SPEECH OF SH. T.R ZELIANG, DY. CHIEF MINISTER (P&T,NH) AT ZELIANGRONG MEET 2023 ORGANISED BY ZSUD & ZWAD ON OCTOBER 21, 2023 AT NEW DELHI.
1. I am happy to be in your midst and I extend warmest greetings to all of you present here this afternoon. At the outset, I take this privilege to congratulate the Organising Committee for organizing this Zeliangrong Meet under the theme ‘Zeliangrong Solidarity: Strengthening Unity, Culture and Progress.’
2. First and foremost, I must say that the idea of organizing such a Meet as this, speak volumes of the honest effort in uniting our people through people-to-people interaction. I am grateful to Almighty God for bringing us together to this place this afternoon and I hope that everyone attending this program will be blessed and enriched in many ways. I also hope that by organising this Meet in the National Capital, our rich culture and tradition will be promoted in a bigger and better way.
3. As we are aware, today, the Zeliangrong people are spread all over the Country and the desire to converge on a common platform to share ideas and information is being urgently felt. Even within Delhi/National Capital Region (NCR) itself, it is difficult to recognize/identify many of our own Zeliangrong brothers and sisters and as such, this Zeliangrong Meet is a significant step forward in getting to know each other as members of one family. More of such initiatives must be taken up and I believe that today’s gathering will sow seeds that will bear positive results in the days to come. It is my prayer that Zeliangrong Meet 2023 will serve its purpose in the best way possible.
4. The Zeliangrong people in general were sharply divided by the Britishers through artificial boundaries for which our legendary figures like Haipou Jadonang and Rani Gaidinliu had sacrificed their lives for Zeliangrong integration and freedom movement. The three brethren Zeme, Liangmai and Rongmei came from one family but were separated against their wishes. Our history and folk songs tell us that the three brothers lived a peaceful life with the spirit of brotherhood and coexistence and no one came in between till the Britishers discovered us and intruded our land. By the time they left, we were divided into 3 subsequent States with arbitrary demarcation of boundaries.
Today, some of us are placed under N.C Hills (present day Dima Hasao) of Assam, some under Tamenlong and Senapati Districts of Manipur and some under Peren, Dimapur and Kohima Districts of Nagaland. Prior to this act of separation by territorial division, all the 3 brethren were under one roof. In order to substantiate this point, there was undeniable fact that the first Naga Capital was established at Asalu which is now under present N.C Hills of Assam.
LEGACY OF HAIPOU JADONANG & RANI GAIDINLIU
5. Dear brothers and sisters, we understand that Father of the Nation, Late Mahatma Gandhi was keen to meet Haipou Jadonang at one point of time which was acknowledged by Haipou Jadonang. However, such meeting could not take place unfortunately, which perhaps, was due to foreign interception.
Let us recollect the words of Haipou Jadonang who was hanged to death on August 29, 1931 at 6 am, on the bank of the Nambul river behind the Imphal jail where he left behind his last words to his people ~ “Can be killed but not defeated.” We should ponder on what he meant by these words. According to me, he meant to say that a person can be killed physically but his vision and mission will be alive and can never be defeated. Aptly, Rani Gaidinliu picked up the mission to fulfill the dream of Haipou Jadonang with the aim to bring the Zeliangrong people under one umbrella even after Indian Independence.
6. Personally, I did not get the opportunity to meet Rani Gaidinliu in person before she came over ground and settled down in Nagaland Capital City, Kohima. When I was in College, sometimes, I along with friends used to visit her in her Government allotted Bungalow in Agri Colony, Kohima particularly on full-moon day. On such days, she used to invite us to join in Zeliangrong traditional songs and cultural dances. On such occasions, she used to narrate how she had travelled her political journey with all kind of sufferings in the hands of colonial administration and their armies for which she used to live a jungle-life from her younger days. It appears that she refused to get married and had never enjoyed social lifestyle, which was not for her comfort but for Zeliangrong cause. She also said she was hunted by the British army to be killed but by the grace of God (Tingkau Ragwang) she was alive and got the opportunity to work for our people that was to bring our people together under one umbrella. She surrendered along with her military group before the Commissioner of Nagaland, Late S.C Dev at the initiative of Government of India – for which the 1st NAP in Nagaland was created. However, even after her surrender, she did not stop her mission fighting for Zeliangrong homeland. Under her Presidentship, Zeliangrong People’s Convention (ZPC) had submitted several memorandum to Government of India and vigorously pursued till she breathed her last. After a long struggle she came over ground, with her followers and along with her militant group, with great hope that Government of India along with Government of Nagaland would resolve Zeliangrong problem through peaceful means. However, this did not take place as expected.
7. Dear brothers and sisters, we are aware that the present Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Sh. Narendra Modi had inaugurated the Birth Centenary Celebrations of this legendary Zeliangrong freedom fighter at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on August 24, 2015 while also issuing a commemorative coin of 100 rupees and circulation coin of 5 rupees on Rani Gaidinliu. I along with the then Chief Minister of Manipur, Sh. Okram Ibobi Singh and then Hon’ble Governor of Nagaland, Sh. P.B Acharya participated at the program among various important dignitaries of the Country like the then Union Minister of Finance, Sh. Arun Jaitley; the then Minister of State for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Dr. Mahesh Sharma; the then Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Dr. Jitendra Singh and several others.
Referring to Rani Gaidinliu as ‘Rani-maa’, the Hon’ble Prime Minister had said that ‘it was our misfortune that people such as Rani Gaidinliu have either not been remembered adequately, or have been deliberately forgotten.’ The Hon’ble Prime Minister had also emphasized that ‘India must remember the glorious heritage of the freedom struggle, and ensure that the legacy of the struggles and achievements of our freedom fighters of Rani Gaidinliu is passed on to succeeding generations.’
8. Dear Zeliangrong brothers and sisters, let us try to comprehend why the mission of Rani Gaidinliu was not successful? According to my observation, it was not because of her shortcoming but because of non-cooperation from our people with divided Zeliangrong Organisations in the 3 States of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, for which I need not explain in detail. There was great opportunity and we could have achieved our aspiration when she, along with her Army, surrendered at Tening Village in 1964 with verbal assurance from Government of Nagaland & Government of India that her dream will be fulfilled through peaceful dialogue without arms. Unfortunately, we missed the bus because the Christian population went against Heraka (religion) at that point of time leaving aside the main issue. We should not have mixed up religion with her dream and political aspiration for the Zeliangrong people. However, bygone is bygone and now we should think on how to carry forward her mission.
In broader sense, I want to put across a question to other Nagas present here this afternoon: If Zeliangrong people reunite and live together under one umbrella in our own land and for that matter, if the Konyak people also come together from Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland; is it not fulfilling part of the Naga’s aspiration for integration? Or should we wait for all the Nagas to come together at one go under one umbrella? Or should we wait for another brave lady like Rani Gaidinliu to be born in Zeliangrong soil? My dear brother and sisters, the choice is yours because no one can force you in this democratic system.
9. Let us also ponder why leaders of the Indian Nation including leaders of Northeast region respect Haipou Jadonang and Rani Gaidinliu ~ the simple reason is that they both fought against ‘divide and rule policy’ of the Britishers. While others may ignore the legendary figures from Zeliangrong soil; we, the Zeliangrong people, should uphold such remarkable history and pay our respect to our own leaders who have been duly recognised as freedom fighters of this great Country. If national leaders from the time of the Father of the Indian Nation, Late Mahatma Gandhi; First Indian Prime Minister, Late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and till the time of the present Hon’ble Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi recognises the legendary figure of Haipao Jadonang and Rani Gaidinliu, why should we not respect our own leaders and uphold our unique history?
10. The Zeliangrong people living in three states of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland must come together as one people with one voice. This will reunite the fragmented Organisations in Nagaland and in Manipur which has brought humiliation to all of us. There is a time for everything- a time to start and a time to end. I strongly feel controversies among our Zeliangrong people should also come to a logical conclusion and this Zeliangrong Meet 2023 could be a starting point to strengthen the unity of our people. It is high time that we unite and march forward to bring all the three brethren together. I am hopeful that this Zeliangrong Meet 2023 will be an inspiration for our people to move forward in unity for progress and development of our beautiful land.
11. I also want to utilise this platform to call upon the ZSUD and ZWAD to set up a ‘Grievance Cell’ for the Zeliangrong people, particularly youngsters studying or working in Delhi. Today, Social Media plays a pivotal role in bringing together people from various sectors to share ideas, grievances, opinions etc. On this line, Social Media can be utilised to operate this ‘Grievance Cell’ up to a large extent. Members of this ‘Grievance Cell’ from ZSUD and ZWAD can collaborate with the local Police here, particularly SPUNER (Police Unit for safety & security of people from North Eastern States residing in the Capital) which has already set up a landline and WhatsApp number to quickly respond to distress appeals. The intention of setting up such a ‘Grievance Cell’ is to help our Zeliangrong brothers and sisters avail timely justice and to fight against cases of molestation, injustice, discrimination etc. I am suggesting this because one cannot deny the fact that incidents of molestation, rape and racial discrimination is rampant in this Capital City of the Country, Delhi which many a times go unattended.
12. Dear Zeliangrong brothers and sisters, in conclusion, I once again urge all the Zeliangrong people from across the Country and the World to come together and unite our hearts in every way possible in order to strengthen our Unity, strengthen our Culture and Progress as one people.
I wish each and every one of you, a blessed and memorable Zeliangrong Meet 2023. Thank you all. Zeliangrong Ringtielo!
Issued by:
Dy. Chief Minister’s Office (P&T, NH)
Government of Nagaland.