Nagaland
turn in history of NE
militancy
When Naga insurgency is called
mother of all insurgencies in North-
east, it suffered big blow when eth-
nic rivalry caused split in the NSCN
into two groups one led by Issac and
Muivah called NSCN(IM) and anoth-
er by Khaplang called NSCN(K). Of
the three prominent insurgent leaders
while Issac Chisi is a Sema Naga, Mui-
vah is a Tangkhul Naga of Manipur.
Khaplang on the other hand belongs to
Konyak Naga sub-tribe largely settled
in Myanmar. The Naga struggle saw a
major upheaval in the following years
when members of each group were
baying for the4 blood of their brothers
from the other section. Asa recently as
32 April 08
Cover Story
in March this year, the NSCN-IM ac-
cused the rival Khaplang faction and
top brass of the Indian army collabo-
rating to eliminate top Sumi leaders
working in the Isak-Muivah faction of
the outfit. The NSCN-IM alleged that
Rs. 10 lakh per head had been offered
by the top officer of the Indian secu-
rity forces to the NSCN-K for kill-
ing the Sumi leaders working in the
NSCN-IM.
The two NSCN factions are oper-
ating a ceasefire with New Delhi. The
NSCN-IM is currently holding talks
with the Indian government after en-
tering into a truce in 1997. The Khap-
lang faction is yet to begin formal
peace talks although it entered into a
truce in 2001. But the two groups have
been engaged in a bitter turf war for
territorial supremacy in their area and
during these three years of turf war,
more than 200 rebels were killed in
separate clashes between the two war-
ring groups.
Lucky Jamir
Former Chief Minister of Naga-
land and now the Governor of Goa, Mr
S.C. Jamir is probably the only man in
India who survived as many as four
attempts on his life during the past
one decade. The latest attempt was on
November 24 last year, when some un-
identified assailants ambushed his con-
voy near Changki village while he was
travelling from his ancestral residence
in Mokokchung district in Nagaland to
Dimapur at around 6:30 am.
Suspected underground rebels am-
Cover Story
bushed his convoy using mortar shells
near a bridge on the hilly road. A
couple of security personnel received
minor injuries in the attack though the
former Nagaland Chief Minister es-
caped unhurt.
Earlier, the Naga rebel group
NSCN-IM, which is now in truce with
government of India, made three abor-
tive attempts of his life, including the
one on November 29, 1999.
This time, the NSCN-IM had
banned Mr Jamir from coming to his
home state accusing him of being anti-
Naga. The NSCN-IM is apprehensive
of Jamir’s attempts to make a come-
back in the state politics by contesting
the forthcoming assembly elections on
a Congress ticket.
But the outfit washed off its hands
from the incident saying that the at-
tacked was “stage managed”.
Apartheid and division
within
Northeast in general was taken a
back when a booklet under the name
and style “Security Tips For North-
nagaland
East Students/visitors in Delhi” ste-
reotyped the Northeast girls not only
for their dressing style, but also for
food habits. And want to know who
had drafted this – It was Robin Hibu
of West Delhi police. It was a vitriolic
impression therein whamming and
prodding to the students of Northeast
who are/were undergoing training
or studies in various vocational and
general trades/streams inclusive of ca-
sual/habitual commuters at Delhi on
the use of dress bracketing revealing
dress, the manner of having dished-
up foods and preparation and cooking
regimen and cuisine items which we
may term it “food habits.”
In this context, it is said, reveal-
ing dress is no more a fresh ones as
people have been evidenced for the
past many decades. No doubt, reveal-
ing dress, beauty contest, body fitness
fever became acceptable to the women
of Indian soil circa 1980s. This kind of
changing trend in dressing is/was seen
on the screen, mega cities dotted in the
urbanized areas as a fashion influenced
by the western civilization. Besides
school/college uniforms, most of the
students from the length and breadth
of the country who camp at Delhi ap-
pears to have used/attired varieties of
clothes of which mention may be made
of traditional dress, chic-design, glitz,
grunge, trendy casuals (short-wears,
jean jackets, trousers) etc. are being
used according to time and place and
comforting the clothes.
Questions can be raised whether
Delhi girls are always well dressed?
When they reveal their vital statistics
– it does not evoke or provoke any Del-
hite, but when NE girls put on their ca-
suals and in what they are most com-
fortable, it provokes those guys who
are always on the look for some girls to
display their sparks of manhood (sic).
Its also unfortunate the way Northeast
girls were portrayed in Bollywood
movies like Lalkaar and Haqueeqat.
Apartheid and stereotyping is what is
destroying our social fabric, causing a
division within.
April 08 33