Kuolachalie Seyie
President, Naga Membership
We commemorate the auspicious Naga Day on tenth of January yearly because the Naga Membership Memorandum to the Simon Fee was submitted on 10.01.1929 at Kohima. This was the primary written doc from the Nagas declared to be free and unbiased that finally turned the written Magna Carta of the Naga Nationwide Politics which has chartered and altered the historic facets of the Nagas. Different earlier protests to be free and unbiased had been solely within the types of violent warfare albeit that brought about a lot lack of life to the Britishers throughout their expeditions to the Naga homeland as a No Man’s Land, which had compelled them to hunt peace with the Nagas and hunted for written treaties to which the Nagas refused, consequently a verbal and ritualistic ‘no-more-fight settlement’ was negotiated upon in our customary practices within the curiosity of peace, tranquillity and growth with none binding phrases on the Nagas.
Our humble but erudite legendary forefathers had then been proud and robust sufficient with a brave power to declare (quote) “Depart us alone to find out for ourselves as in historic occasions” (unquote), which has sought to withdraw the Naga Homeland from the Reformed Scheme of India, they had been conscious and apprehensive that overseas legal guidelines and customs can be launched that may supersede our values, customary legal guidelines and traditions. Accordingly, the British India Govt Act of 1935 excluded all of the Naga inhabited areas exterior of the British India Empire and in addition it clearly demonstrates that the Naga Hills aren’t a homogenous a part of India as a consequence of the stated Memorandum.
None apart from a famend Indian social activist, journalist and historian had as soon as said that how might a younger civilization of some hundred years outdated akin to Nagas have the knowledge to jot down to Simon Fee about their rights to be free and unbiased if it was not for God’s main them. The identical historian appreciated due to the Naga Membership Memorandum to the Simon Fee in 1929 and later the declaration of the Naga Independence on 14th August, 1947, a day earlier than India and the re-imposition of the Naga’s earnest need to stay as a free folks by way of the observance of sixteenth Could, 1951 Plebiscite, as such we are able to conclude that the Naga Political Motion can by no means be thought of as an act of secession. The “Naga Minds” and the “Naga Nationwide Soul” had been by no means colonised from the start until date and it shall by no means be compromised in any respect price.
Our erudite legendary forefathers akin to Rheichalie Pienyü and Rüzhükhrie Sekhose and their fellow Naga tribes recognising that the Nagas like another nation who’ve had survived economically, socially and politically throughout turbulent occasions of British Govt expedition into our Homeland stirred by far-sighted and dedication based the Naga Membership on seventh January 1918 after which submitted the Memorandum to the Simon Fee in 1929 whereas many different kingdoms in India and Burma had been nonetheless slumbering who then surrendered to the British Govt with none protest. Our forefathers who faithfully upheld their time-tested unfailing braveness and nice human values and virtues by remaining dedicated to what they consider can be greatest for the Nagas as a complete with out borders particularly these coming after them have left this nice legacy to all of us. When requested the draftee of the Simon Fee, Rüzhükhrie Sekhose, about how he might draft such an impressive and considerate Memorandum then he stated, “I have no idea how I did it, but it surely was God’s personal knowledge guiding my hand with a transparent imaginative and prescient, that’s how I used to be capable of write with the total consultations of the Naga Membership leaders”.
Gratefully accepting our nice heritage and legacy of simplicity but erudite, mutual respect, selflessness, frankness, integrity, humility, hospitability and braveness and an illustrious and distinguished historical past in all fields, akin to, custom, social, financial system, politics and governance, ecology, group dwelling, and so on. from our forefathers ought to be continued with integrity and dignity in order that there could also be unity and brotherhood amongst our Naga society that Nagas as a folks and a nation might stand sturdy on our personal toes socially, economically, politically and stay in concord to pave the way in which for prosperity, growth and fulfilment of life’s objective.
Honestly acknowledging that we’re at present manoeuvring our life quickly into the fashionable world and our values, traditions and unity being assailed by new threats, confusions, lies, corruptions and challenges, we understand it’s our due accountability to arrange our folks to properly and courageously reply to those threats and challenges with readability of thought and steadfast ethical braveness like our forefathers who had been capable of overcome all these challenges.
In exercising its privileged mandate to suppose and act for the long-term welfare of the Nagas, the Naga Membership following the footsteps of our forefathers shall adhere firmly to the idea that no variations or disputes ought to be allowed to weaken and divide the Nagas with lies, hatred, groupism, tribalism and bitterness. Nagas, dealing with better challenges immediately, ought to purchase the knowledge from our Almighty God to let their variations, at any time when they happen, make them stronger by displaying the capability to rise above narrower pursuits to attain what is true and greatest for all.
We should always take the instance of our erudite forefathers to make factual evaluate of the previous, truthful and daring evaluation of the current reflecting and admitting our personal errors and shortcomings as an alternative of looking for fault in others, or give to the society as our forefathers did as an alternative of selfishly grabbing the general public cash by way of manipulations and corruptions in order that there could also be God’s blessings, peace, concord, equality, unity, growth and prosperity in our land.
Presidential tackle by Kuolachalie Seyie, President, Naga Membership on Naga Day at Mission Compound, Kohima on January 10, 2023
