All Naga Students’ Association Manipur (ANSAM) on Friday called for non-cooperation towards the celebration of forthcoming 75th Independence day of India on August 15 to protest against the notice issued by the state government which directed the headmen of all villages to hoist the national flag on Independence Day.
ANSAM has directed all its constituent units to enforce the non-cooperation towards the celebration of the Independence Day within their jurisdiction.
The state government’s notification to the “Naga districts” with reference to the meeting on August 7, 2021 chaired by the chief secretary of Manipur, directing all headmen of villages to hoist the national flag on August 15 to mark the 75th Independence Day of India is a matter of great concern, ANSAM stated in a release.
ANSAM stated that the strange notification amounts to complete denial of the present Naga political situation. It is unprecedented that the state government is resorting to such cheap political tactics to suppress decades of Naga people's movement for the right to self- determination, it added.
The Nagas living in Manipur would not extend co-operation in celebrating the 75th Independence day of India until and unless the Central government fully implements the ‘Framework Agreement’ of August 3, 2015 signed between Central government and NSCN (I-M) in letter and spirit , it stated.
“Indeed, the government of Manipur is well aware of our history that the government of India has duly recognised as ‘unique’ and reaffirms the same. We appeal for peace and understanding and not intimidation,” ANSAM stated.
The Nagas have sacrificed 75 years of their history to a conflict which they did not create and will continue to sacrifice in the years to come, it added.
It is a matter of question whether the Central government expects the Nagas to respect and honour India's National Flag in the Naga inhabited lands when there is no reciprocal treatment to the Naga national flag, it stated. ANSAM also questioned whether such an act or imposition is the way to find an honourable political solution.
ANSAM claimed that the true spirit of joining in the celebration of India's independence can happen only after mutually agreed ‘Framework Agreement’ is honoured by the Central government.
ANSAM truly believes in peaceful co-existence of India and Nagalim as two entities for all time to come, it stated. Any order or direction that imposes any condition on the Nagas against their will is neither the wish nor command of Mahatma Gandhi- the father of the Nation nor accepted by the Nagas, it added.
