This is not a communal statement. This is a question of security, justice, law and moral responsibility. This is a question every Naga must ask, irrespective of state boundaries.
The gravity of the crime in Manipur
In Manipur, innocent Nagas and Naga villagers have been mercilessly killed, kidnapped and butchered by Kuki Refugee Narco Terrorists cannibals. Their bodies have been dismembered. Their villages have been attacked. Their ancestral land has been targeted with a clear and unconstitutional design – to build a Kuki homeland on Naga ancestral territory.
These are not ordinary crimes. These are crimes against humanity, against the Constitution of India, and against the very principle of peaceful co-existence.
And today, as we speak, the dismembered bodies of our Naga brothers are still lying in the morgue at Imphal, without justice, without dignity, without closure. Their families are waiting. Their villages are mourning. The Naga nation is wounded.
The question is – who are the perpetrators? The evidence on the ground, the testimonies of the villagers, and the pattern of violence clearly points to armed Kuki groups and their leaders who have openly pursued a territorial agenda at the cost of Naga lives and Naga land.
If this is terrorism, it must be called terrorism. If this is ethnic cleansing of indigenous innocent Nagas on Naga soil by the Kukis, it must be called ethnic cleansing. A crime cannot be hidden under the language of politics.
The unanswered question: Why free transit and shelter from Nagaland?
This brings us to the most painful and serious question that demands public scrutiny.
Why are the same Kuki armed leaders, who are responsible of killing Naga civilians in Manipur, being allowed free transit through Nagaland State? Why are they provided all necessary sheltering, logistics, flight services and safe passage from Dimapur and other transit points?
Nagaland is the heartland of the Nagas. It is considered the mother state of Naga political identity. How can the mother state become a safe corridor for those who are responsible of butchering her own children in Manipur?
This is not about hospitality. Naga hospitality is legendary, but hospitality to those who kill Nagas is not hospitality – it is betrayal.
Intellectually and politically, this is a total contradiction:
We condemn the killing of Nagas in Manipur, but we facilitate the movement of the Kuki killers through Nagaland.
We demand justice for Naga bodies lying in Imphal morgue, but we provide comfort to those who are held responsible for those bodies.
We talk of Naga integration and Naga unity, but we practice a policy that endangers Naga unity and Naga security.
Where is the logic? Where is the morality? Where is the law?
If any Naga provides shelter to an anti-national or a Kuki terrorist, it is punishable under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. If any leader provides logistics to those who have killed Indian citizens, it is a question of national security and not just Naga security. Peace in India cannot be achieved by providing safe passage to violence.
The responsibility of NPF and Naga leaders of Nagaland
This is where the role of the Naga People’s Front and all Naga political leaders of Nagaland becomes critically important and must be questioned assertively and seriously.
The NPF was born on the principle of Naga unity. Its very name is Naga People’s Front. Its moral mandate was to be the voice of all Nagas, whether in Nagaland, Manipur, Assam or Arunachal. It was supposed to be the political soul of the Naga people.
Today, where is that responsibility towards the Nagas of Manipur?
When six Naga brothers are butchered, when villages are burnt, when bodies are kept in Imphal morgue without justice, why is there silence from the NPF? Why is there no strong delegation to Imphal? Why is there no demand for a judicial inquiry? Why is there no condemnation of the free transit being given to the alleged killers?
A political party that cannot protect its own people in its most critical hour has lost its moral right to claim to be the people’s front.
Leadership is not about winning seats in Kohima. Leadership is about standing for the people in Luangkao, in Konsaram, in Litan, in Zoro, in Wanglee, in Sarkaphung, in Sinakeithei and in the most dangerous villages of Manipur. If NPF and other Naga leaders of Nagaland truly believe in one Naga people, then their duty today is not convenience, but sacrifice.
The biblical and moral imperative
The Bible is very clear: “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.” 1 Corinthians 12:26.
Can Nagaland say it is safe and secure while Nagas in Manipur are being kidnapped and killed? Can we build our own houses while our brothers’ houses are burning? Can we provide transit to their killers and then sing “Praise God” on Sunday?
This is morally indefensible. It is spiritually bankrupt.
True Naga unity is not a slogan. It is a responsibility. It means your pain is my pain. Your land is my land. Your body in the morgue is my brother’s body.
The final appeal: For Naga security and for peace in India
Therefore, this is an imploring, vehement, powerful and official appeal to all Naga intellectuals, civil society organizations, student bodies, church leaders, and the Naga public:
a) Demand Public Scrutiny: Let there be a transparent public inquiry into who is authorizing, facilitating and funding the free transit and sheltering of Kuki armed leaders through Nagaland. The Naga public has a right to know.
b) Demand Justice First: No transit, no shelter, no flight, no logistic support should be given to any armed group or its leaders who are accused of killing Naga civilians until justice is delivered for the bodies lying in Imphal morgue. Justice must come before hospitality.
c) Demand NPF Accountability: Let the NPF and all elected Naga leaders of Nagaland answer the Naga people – Where do you stand on the killing of Nagas in Manipur? Will you continue to allow Nagaland to be used as a transit corridor for those accused of killing Nagas? Where is your responsibility?
d) Demand for Peace in India: The Government of India must also take note. Peace in Manipur and peace in Nagaland are interlinked. You cannot have peace in India by allowing one community’s armed leaders to use another community’s state as a safe haven while committing crimes on Naga territory.
This is the time to awaken. This is the time to speak. This is the time to choose between token politics and sacrificial leadership.
If we remain silent today while our brothers’ bodies lie in the morgue and their alleged killers enjoy safe transit through our own motherland, history will never forgive us. God will hold us accountable, and the coming generations will ask us a painful question: Where were you when we needed you the most?
Let the Nagas of Nagaland, the NPF and all Naga leaders remember – Naga security is indivisible. Justice for Nagas in Manipur is justice for all Nagas.
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Michael Meiphami Shaiza is Co-incharge of BJP Manipur State Political Programmes and Meetings and President of Ukhrul-based NGO Ecological Rehabilitators’ Association (ERA).
(Views expressed are writers’ own and do not, in whatsoever manner, reflect that of Ukhrul Now)
