– Prof. Rosemary Dzovicho, Co-Convenor, GNF
“Today, we gather at a moment that will define our survival as a people. We are standing at the crossroads of history, and the choice before us is stark- either we rise in resolute defiance to reclaim our dignity, or we are swallowed whole by the deceitful machinations of a foreign state that has long sought to erase our identity, to break our spirit, and to keep us enslaved within the iron grip of occupation.
The Scrapping of the Free Movement Regime (FMR) is a Calculated Move to Suffocate the Naga People
For generations, the Free Movement Regime (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 colonizers divided us. 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, to cut us off from our own kin, and to 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.
The Real Agenda of the Govt. of India is Justifying Military Occupation Under the Guise of Development and National Security
We must ask ourselves: Why now? Why is the Government of India suddenly so desperate to shut down even the limited movement of Nagas across the Indo-Myanmar border? The truth is simple and chilling this is not about us, but about the crumbling Indian state that sees the Northeast, particularly Naga lands, as little more than a strategic military outpost.,
India’s economy is in freefall. The manufacturing sector, once touted as the backbone of *Make in India,’ has collapsed. Data from the Government of India itself reveals that industrial growth is stagnating, unemployment is at an all-time high, and small farmers are being crushed under an agrarian crisis of catastrophic proportions. 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 remain stifled. Look around— who truly benefits from These roads, bridges, and infrastructure? Is it our Naga farmers? Is it our traders? Or is it only the military that grows stronger while our people remain subjugated?
India is in no position to trade with Southeast Asia. Thailand and Singapore do not need India’s pesticide-laden agricultural produce or its toxic chemicals. Bangladesh, once behind, has now surged ahead with a booming manufacturing sector. The world does not need Indian goods, yet India needs Naga land as a strategic foothold to maintain its fragile illusion of territorial integrity. This is not development. This is occupation.
Let us look at the Biblical and Historical Parallels: This is a classic example of the Politics of Enclosure and the Dispossession of a People
History offers us lessons, if only we are willing to see them. The Biblical Israelites, enslaved and dispossessed, faced the same tyranny when Pharaoh tightened his grip on them —not out of strength, but out of fear. The scrapping of the FMR is India’s Pharaoh moment. Just as ancient empires enclosed lands, restricted movement, and used deceitful treaties to subjugate indigenous peoples across history, so too does the Indian state seek to enclose and isolate the Naga nation.
Our lands have always been our strength. From the colonial era to the present, imperial forces have understood that controlling indigenous land is the key to controlling indigenous people. The British fenced off Naga lands, the Indian state militarized them, and now, with the scrapping of the FMR, India has taken the final step towards turning our homeland into a vast, open-air prison.
From Barriers to Biometrics: This is A New Era of Surveillance and Control
And now, as if physical barriers weren’t enough, we are being subjected to digital chains-biometric data collection at our borders and fencing that seeks to turn our homeland into an open-air prison.
The imposition of biometric data entry at our border areas by the Assam Rifles 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 it marks us. tracks us. and reduces us to data points in a colonial ledger. Who controls this data? How will it be used against us in the future? This is not about security; it is about subjugation. Coupled with the aggressive push for border fencing, it becomes clear that the Government of India seeks not only to divide us physically but to erase the very idea of a borderless Naga homeland. Fences do not bring security-they bring deeper occupation. We must reject these measures with absolute clarity, for they are the tools of an occupying force seeking to normalize its rule over our ancestral lands.
This is a Clarion Call to the Naga Conscience: If We Do Not Resist Now, We Will Perish as a People
I speak to you not as an academie, nor as a representative of an organization, but as a Naga woman who knows that the future of our children is at stake. If we do not resist now, the next generation will inherit nothing but a history of subjugation.
We must ask ourselves: How long will we allow ourselves to be divided? How long will we remain silent while our land is stolen, our rivers dammed, our mountains militarized, and our people reduced to refugees in their own homeland? If the Indian state wants to shut us down, we must respond by rising up. The time for begging Delhi for recognition is over. The time for pleading has passed. If India does not recognize the humanity of the Nagas, then it is time we remind them of our strength.
For the Indian State: You Cannot Enslave a Nation that Refuses to Kneel
I say this to the rulers of India: You may have scrapped the FMR, but you will never scrap the Naga people’s spirit. Your military cannot crush our will. Your economic blockade cannot silence our voice. Your laws, your borders, your dictates-none of them hold power over a people who refuse to be broken.
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. If New Delhi believes that shutting down our movement will make us forget who we are, then they have underestimated the fire that burns in the heart of every Naga.
Our Path Forward is plain and simple: Unity, Defiance, and the Unyielding Pursuit of Our Inalienable Rights
We must stand together. We must reject division. Whether we are from the north, the south, the east, or the west of our homeland, we are one people. Our resistance must be collective, our voice must be one. Let us be clear-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.
We will not bow. We will not be silenced. And we will never be erased.
May the spirit of our ancestors guide us. May the strength of our forebears be upon us. And may the Naga nation rise, unwavering, unshaken, and unstoppable.
