Ukhrul: Dr Rosemary Dzuvichu, a co-convener of the Global Naga Forum (GNF), has said that the ongoing conflict in Manipur has affected all communities of the state, including the Nagas, and expressed hope that normalcy should prevail in the state soon.
Speaking with EastMojo on the sidelines of the recent Ukhrul public rally, Dr Rosemary Dzuvichu, a retired professor and peace activist, said that the ethnic conflict in Manipur has deeply impacted many and that people are longing for normalcy and peace to be restored in the state.
“Peace must come to Manipur and it must come with justice,” said Dr Dzuvichu.
Dr Dzuvichu was part of the jury of the Independent People’s Tribunal on Manipur, constituted by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), and visited various districts of Manipur affected by the violence during the peak of the ethnic conflict.
Emphasising the Kukis’ demand for separate administration, Dr Dzuvichu stated, “If the Kukis are also asking this kind of demand, I think the Government of India needs to see who is asking for a settlement even much earlier than the Kukis.”
“We are taking into consideration the ancestral rights of the Nagas and their lands. It would be a very big mistake on the part of the Government of India to think that they are going to throw away those rights in reference to bringing peace in Manipur,” she cautioned.
Expressing concern over the looming issue of border fencing and scrapping of the FMR in all the India-Myanmar borders, including Naga homelands, Dzuvichu said that Nagas are a people who exist across the borders, and therefore, there is no question of borders coming up or fencing us.
However, if the Government of India still decides to go ahead with its policy without considering the sentiments of the Nagas, Dr Dzuvichu, an adviser to the Naga Mothers’ Association (NMA), an apex body of women in Nagaland, feels that peace would not likely be seen in the days ahead.
“If we want a peaceful resolution, I think border fencing and scrapping of FMR is the last agenda that the Government of India should have. They should be more concerned about resolving the Naga political issue which has been going on for decades, and how long can we wait? We, the Naga people, have come to the end of our patience and, hopefully, if we want peace, we definitely appeal to the GoI to rethink the border fencing policy and scrapping of FMR,” maintained Dr Dzuvichu.
While addressing the mammoth gathering at the Ukhrul rally, the Naga woman leader said that for generations, the FMR stood as a fragile bridge between the divided Naga people across so-called international borders. It was not a privilege granted by India but a necessity—a right for the Naga people who have lived, traded, and moved freely across these lands long before the artificial lines of colonisers divided them.
“The abrupt scrapping of the FMR is not about ‘national security’ or ‘controlling illegal migration,’ as New Delhi claims. It is a deliberate act to suffocate the Naga people, cut us off from our own kin, and assert absolute control over every aspect of our lives. It is a colonial relic disguised as a policy decision—a blatant move to fortify India’s military presence and to ensure that Nagas remain prisoners in our own homeland,” she stated.
She also alleged that the promise of an ‘Act East Policy’ was never about economic opportunities for the people of the Northeast. It was always a militarised policy meant to expand Indian military logistics, allowing convoys of armed trucks and artillery to move freely while economic goods and trade remained stifled.
Dr Dzuvichu also emphasised the imposition of biometric data entry at border areas being manned by the Assam Rifles and stated that such a policy is yet another insidious mechanism of surveillance, control, and long-term demographic engineering.
“Under the guise of security, this system does not protect the Naga people, rather it marks us, tracks us, and reduces us to data points in a colonial ledger,” she said while expressing concern about the biometric data collection at their borders and fencing that seeks to turn the Naga homeland into an open-air prison.
Meanwhile, she further made a clarion call to the Naga conscience to act and said that if we do not resist now, the next generation will inherit nothing but a history of subjugation.
“Nagas do not ask for permission to exist. We exist because we are a people, a nation, a history that predates the Indian state itself,” she stated.
“We must stand together and reject division within the Naga family. The fight is not about border passes or administrative rules. This is a fight for our survival, our dignity, and our rightful place in history,” she added.
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