After abrogating Article 370, will it be 371 (A)?
Well, although there was no mention of Nagaland in the speech of union home minister Amit Shah in Rajya Sabha on Monday, the BJP-led NDA government’s decision to abrogate the Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir has led to apprehension among the people in Nagaland, which is enjoying some special status under Article 371 (A).
The Centre’s move on Monday not only shocked many people in the Northeast but also brought to the fore a long-standing apprehension about the proposed abrogation of the Article 371 (A) that have been protecting the land and its people.
While the NSCN (IM), which is negotiating peace talks with the government of India, refrained from making any comment, several other organizations and individuals expressed their apprehension about the future of Article 371 (A).
“On behalf of the NSCN (IM) we are only concerned with the talks process at present,” NSCN (IM) spokesman Karaiba Chawang told The Northeast Today on Monday.
“The Article 371 (A) is a sensitive issue but it has nothing to do with the talks, so I am not making any comment at this moment,” he added.
The NSCN (IM) has been brokering peace with the government of India since 1997 and it did not sound happy on the recent appointment of former bureaucrat RN Ravi as Nagaland governor.
The organisation said Ravi was ‘capricious and bossy’ in the last round of formal talks.
“We are concerned after the Centre has abrogated the Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir,” Naga Hoho president Chuba Ozukum said on Monday.
“We feel it as undemocratic. IT is a fact that there has been apprehension among the Nagas about this,” Ozukum further said.
“However, the political negotiation going on and if the same is done here it is going to be detrimental,” Ozukum added.
“There is an apprehension that the Centre might try to abrogate Article 371 (A) from Nagaland as well,” said Nagaland based journalist and activist Bano Haralu.
“However, I wish the good sense prevails and the central government does not try to fiddle with anything related to Nagaland without solving the Naga problem,” she added.
She disagreed that Article 371 (A) is hampering development in Nagaland as claimed by some faction of people off late.
“Even with Article 371(A) there are so many anomalies or gaps in resource management in Nagaland,” she further added.
“It will be worse without the Article 371 (A). People will lose their right over resources and without 371 (A) it will open floodgates for the rich to access the resources much quicker,” she said while terming the development in Jammu & Kashmir as a shocker.
“Even while abrogating Article 370, the Central government looking at the land and not at the people of Kashmir and their sentiments,” she said.