inauguration in Amsterdam


The Naga International Support Centre (NISC), was inaugurated on the Thursday 31 May 2001. The initiative came from Frans Welman, an expert on Naga issues. Jacques Dekort, made a presentation on the historical struggle of the Nagas for independence. Mr. Luingam Luithui gave an account of traditional Naga society and their high degree of independence and respect for the individual. There was no permanent power in the hands of anyone. The chief is merely a facilitator. A chief who thinks he can tell anybody what to do is considered the most foolish.

Naga political culture is such that villages are almost like separate countries (though if one village makes a request to another it is rarely refused). It is this form of traditional living which Mr Muivah once described as Naga National Socialism: We have been practicing socialism in our community life. We had both private and community ownership. The poor people are benefited because of the community land they have...our democracy is based on traditional socialism. We did not have a proper term to call it by so we called it 'National Socialism'. It is from this perspective that 1997 Naga civil society requested the Indian Government not to impose elections on Naga areas, but that the cease-fire should be meaningful.