Kohima, Sep 6 (IANS) The 63rd Indo-Naga Ceasefire Day was commemorated as Nagaland Peace Day on Sunday at the historic Peace Talk Camp at Yimyu Hilltop, Khensa, in Nagaland’s Mokokchung district, where the 1964 Indo-Naga bilateral ceasefire was facilitated by the Peace Mission of the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC).
The commemoration was held at the site associated with the historic ceasefire declaration of September 6, 1964, which was facilitated by the Peace Mission comprising B.P. Chaliha, Rev. Michael Scott and Jayaprakash Narayan.
Before the formal programme, the Covenant Stone (Azungashi Long) was inaugurated and dedicated. The formal programme, chaired by Dr Tsuknunglenla, Associate Professor at Clark Theological College, commenced with a dedicatory prayer by Rev. Dr Akok Amer.
According to the commemoration note, the Peace Talk Camp at Khensa is regarded as a covenant (Azungashi).
On September 6, 1964, at the request of the Federal Government of Nagaland, four descendants of the Leubaza clan of Khensa village — Mapukaba, Merenmayang, Temsunungba and Pangertoshi — gifted their clan heritage land at Yimyu Tenem (Hilltop) to the Naga nation to continue the vision of the 1964 ceasefire. Though the land had been gifted verbally decades ago, the arrangement was formally recorded in writing following two meetings involving the descendants of Pangertoshi Leubaza, the Federal Government and the Khensa Village Council.
Copies of the document were handed over to the descendants, the Federal Government President and the Khensa Village Council.
Addressing the gathering on “The Indo-Naga Position”, Takuyaba Longkumer, Central Executive Committee member of the Naga National Council (NNC), said the Nagas were not seeking independence as a new demand, asserting that they had already declared independence on August 14, 1947.
He cited the Naga Voluntary Plebiscite conducted on March 16, 1951, in which, according to the NNC, 99.9 per cent of voters supported independence. He also referred to the 1964 ceasefire as a significant milestone in the Naga political movement.
Longkumer alleged that the Naga people had suffered immensely during the decades of conflict and military operations preceding the ceasefire. He said the ceasefire was facilitated through the initiative of the NBCC Peace Mission with the objective of creating a conducive atmosphere for a lasting peace settlement.
He further said that the Federal Government of Nagaland and the NNC continued to uphold the 1964 ceasefire agreement, while maintaining their position on Naga sovereignty.
Referring to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2007, he said the principle of self-determination remained central to the Naga political position.
Kezha Angami, Kedahge of the Federal Government of Nagaland (FGN), in his address on “The Naga Vision”, recalled the role of the Peace Mission and NBCC leaders in facilitating the 1964 ceasefire and subsequent rounds of peace talks at Chedema and Khensa. He reiterated the 13-point terms of the ceasefire issued by the Federal Government in August 1964, stressing the cessation of hostilities, lasting peace and the creation of an atmosphere free from tension.
The programme also featured a special session remembering the 1965 Indo-Naga Peace Talk at Khensa by Rev. P. Longri Longchar, who had composed and taught the Naga Freedom Song more than six decades ago.
The Yimyu Ward Executive Committee presented the historic song “Naga Nüjiso Ken”, which was sung by Khensa students during the Indo-Naga Peace Talk held at the village in 1965.
The programme also included a statement on the land gifted by Pangertoshi Leubaza, greetings from Khensa Village Council Chairman I. Alemmeren Longchar, a message in song by Eastern Nagaland Churches Mokokchung and a prayer of intercession by Rev. I. Wathy Imchen.
The main message, titled “Church, History and the Indo-Naga 1964 Ceasefire: Taking the Vision Forward”, was delivered by Dr Villo Naleo, Secretary, Social Concern, NBCC.
The organisers appealed for the historic significance of September 6 to be further commemorated, with churches under the NBCC umbrella encouraged to observe the day as Peace/Ceasefire Day from next year onwards.
–IANS
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