The working committee of Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) on Thursday said Nagaland cannot accommodate Nagas from other states without integration of Naga-inhabited areas.

The committee, in a statement, asked those inhabitants of Nagaland who thought otherwise to demonstrate their generosity by demarcating their own fertile lands, subject to approval by their tribes, for donation to landless brothers from other Naga areas. It said the Nagas should not be carried away by propagandas being churned out to confuse them and ensure demographic invasion of Nagaland.

“At a recent meeting in the NSCN (I-M) headquarters at Camp Hebron, it was purportedly said that Nagaland would cease to exist and it would be replaced by the people’s government of Nagalim”.

Taking strong exception to the purported statement, the committee said it is time for Nagaland tribes and inhabitants to wake up from slumber and pinch themselves if they are alive when a Naga from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam or Manipur, after 22 years of political talks, declares that Nagaland will cease to exist and it will be replaced by “people’s government of Nagalim”.

Nagalim, formed by integration of all Naga-inhabited areas, was one of the demands of the NSCN (I-M). It was, however, reportedly ruled out by the Centre. With 90,000 Naga youths registered as unemployed in Nagaland, the committee sought to know who was responsible for this mess. It said Nagas had killed each other enough in the name of freedom while in the name of negotiation, for 22 years they had faced much hardships.

With the deadlock continuing between the Centre and the NSCN (I-M) over the latter’s insistence on a separate Naga flag and constitution, the committee suggested that the two issues can be pursued post solution. It said these two issues were raised only in the 21st year of negotiation while the Centre is firm that these are issues which Nagas can pursue post solution.

Besides, the committee pointed out, Naga tribes, gaon burhas (village chiefs) and civil societies have urged for an early solution, pleading contentious issues be kept for future democratic process.

“If this appeal of Naga tribes goes unheard, it would mean the negotiation was not for the people and, therefore, Nagaland should be left undisturbed. It is unwise to play emotional, sentimental and patriotic card at all times, without tending to wailing and dying generations of Nagaland,” it stated. The committee clarified that it is not an agent or tool of the government of India. It said it comprises “remarkable Naga leaders” from different Naga tribes and political entities, “all with great patriotic dreams and visions inherited from forefathers”. It said its leaders understood that the Nagas cannot remain enslaved to the past.

Saying that the lessons learnt from the past were sufficient, the committee said Indian military invasion and occupation brought much misery to the people in the early decades while Naga leaders’ ego and pride wiped out a generation in the later decades.

The committee said seven Naga political groups, comprising the NNPGs, are together because the Naga people desired unity, as a divided people cannot build a nation.

It said the Centre and the Nagas are now on the threshold of a new beginning after 57 rounds of political dialogue in a span of three years. The committee believed that with an acceptable and honourable solution a robust future lies ahead for “our children”.