NAGAA PEOPLE STRUGGLING FOR SELF-DETERMINATION

BYSHIMREICHON LUITHUI

NAGA

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Since more than 50 years, an indigenous peopleliving in the mountainous Northeastern corner of

the Indian Subcontinent has fought a silent war. Silentbecause this war has been largely ignored by theworld .

Ever since the Nagas have been in contact withoutside powers they have fiercely resisted anyattempt of subjugation. The British colonizersmanaged to control only parts of the rugged Nagaterritory, and their administration in many of theseareas was only nominal. But the Naga�s struggle forself-determination is still continuing. Divided by theinternational boundary, they are forced to opposeboth the Indian and the Burmese domination.

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CHINA

NEPAL BHUTAN

MYANMAR (Burma)

INDIA

INDIA

BANGLADESH

Bay of Bengal

Nagaland � Nagalim

The Nagas occupy a mountainous country of about100,000 square kilometers in the Patkai Rangebetween India and Burma. About two thirds of theNaga territory is in present day India, divided amongthe four states Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipurand Nagaland. The rest lies in Sagiang and Thangdutstates in Burma. It is believed that the ancestors oftoday�s Nagas migrated to the Patkai Range from anunknown area in Southwestern China thousands ofyears ago.

When Nagas refer to Nagaland they mean the entirearea inhabited by Nagas which have been partitionedby the British between India and Burma. The IndianUnion created a State in 1963, named Nagalandcomprising of only one third of the land inhabited byNagas. Since 1997 Nagas have started using theword �Nagalim� in place of �Nagaland�. �Lim� simplymeans �land� in Ao Naga language.

Stereotypes about the Nagas

The stereotype of the Nagas as a fierce people,further distorted by overstating the importance oftraditional �head hunting� in the past, is stillwidespread these days. On the other hand, Nagashave often been pictured as �noble primitives�. Indeed,after an initial reaction of antipathy, many of theBritish officers who came in contact with the Nagasdeveloped a deep affection and spoke fondly of them.Like J.H. Hutton, who wrote in 1921: �Nagas havefine qualities. They are simple, cheerful, colourful,humerous, courteous and hospitable people�, theyare a people with �a sense of honour and generosityat home, at work and at gathering; laughter is thefood of the society and hospitality is overwhelming.Nagas are honest and truthful people��.

Sydasien

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Diversity and Unity

The total Naga population is about 3 million, consisting of more than40 tribes. They speak over 30 different and sometimes mutuallyunintelligable tonal languages of the Tibeto-Burman language family.In spite of the bewildering diversity in language and culture, all theNaga tribes share a set of core cultural elements that set themapart from other peoples living in the region. But the idea of being�one people� that wants to be recognized as a nation has notexisted until fairly recently.v

Tribes

A tribe as understood by anthropologists is a type of humansocial organization in which a group of people larger than afamily have a common identity based on common descent,shared language, culture and ideology. Tribes usually consistof a number of smaller, politically autonomous units like villages.In some cases there may be chiefs whose authority reachesbeyond one single village. But while tribes may share a tribalname and a contiguous territory, or coordinate joint endeavourssuch as trade or ritual events, there is no encompassing politicalauthority over a whole tribe.

Naga

As much as the origin of the Naga people remains lost in the mist ofhistory, both the meaning and origin of the name �Naga� is unknown.There has been considerable speculation on that, but all that canbe said for sure is that the name was coined by outsiders and thatit usually and for a long time has been loaded with prejudices. Onlysince a few decades have the Nagas adopted the name themselvesand they now carry it with self-confidence and pride.

Tribes:

A o

Poumei

Lotha

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The Origin of the Nagas

Most of the Nagas believe that their ancestors came from a placesomewhere far North, in present-day China. They first migrated to thevillage of Makhrai-Rabu (also known by the name �Makhel�) from wherethey dispersed to the various directions that they are living now.Makhrai-Rabu is located in the land of the Mao tribe in present-dayManipur state. Several historic symbols associated with the dispersalof the Nagas are still existing there: a big stone called Tamratu,which means �stone of dispersal�; an ancient wild pear tree calledChutebu, planted at the time of dispersal by the Naga elders. It is saidthat the Naga ancestors took an oath to unite again one day.

The ancestors of the Nagas also erectedthree stone monoliths in the village ofMakhrai-Rabu. They are called Linotu. Thethree monoliths represent Tiger, Man andSpirit, symbolizing flora and fauna, humansociety and the spiritual world. It is believedthat if the stones representing man andspirit tilt or fall, it is a sign that humansociety and the spiritual world havedegenerated dangerously. The stonerepresenting the tiger has already fallen.And indeed, the wild flora and fauna inNagalim have been heavily depleted inrecent decades.

Linotu

Angami-Naga in festive dress

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Sharing and gift giving

Sharing and giving gifts amongst kin people is veryimportant in Naga society. It is an expression andreinforcement of kinship solidarity, of the rights and dutiesconnected to kinship relationships. For example, amongthe Tangkhul Nagas, whenever there is festival like luiraphanit (the spring festival which marks the beginning ofa new agricultural year) pigs are slaughtered, the brothers/male cousins give a hind-leg or front leg or another portionof the meat to their married sisters or female cousins.And gifts, which were received on occasion of a weddingare being redistributed to close relatives.

NAGA SOCIETY

Self-sufficient communities

The Nagas have usually built their villages on mountain topswhere the climate is healthier. Until half a century ago, Nagavillages were almost fully self-sufficient in whatever peopleneeded for their life. The village�s fields and forests provided awide range of food and spices, and raw material for all kinds ofcrafts. They built wooden houses, wove clothes from their owncotton, made baskets, clay pots and all kinds of tools andweapons. It was basically only iron that had to be importedfrom the lowlands, or salt from those Naga villages that hadaccess to salt springs. But trade nevertheless encompassed amuch wider range of goods. Goods which were not a necessity,but which were highly appreciated and brought from far-awayplaces like shells, semi-precious stones and glass beads etc .

Thangkhul Naga celebrating the spring festival luira phanit

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Naga land use

Today, most Nagas are still farmers, producing most of the foodand many other things they need themselves. They practicetwo types of farming: wet rice cultivation on terraced fields andshifting cultivation. Both are adapted to the mountainousenvironment. Where the terrain allows, land is terraced, andirrigation channels are dug. Terraced land is almost exclusivelyused for rice that grows in flooded fields. Shifting cultivationfields are made on forested slopes for varieties of rice that donot need standing water. Although rice is the most importantcrop for the Nagas, they cultivate a large number of other cropssuch as maize, millets and other cereals, yam, potatoes andother roots crops, and a large number of vegetables and spices.These are grown in shifting cultivation fields and home gardens.Forests also are still an important provider of wood and otherbuilding materials, herbs and wild vegetables, honey and game.

Traditional crafts

Nagas are masters of jewelry making and weaving.Especially the traditional shawls are an expression ofeach tribe�s identity, with each of them having developedtheir distinct pattern. Although today all Nagas wearfactory clothes, shawls and for women, traditional wrap-around skirts, are still worn and highly valued by everyone.And they play an important role in gift giving.

Shawl of the Sema tribe Women preparing the paddy fields

Shifting cultivation

Shifting cultivation is often also called swidden farming,or slash-and-burn agriculture. It is a farming system foundin forest areas all over the tropics and sub-tropics. It isbased on a cyclical alteration between a short croppingperiod and a long fallow. The natural forest or bushvegetation is cut and burned to prepare a new field. Theash adds valuable nutrient to the soil. The Nagas planttheir shifting cultivation fields with upland rice, maize,millet or other cereals together with root crops andvegetables. After one to three years, they let the fieldrest. It is rapidly overtaken by fallow vegetation, firstweeds and grasses, then young schrubs and trees. There-growing forest or bush vegetation restore the fertilityof the soil, and after a five to ten years it is again readyfor cultivation.

Jord

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Land ownership

Almost all the Naga villages know three different kinds of landownership: usually, only terraced fields and homesteads areprivately owned by individual households. Terraced fieldscontinue to be the most prized possession. Land for shiftingcultivation, forests and pastures belong either to the village ordifferent clans. The community land is under the care of thevillage chief; the clan land is under the care of the clan leaders.

Clan

A clan is a kinship group of fundamental importance inthe structure of many societies. Membership of a clan issocially defined in terms of actual or purported descentfrom a common ancestor. This descent is unilineal, thatis, derived only through the male (patriclan), like amongthe Nagas, or the female (matriclan). Normally, but notalways, the clans are exogamous, marriage within theclan being forbidden and regarded as incest.

Clans may segment into subclans or lineages, andgenealogical records or myths may be altered toincorporate new members who have no demonstrablekinship ties with the clan.Land under shifting cultivation

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Rice terraces of the Tangkhul tribe

Village republics

Until not very long ago, Naga villageswere not only economically largely self-sufficient, they also were self-governing,independent political entities. That iswhy they are often called �village states�or �village republics�. Much of thisautonomy has been retained until today.Each village still has its own well-definedvillage territory. Within this they havetheir own land tenure system, land useadministration, court of justice and,nowadays, a church.

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Traditional Naga religion

The traditional Naga religion is often called�animism�. Animism is the belief in theexistence of spiritual beings inhabiting thenatural world. Traditional Naga religion ishowever somewhat different from other formsof religion called �animistic� in that they alsobelieve in gods. All Naga groups know of threetypes of gods and spirits: a high, creatorGod (sometimes there are several), the spiritsliving in the sky, and the earth spirits. Butgods and spirits usually interfere only indirectlyin human affairs, through influencing positivelyor negatively the natural cyclical flow of�fertility�. Sacrifices to gods or spirits aretherefore done to ask for their positiveintervention in order to maximise fertility:good harvests, many and healthy children.

The religious life

Today, 90% of the Nagas are Christian,most of them Baptists. But although themissionaries were deliberately trying toreplace key institutions and beliefs whichthey thought to be incompatible withChristianity, many elements of thetraditional religion and worldview are foundalso among the Christian Nagas. They havemerged with the new belief to createsomething new. Therefore, there is noclear-cut division between them and theso-called �animists�. And the important

traditional festivals, especially thoseconnected to the agricultural cycle, arecelebrated by both Christian and �animist�Nagas. Even though the spiritual meaningmay be different, as a social event theyare of the same importance to both. Insome villages, Christians also observegenna, everywhere they consult traditionalhealers, and the belief in spirits is verycommon among all Nagas.

11Sema-Nagas

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In their social and political organiza-tion the Nagas show much variety,but it is a variety created by differ-ent combination of basic commonelements: the clan, the chief, thevillage council and, in the old day,the Murong, today replaced by theage groups.

Naga villages usually consist oftwo or more clans. Traditionally, eachclan occupies a clearly defined areain the village, known as khels (lo-cality), and functions as a unit ofcollective responsibility.

Not all tribes have chiefs. TheAngamis for example have neither

chiefs nor formal village councils butvillage elders who are consulted ondifficult issues. Among those tribeswith chiefs, the amount of powerthey have varies. In the past, theSemas and Konyaks had very power-ful hereditary chiefs with almostabsoulte authority. But among mostof the Naga tribes, it is the villagecouncil together with the hereditarychief that governs the village.

The village council regularly con-venes village general assemblies.Usually, it is traditionally presidedover by the chief. However, in Angamitribe, any member of the village

Until well into the British colonial pe-riod, Naga villages also settled theirconflicts with each other autono-mously, if necessary through war.When disputes could not be resolvedwith peaceful means through the vil-lage councils and the regional coun-cils, war broke out. One form of tra-ditional warfare, the �guerilla war�,implied the taking of heads. Thispractice has attracted the atten-tion and stirred the imagination ofso many outsiders. However, in theso-called �general warfare�, whichconsisted of open and agreed-upon

Traditional warfare

Clans, chiefs and village councils

confrontations of warring groups,head taking was strictly forbidden.Warfare, in whatever form, was regu-lated by conventions that preventedheavy casualties and abuse.

Like in all cases of a state�s attemptto establish its control over indigen-ous peoples, one of the first meas-ures the British took when expandinginto Naga territory was to try andstop traditional warfare, and toestablish the monopoly over the useof force. This and the introductionof Christianity eventually led to thedisappearance of traditional war.

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enjoys the right to call a public meeting anda person with good standing moderates themeeting. All the adult male members of thevillage have the right to participate as equalsin the discussions. The village meeting deci-sions are by consensus so the discussionstend to be very lengthy.

Social status

In some Naga tribes all people are consideredequal by birth, no matter of what clan orfamily they are. People were and still arerespected for their individual personalqualities. In these communities, higher statuscould be gained above all through feasts ofmerit. Today, it is through education, beingin a government position, or becoming apastor. In other Naga tribes, however, onecan have a higher status already by havingbeen born into a noble family, a family in

which one male member has the privilege �and the duty � to act as chief of a village.

Feasts of merit

Like all people, Nagas love to feast. Duringfestivals and weddings, there is a lot ofsinging and dancing and playing of populargames and sports such as wrestling, javelinthrow, tug of war. In pre-Christian times,wealthy families gave special feasts inconnection with fertility rituals. Giving suchfeasts raised the social status of the feastgiver. This means that wealth was redist-ributed in the community in return for highritual and social status. Feasts of merit wereoptional feasts and could be given byanyone. It implied feeding the entire villageby slaughtering lots of cattle and pigs, andserving huge amounts of rice beer for days.The feasts were ranked in importance and

Chiefs

A chief is a political leader in a tribal society. His authority can extend over oneor several villages. It basically rests on the voluntary recognition of his decisionsby the members of the society. Chiefs seldom have coercive means to imposetheir will. Among those Naga tribes that have chiefs, their authority rarelyextends beyond one village.

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scale, each stage carried rights to new kinds ofpersonal adornment like special kinds of shawls, andhouse decoration apart from erection of stones andY-shaped wooden posts outside the feasts giver�shouse. Today, big feasts are given during weddingand name giving ceremonies, but they are not relatedto achieving prestige or status of the family.

Morung

The Morung was a key institution in Naga society ofthe past. It was a kind of �youth dormitory�, a largebuilding decorated with elaborate carvings. But itsfunction went far beyond providing separate sheltersfor adolescent boys and girls who lived and slept init until marriage. It was also used as a guard-houseduring times of war when warriors stayed in it. Thatwas why the Morung was built next to the villagegate or at the strategically most advantageous place.But more important is that it was in the Morung thattraditional knowledge skills and customs were trans-mitted from generation to generation.

Duties of the youth

The youth living in a Morung fulfilled various socialfunctions delegated by the village council. Theyperform important duties such as overviewing theobservance of genna, entertainment during festival,village function or a wedding. They also helped theneedy and old people and kept the village clean.And the members of each generation or age-setthat lived in the Morung developed strong mutualties, a strong sense of unity that lasted the wholelife. Belonging to a specific age-set constituted as

Genna

The word genna has its roots in the Angami-Naga word kenna, which means �it isforbidden�. During a genna period much ofwhat is part of ervery-day life comes to astandstill: It is forbidden to travel, to havesexual intercourse or to eat certain typesof food. A genna period can last severaldays, and, depending on the occasion, hasto be observed either by the whole villageor only by certain individuals. A collectivegenna was for example connected to feastsof merit, or, still today, with annual festivalslike the spring festival that marks thebeginning of a new agricultural cycle. Gennais found among all Naga tribes. The customis still practiced, though to varying degree,even among Christian villages.

Preparations for a wedding feast

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much part of a persons�s identity as belonging to aspecific clan. Morung as a social institution thereforeestablished strong ties cross cutting clan membershipand therefore contributed to the unity of a village.

Christianity and schools

In the past few decades Morungs as a physicalstructure disappeared in most villages. Only a fewold Morung have been maintained and have nowbecome a much looked-after part of the culturalheritage of the respective village. The introductionof schools and Christianity have brought about thedemise of the Morung as a social institution, and themagnificant houses were abandoned. But even thoughthe Morung as a social institution does not exist inits original form any longer, it has somehow, thoughin a less conspicuous form, survived.

Duties today

Today, age groups are still an important part of theidentity of the Nagas and they are still continuing toplay an important role in village life, being responsiblefor the same tasks as during the times of the Morung:Present day Naga student organizations show manytraits similar to the traditional institution of theMorung. They serve as forums for sharing concerns,building common understanding and solidarity, trainingfor leadership, or assisting persons in distress. Theyhave become indispensable part of their social life.Even in far away places like Delhi they have theirown students´ union, which take care of thestudents´ needs and acts in solidarity, or as opinionmakers.

In a village school

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New centres of power

The arrival of British colonizers, christianizationof the Nagas, and then the military occupationof the Naga country by the modern Indian state,brought about new power centers within theNaga society. Army camps are today found allover the area at strategic locations and thearmy enjoys almost unrestricted freedom touse its power. Since several decades, Nagashave lived under martial law and have beenseverely suppressed. Added to all this are thechanges introduced with the imposition of thestate administration, police, an alien judiciarysystem and the political party system. Further,the church with its large membership andextensive network has become an importantorganisational factor in modern Naga society.These institutions have seriously weakened thetraditional institutions, including the villagecouncil. However, in recent years, the tradi-tional institutions have regained much of theirpast importance. Naga villages now managemost of their internal affairs through theseinstitutions. In 1997, the tribal hohos (councils)came together and formed a Naga hoho, thesupreme council for all Nagas.

Urban professionals

A good number of Nagas now live in towns,work as clerks or administrators in offices, asteachers, or nurses, medical doctors, engin-

eers, lawyers or in other professions. ManyNagas have migrateed to their �urban� centerslike Dimapur, Kohima, Mokokchung, or Ukhrul insearch of jobs, or to take care of their childrenwho attend schools there. In the last fewyears, the populations of these towns havegrown at great speed, causing problems withwater provision or sewage systems.

Every year, thousands of Naga girls and boysleave their villages for far away cities in Indiato take up higher education. Nagas have ahigh literacy rate and education level comparedto other people in India. Many of them havejoined the Indian civil service. However, evenwhen living far away in towns and cities, theyall maintain strong ties with their village. Inthe community-based Naga society, kinshiprelationships still play a very important role.

Thangkul chief

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Women and men

Most Naga tribes are fairly egalitarian. In thesetribes all people are considered equal. However,a clear distinction is made between men andwomen in all the traditional Naga societies.Nevertheless, Naga women have enjoyed afairly high status when compared to othersocieties. Even after marriage, their clan alwaysstands behind them, ready to back them up iftheir husbands do not treat them well or if illfortune befalls them.

Peace makers

In the past, during war, women could play therole of peace-makers. For instance, among theTangkhul it is reported that when a pitch battlegoing on between a woman�s natal village andthe village she had moved to after her marriage,she could interfere and bring the war to a halt.Holding a long Y shaped stick she could enterthe battle field between the two groups andforce them to stop the battle. Since she wasrelated to both the parties by blood and throughmarriage neither of the side could harm her.

Inequality

Although women were highly respected, theywere and are still not equal to men in Nagasociety. Traditionally, women could not inheritland. And political decision making has beenfirmly in the hands of the men, too. Womenvery, very rarely are members of the villagecouncil or become chiefs. And since tribalhohos are composed of representatives ofvillage councils, and the Naga hoho summit ismade up of the tribal hohos, there is no womanfound in any of these bodies, too.

Naga women�s organizations

Nevertheless, girls are as much welcome toparents as boys and are given equal accessto education. Therefore, Naga women oftenhave high positions in government services orwork as highly educated professionals. AndNaga women have begun to build their ownpolitical organization. Today, almost all Nagavillages have women organizations, often underthe local church. And these local organizationshave created tribal level organizations in eachof the Naga tribes. Side by side with the all-male tribal hohos and the Naga hoho, thesetribal women organizations are playing veryimportant roles in the present-day social andpolitical life of the Nagas.

NAGA WOMEN AND POLITICS

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THE STRUGGLE FOR A NAGA NATION

�Before the British Government conquered our country in1879-80, we were living in a state of intermittent warfarewith the Assam valley to the north and west of our countryand Manipur to the south. They never conquered us, norwere we ever subjected to their rule�. we pray that weshould not be thrusted to the mercy of the people who couldnever have conquered us themselves, and to whom we arenever subjected but to leave us alone to determine forourselves as in ancient times�

Memorandum submitted by the Naga Club to the Simon Commissionof the British Colonial Government in 1929.

Life in fear

Since August 1997 a fragile cease-fire has allowed the Nagasto get a sense of what it is like to live in peace. For almosthalf a century life in Naga villages was overshadowed byinsecurity, even constant fear. At the height of militarization,in the most affected areas of Nagalim there was one Indiansoldier per adult Naga. And the so-called Armed Forces SpecialPower Act gives the Indian security forces extensive powerswith impunity. Thousands of Nagas were detained and tortured,women raped, they have been wounded or have died in whatmost Nagas see as a foreign state�s violent suppression oftheir legitimate demand for self-determination. For the Indianand the Burmese state it is part of their fight against whatthey call �insurgency� or �terrorism�.

A colonial legacy

The roots of the conflict between the Nagas and the Indian andBurmese government can, like in many other countries of the Southtoday, be traced back to colonial times and especially the de-colonization process. For the Nagas it started when the Britishtook control of the plains of the Assam and Manipur kingdoms inthe early 19th century. The Naga territory lies right between thetwo, and their animosities with the plains people posed a threat tothe economic interests of the British. Therefore, from 1830s onwardsthe British sought to extend their control over the Naga Hills.

Early resistance

The Nagas fiercely resisted but could not hold them back for long.One village after the other had to give in to the British�s superiorforce. And by the end of the 19th century, about one thirds of theNaga territory came under British rule. However, British control wasfairly superficial. And in most places the Nagas were able to retaincontrol over their lands.

A special status

Once the British consolidated their control over the Naga area,they came to know how different in all respect the Nagas werefrom the plains peoples. So they decided to keep the two underdifferent administrative systems. Already in 1873, the British enactedthe Inner Line Regulation which, among others, prevented influx ofplains people into the hills . This meant that the Nagas were byand large still on their own, and could continue living according totheir own traditions and customs.

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Soldiers of the Naga resistance

movement

Breach of the agreement

In 1946, The Nagas formed a full-fledgedpolitical organ: the Naga National Council(NNC). A year later, NNC was recognized bythe Interim government of India as the solenational political authority of the Nagas.

The so-called Nine Point Agreement was signedwith the NNC in June 1947. This agreementalso foresaw that after a 10 year period withinthe Indian Union, that was about to be born,the Naga people could decide freely on theirown future. However, before long India launchedstate repression to crush Naga nationalism. Inviolation of the agreement, NNC leaders werearrested and detained.

The Nagas take up arms

India ignored the result of the plebiscite heldin 1951 by NNC in which the Nagas votedunambiguously for independence. The massivebut still largely peaceful protests by Nagas wasmet with stepped-up army presence andrepression. Ultimately, in 1956 the Nagas tookup arms.

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Emerging unity

It was on the basis of these realities that thefirst pan-Naga organization, the Naga Club,urged the British to leave them alone oncethey decided to withdraw from thesubcontinent.

The Nagas did not develop a conscious pan-Naga identity until the beginning of the 20th

century. The work of missionaries, whichbrought most Nagas into the folds of Christi-anity, and the increasing awareness of theircultural commonalities and shared antagonismwith the plains people forged unity among theNaga tribes. The idea of the �Naga Nation�itself is said to have been born in the battlefields of the 1st World War in Europe.

Naga nationalism

During World War I, many Nagas from differentcommunities went to France as labour corps.Thus they became aware of the wider worldbeyond their mountains and also saw how the�civilised� nations fought their own cruel wars.Far from home, Naga soldiers from differenttribes and communities came together forcomfort, developed a sense of belonging anddiscovered their many commonalities. On theirreturn in 1918, they formed the Naga Clubtogether with village chiefs and Naga officialswho were serving the British government.

Demonstration in Ukhrul town

Martial law

In the four decades since then, the Governmentof India has tried everything to break the Nagaresistance movement. This includes a divideand rule policy, signing of agreements with somegroups, pouring in of money and the promulg-ation of repressive laws such as the ArmedForces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). The AFSPAamong others, gives the Indian security forcesthe right to shoot to kill, and to arrest withoutwarrant. And under this act, no prosecution,suit or other legal proceedings can be broughtagainst them. Most of the Naga areas havebeen under this martial law since its prom-ulgation in 1958.

Negotiations with the Indiangovernment

Twice the Government of India has made anagreement with groups of Nagas who eitherclaimed to represent their people or werepressured to sign it on behalf of their people.Naturally, these agreements were not recog-nised by the Nagas.

In connection with the first, the so called 16-Point Agreement of 1960, a new Union State,called �Nagaland� was created on about onethird of the Naga inhabited areas in India. Thisbrought division among the Nagas and led toeven more violence.

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In rejection of the second agreement, the so-called �Shillong Accord� (named after the townof Shillong, where it was signed), a new organ-isation was formed: the National SocialistCouncil of Nagalim (NSCN), which has becomethe leading force of the Naga resistancemovement.

The future�

Although disagreements and divisions exist andsometimes severely hinder the Nagas on theirway to achieve self-determination, they havemanaged to withstand the pressure from theIndian State. Finally, in 1997, the Governmentof India agreed to enter into unconditionalpeace talks with the NSCN. A cease fire wasagreed upon shortly afterwards, which has untilnow been extended several times. However,negotiations are proceeding very slowly. Whilewriting these last few lines, the Nagas stillcannot be sure of their future as a people freeto determine its own destiny. Their strugglewill continue, but they all hope: that they cando it with peaceful means.

Ao, Alemchiba. A Brief Historical Account of Nagaland, Naga Institute of Culture,Kohima, 1970

Elwin,Verrier (ed). The North-East frontier in the Nineteenth Century, Oxford Univer-sity Press, Bombay, 1959.

Haksar, Nandita & Luithui, Luingam. Nagaland File,A Question of Human Rights,Lancer International, New Delhi, 1984

Horam, M. Naga Polity, Low price Publication, Delhi, 1992 (1975)

IWGIA. The Naga Nation and Its Struggle Against Genocide, Copenhagen, July, 1986

Jacob, Julian. The Nagas: Society, Culture and Colonial Encounter, Edition HansjörgMayer,Stuttgart, 1990

Mills, J.P. The Rengma Nagas. , Spectrum publications, Guwahati, 1980 (1937)

Shimray, R.R. Origin and Culture of Nagas, Delhi, 1985

Recommended web-sites: www.kuknalim.com; www.angelfire.com/nf/npmhr/

REFERENCES

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Angami children

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Tlf.: 35 27 05 00 - Fax: 35 27 05 07 - E-mail: iwgia@iwgia.org - www.iwgia.org

Text: Shimreichon LuithuiPhotos: Naga Peoples Movement forHuman Rights (NPMHR), IWGIA archiveLayout: Jorge Monras

@ Shimreichon Luithui and IWGIA, 2001

INTERNATIONALWORK GROUP FORINDIGENOUS AFFAIRS