Reacting to the Eastern Nagas’ demand for a separate state, the NSF said, “The foundation and the history is clear to us. We only need to expand our horizon by focusing our thoughts and activities on our common dream of surviving as a people and as a nation rather than succumbing to the various devices of our adversaries who are exploring every means to further divide our people and our land.”
NSF president Mutsikhoyo Yhobu and its general secretary O. Wati Jamir issued a statement asking the Nagas to realise that they have a moral onus to address the need and concerns of the Nagas living outside Nagaland.
“Our ancestors had struggled so hard to promote and strengthen the spirit of brotherhood and oneness within the family despite many forces against them,” the statement said.
Six tribes from the four eastern districts of Nagaland — Tuensang, Mon, Kiphire and Longleng — under the aegis of Eastern Naga Peoples’ Organisation (EPNO) are demanding a separate state, Frontier Nagaland, on the ground that they are being discriminated against by the Nagaland government.
The statement said the responsibility that had been bestowed on the younger generations by their far-sighted ancestors, who had dreamt of an independent Naga homeland and had fought till the last to make it happen, could not be washed away to accommodate short-term interests.
“Times are changing and we can no longer live in isolation. We have to march ahead with the rest of the world …we need to consolidate our people and our homeland. Separation from each other is not the answer for development of our society. What is needed is a concerted effort to bring our people and our land under one administrative roof,” the statement said.
The NSF urged the state government to pay special attention to the economically and educationally backward areas and urged the ENPO to take up their grievances with the legislators of the four districts.
It also urged the ENPO not to push their demand for statehood or any other separate arrangement as it would be detrimental to the growth of the Naga society in the long run.
The NSF cautioned individuals and agencies against implanting seeds of discord and hatred in the Naga family.