•-Thank you for expressing public interest in the Naga Consultative Meet (NCM) and the formation of Overseas Naga Association (ONA). I am writing on behalf of the overseas Nagas who attended NCM and as Secretary General of the fledging ONA. I would like to briefly address the two main concerns in your Open Letters: the “mysterious processes” of the Naga Consultative Meet and the question of ONA’s legitimacy as an overseas Naga organization.
Those of us who participated in NCM are not aware of any mystery in the preparation for the event and our volunteering for it. The process got started by word of mouth and email, a process where a few people had a vision and reached out to people they knew and asked whether they were interested. There was no systematic process of identifying all Nagas or deciding exactly who should come from what country, though down the line we did try to include Nagas from as many countries as possible. When an invitation from the Chief Minister’s office was made, some of us responded and made the trip to Kohima, and from it came Overseas Naga Association – a pretty normal way to start a new organization.
Let me add a few details for clarification. Not everyone who had received the Chief Minister’s invitation was able to go to NCM. But the group took the trip as exploratory in nature and prepared for it with mainly two goals in mind. To establish contacts and have conversations with different sections of the Naga society including the state government about common interests and concerns for the Naga society; and, upon our return, to share our findings with all Nagas living abroad so that we can brainstorm and work together on a course of actions which might contribute to positive changes in our society. Our group was small but consisted of Nagas living in Australia, Japan, Norway, Singapore, UK, USA. We did not claim to represent overseas Nagas in these countries however. Our plan was to include Nagas from as many countries as possible. We had two from Australia; we probably should have had more.
Coming to the point you raised about the authority of overseas participants in NCM, we volunteered and went as concerned individual Nagas living abroad. Upon arrival in Kohima, we found that the main purpose of the Meet was working for unity among the different sections of the Naga society so as to find a permanent solution to the Indo-Naga problem. It was not what we had prepared for going to the Meet. But having arrived, we did what we could to contribute to what was clearly a noble cause, regardless of whose agenda it was. But we also made it a point to follow through our original plan of presenting the papers we had planned. In short, we had to improvise to respond to the situation while staying the course the best way we could. There was no secret agenda between our overseas group and DAN government or PAC. And, contrary to innuendoes from some interested groups, the Resolutions and Recommendations coming out of NCM clearly show that its outcome strengthens, rather than weakens, the work of existing civil society groups like the Forum for Naga Reconciliation.
We formed Overseas Naga Association one day before NCM, so that, like the rest of the invitees to the Meet, we would also attend as an organization. We had no idea that formation of ONA would provoke questions of its legitimacy. We thought we were merely exercising our democratic right to form an association among ourselves, a voluntary body with open membership. Our plan was to invite overseas Nagas from all over the world (Naga from Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Myanmar, etc. and their families living abroad). We hoped overseas Nagas from everywhere would join ONA and help build it into a vibrant international Naga community which would have strong links to our homeland. We clearly made a mistake in naming “Country Representatives,” and doing so without prior permission of those we named, for which we request the forgiveness of our friends. We will soon be writing a constitution and bylaws for ONA to address that and other organizational matters.
Meanwhile, we request interested Nagas in Australia and everywhere to write to us with suggestions for making ONA into an inclusive and dynamic global organization. We see ONA serving the cultural, social and spiritual needs of overseas Naga families as well as influencing positive changes in our homeland. We look forward to your support and collaboration because we are all in this together -- Nagas helping Nagas at home and around the world.
Lastly, for the information of the Naga public some of whom have commented in the media about our “paid trip home,” we made personal sacrifices in time and money to prepare for and attend NCM. We paid for the trip ourselves. We are grateful to the Nagaland government for taking care of our accommodation and food for the duration of the Meet and making us very welcome. We thank Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and his Team for the initiative they took in calling for Naga Consultative Meet with Overseas Nagas. We look forward to greater things: “One Dream, One Future” for all Nagas. Thank you.
Paul Pimomo, Secretary General,
Overseas Naga Association.
mopipi@hotmail.com