National

The Nscn's Lair

An Outlook team gets a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of the Khaplang group's activities

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The Nscn's Lair
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FOR Nagaland chief minister S.C. Jamir, these are crucial days. Elections to the assembly are due in early February but there is no sign of a permanent peace in this trouble-ridden state despite a four-month truce between the Centre and a faction of the banned underground outfit, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), headed by Issac Chisi Swu and Th. Muivah, more popularly known as the I-M group.

The other equally powerful faction led by S.S. Khaplang, and known therefore as the NSCN(K), has refused to accept New Delhi's ceasefire offer and has instead put forward some of its own conditions. Jamir himself faces a CBI probe into his alleged financial support to this faction. Although both Jamir and an NSCN(K)spokesman deny it, intelligence sources say they have definite proof of the nexus.

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A public interest litigation filed in the Supreme Court had alleged that Jamir had siphoned off public funds in connivance with some businessmen and passed the funds to underground elements; this prompted the CBI probe.

Although the I-M group has held two rounds of talks with top level bureaucrats in Geneva, the negotiations have got nowhere. Both Muivah and Swu have apparently demanded that the talks be upgraded to the prime minister's level, which prime minister Gujral has refused to accept.

The Khaplang faction, on the other hand, does not want to hold any talks with the government of India unless the two groups unite. As N. Kitovi Zhimoni, education 'Kilonser' (minister) in the 'Government of People's Republic of Nagaland' (GPRN), told

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Outlook in one of the group's hideouts recently: "Unity among the Nagas is our first priority" ( see interview ). "Till then, the ceasefire with the Indian government holds no meaning," he adds.

Every political leader worth his salt in Nagaland admits that unity among various factions is a prerequisite for any final solution. While Jamir says the "scope of the dialogue should be broadened," his principal political rival and former chief minister Vamuzo feels a common approach is necessary. He told

Outlook : "All factions should accept the need for a solution and all of them should come together to respond to the positive gesture shown by the Centre."

The ceasefire, first announced in August for three months and later extended for another three months earlier this month, has, in the meantime, made a mockery of law and order in the state. Army troops are confined to the barracks and with the police remaining a mute spectator, the militants have had a field day in the countryside as well as major towns. At least 150 people have died in factional fights. A parallel government is being run by militants throughout the state. And as NSCN(K) functionaries gladly admit, this has given them a chance to rest and recuperate. Also, to consolidate their positions.

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The diktat of NSCN(K) members runs unopposed in several areas of the state.The well-armed guerrillas roam freely in towns and villages, check vehicles and collect taxes. "We have a proper government machinery in place," an NSCN(K) functionary said.

Take a peep at how the underground government works. In Nagaland, there is no income tax. But the people pay a "house tax," an "army ration tax" and a "service commission," depending on what they do. The population is divided into three broad categories. The first group has to pay what is called the house tax, the second has to make contributions to the Army ration tax and the third, comprising all Nagaland state government servants, have to deposit a "service commission".

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 "We have a proper, institutionalised system of tax collection," says Zhimoni. The rates vary ( see chart ) but no one is spared, except administrators. "We collect money from all non-administrative departments like PWD, PHE, veterinary etc, but the DCs and SPs are not touched," he adds. "Tax notices are sent in advance and a proper challan (receipt) is issued after the money is collected," says Mulatonu, secretary of the GPRN's ministry of information and publicity ( see photocopies ). In this underground system, the NSCN is the party and the GPRN the government. At the moment everybody who is a somebody in the NSCN holds twin posts. S.S. Khaplang is the chairman of the NSCN(K)and president of the GPRN. Dolly Mangro is the general secretary of the NSCN and 'prime minister'. A 'Kilonser' in the NSCN is equivalent to a 'cabinet minister' in the GPRN and so on. Each member of the Ho Ho (Parliament) is a 'tatar' (MP). Regional authorities are the main fund collectors. Regional chairmen are the topmost administrators of the regions, which roughly correspond to the present districts of Nagaland. So, the regional chairman of,say, Tuensang district acts like the chief minister of the area. He is assisted by the regional vice-chairman who holds the parallel rank of deputy chief minister while the regional secretary has the power and authority equivalent to that of a chief secretary when he acts as the functionary of GPRN. The 'army' is subordinate to the GPRN and is headed by a commander-in-chief who holds the rank of a general. The main fighting force comprises roughly nine battalions, each consisting about 500 fully-armed and trained cadres. Each of these battalions is commanded by a colonel. They are deployed according to the requirement, one of the battalion commanders said during the journey through the Naga heartland with the Outlook team. But according to a standard pattern, each district is given a battalion. To soothe ruffled feathers, the Centre had initiated the famous Shillong accord in 1975 and signed a truce pact with the followers of the legendary rebel guru A.Z.Phizo. The truce offer was not accepted by the more radical group led by Swu, Khaplang and Muivah. The trio went on to form the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) in 1980. Eight years later, Khaplang broke away from Swu and Muivah to form the NSCN(K). Since then, the two groups have been at loggerheads and factional/tribal clashes, are on the rise. The inner-wranglings notwithstanding, Naga militancy has carried on for the past 40 years. The GPRN, like any democratically-elected government, depends on the people for its survival. And the people haven't divulged a single bit of information to Indian soldiers or the administration—against the militants. Therein lies the success of the underground government in Nagaland.

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