Our Correspondent

Kohima, Feb. 25 (EMN): The government of India’s interlocutor for Indo-Naga talks RN Ravi and the working committee of Naga National Political Groups (NNPG) will hold another round of talks in the first week of March in New Delhi—mostly to discuss the “question of the upper house”.

A delegation of the working committee led by its convenor N Kitovi Zhimomi had met with Ravi in New Delhi on Monday ‘to have a better understanding on the issues agreed upon’ by both the parties.

Speaking to Eastern Mirror, a highly reliable source from the NNPG said that the next discussion will “mostly dwell upon the question of the upper house to the Nagaland Federal Hoho”.

The government of India “wants to know the nitty-gritty of how the members are going to be chosen/selected/nominated and by what body and in what manner”, the source said.

However, the date for the next meeting has not been fixed yet, “since we needed some time to discuss with our elders back home”, the NNPG source added.

“There is no system such as ours because we are fully empowered through cultural customary procedures of Nagas, especially the Nagas of Nagaland. Therefore, it is important that we share in detail, discuss, brief our people and get their inputs,” added the source.

He maintained that “these are very important issues, and these will have a very big influence in our future on how we go about in our system, or rather in the new arrangement”.

The working committee is hopeful that in the “next few days”, it will be able to get ‘some knowledge on whatever we intend to do’, the source said, adding that they will seek consultations from all quarters.

Accordingly, the working committee is “constantly in touch with the civil societies in Nagaland, the 14 tribes and the minority communities as well as other civil societies”, he added.

Considering the many tribes in the state of Nagaland with different customs and traditions, “there has to be a sort of body (non-political) that will monitor/control/decide or prepare ground as to how the members of the Nagaland Federal Hoho (house of elders) is going to go about,” the source said.

As far as the government of India is concerned, he said, it wants “clarity” on that particular point.

As of the ‘rest of the issues’, they are ‘more or less settled and agreed upon in principle’, the source said.

On the issue of pan-Naga Hoho, the source said that it (pan-Naga Hoho) has “not been receptive to the Naga tribes of Nagaland” in particular.

“Their interpretation of the pan-Naga Hoho is not in tune with what the people of Nagaland want. It is not us but the 14 tribes and minority communities who have outrightly (sic) rejected it. I think the government of India knows that.”

Asked whether the NNPG will be signing the final agreement without the NSCN (IM), the source said that “we all feel that NSCN (IM) should be a part of the settlement whatever settlement comes about”.

“It is the prerogative of the government of India; and also the Naga people want all national groups to come together and sign the final agreement.

On the other hand, the working committee is clear that Naga people desire an acceptable and honourable political settlement. And we have prepared our documents accordingly. So, we are going ahead with or without NSCN (IM),” according to the source.