A NAGA PROTEST TO THE SECOND COLONISATION OF ASIA
- Kaka D. Iralu, December 4, 2004
The first colonisation of Asia (which also included Africa, Latin America and Australasia) was done by the White races of Europe and the West from the 16th to the 20th centuries. That colonisation ended after the Second World War. However, tragically, on the departure of the White colonisers from the Asian continent, a second colonisation of Asia took place before our own very eyes. This time it was not some White conquering races coming in ships and galleys, but yellow Asians murdering, raping, burning and torturing fellow Asians with the arms and ammunition that the White races had left behind on their departure. In the second wave of Asia’s invasions, smaller Asian nations like Nagaland, Tibet, the Saravaks, the Chakmas, etc. were colonised by bigger Asian nations like India, China, Pakistan, Malaysia, etc.
In the first colonisation of Asia, despite their many acts of atrocities, the White man conformed to certain rules of warfare and military ethics. The second colonisation of Asia by fellow Asians was however more horrific than the first one. In this second colonisation, people were even buried alive after terrible tortures. Women were not only raped but even subjected to grotesque mutilation of their private parts - a crime even animals are not guilty of. It was indeed the second rape of Asia that left in its wake thousands upon thousands of broken and twisted lives.
Now what right has these bigger nations of Asia over the smaller nations that they can without impunity forcefully colonise the smaller nations in Asia? I will never forget the words of Debashish Roy - the Crown Prince of the Chakma people - when speaking in the Indigenous Peoples Conference in Japan, he said: “Prior to the transfer of power in 1947, we Chakmas had our own kingdom with our own king. We also had our own national identity and geographical lands and we also fought against the British in defence of our history and our lands. He went on to state: “Tragically one fine morning on 15th August 1947, we were told that henceforth Chakmas had become East Pakistanis.” The soldiers of East Pakistan next marched into Chakma lands, torturing, raping and occupying their ancestral lands with new East Pakistan immigrants. For twenty four years they suffered under the East Pakistani regime where many of them were forced to become refugees in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Tripura, etc. Debashish went on to say, “Then again after the Indo Pakistan war of 1971, another fine morning we were again told that we were now Bangladeshis - citizens of the New Bangladesh that was formed out of East Pakistan.” Till date many of the Chakmas are living as refugees in other people’s lands - their own lands being occupied by bigger nations against whom they are helplessly outnumbered.
The same story can be recounted in pages after pages of agony, humiliation, desecration and occupation of smaller nations like Nagas, Tibetans, Sarawaks, etc. as bigger nations swallowed them and forced them to call themselves Indians, Chinese, Malaysians and so on.
In the case of Nagaland and India, India, in spite of the overwhelming and undeniable historical and political facts continue to claim that Nagas are Indians and Nagaland is Indian territory. After 56 years of her failure to fool the world with her lies, India now seems to be wooing some Nagas for partial integration of Naga territories under the Constitution of India. But whatever designs India may have, true patriotic Nagas will never succumb to such a sell-out of their national and geographical birth rights.
In this connection, another lie that India had tried to project to the world is that, “The Naga demand for independence has put India in an impossible situation, where if granted, it would lead other Indian States to demand the same thing and ultimately lead to India’s disintegration.”
Here, let India and the world know this historical and political fact very clearly that Nagas are not demanding independence from India. After all, how can Nagas be demanding independence from India when Nagaland had declared her independence on 14th August 1947 - one day prior to India’s declaration of her own independence? This declaration was not done in secret as a copy of the declaration of Naga independence was sent to the UN and an acknowledgement duly received from Salt Lake, New York. In the light of these chronological, historical and political facts, if India would demand independence from the Nagas it could be considered, but to portray that Nagas are demanding independence from India is to blatantly try to re-write history. Here Nagas will not allow 14th August 1947 to bow down before 15th August 1947 and reverse or defy the sequential chronology of history.
Therefore let India and the world know that Nagas are not demanding independence from India or anybody else, but simply defending their already declared independence. They have been defending their independence with their blood and their tears for over half a century. Here let India and the world know that whatever the overwhelming odds may be, we Nagas are confident of this fact that our signature, written on the pages of history on 14th August 1947, will one day be acknowledged by the world community. No matter how long that takes, on our part, we will never surrender our sovereignty and our independence to India or any other nations under heaven.
