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Curious questions arise: What casus belli Nagas committed that India had to launch such a massive armed invasion on Nagaland ? If not, at what instant, did Nagas provoke the Indian leadership over the issue? What ommission of the Nagas made them to be so irresponsible towards handling of the problem? Nagas are outspoken and they do not on any account keep themselves equivocal, especially, when it comes to the question of their political aspirations. They would certainly leave nothing unsaid. They had voiced what they had to in the right time. Moreover, they have a fine reason to be proud of themselves for it is always there principle to make sure that presentation of issue though assertive is done in the most humble and understandable way. The unfortunate side of the problem as we definitely know, was that the post-Gandhiji leadership were not disposed to get into the substance of the matter. To them, meeting with the Naga delegation was a discomfiture and much worse listening to the sincere making out of their case. At best they intended just to play fast and loose with the sincerity of the Nagas, absolutely not comprehending the fact that Nagas and their history were not the kind of stuff to be trifled with that way. Such weakness should not have stood in the way. Painfully, thus, that was what it was all coming to. The Naga national delegation clearly informed the British Cabinet Mission in New Delhi on April 9, 1946 as stated above that the Naga future would not be bound by any arbitrary decision of the British Government and that no recommendation would be accepted without consultation. They tried the best they could to work out a mutual understanding, making at the same time their position clear: "A constitution drawn up by the people who have no knowledge of the Naga Hills and the Naga people will be quite unsuitable and unacceptable to the Naga people". At last, as no other constitutional arrangement was acceptable to the Nagas, a "9-Point Agreement" for a period of tenyears was negotiated in June 27-30, 1947, according to which Nagas were to decide their own future after the end of the term. But, to the utter surprise of the Nagas, Indians deliberately went back upon their commitment and unilaterally abrogated the agreement in a few weeks without the slightest inhibition, and bluntly told the Nagas that there was no agreement as such. It was an intentional affront and obviously it hurt their sentiments beyond expression. Yet the image of Mahatma Gandhi with his non-violence was immense and it held them back. They unambivalently still believed that it would help. Further the acknowledgement of the Nagas' rights to be independent by Rajagopalachari, the Governor General of India, and the noble statements made by Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India "We want no people in the territory of India AGAINST THEIR WILL AND WITH THE HELP OF ARMED FORCES ...we want no forced marriages or forced unions. This great Republic of India is free, friendly and affectionate union of the states of India (cheers)", boosted their faith in peaceful negotiations of the dispute, despite Indian betrayal of the agreement and the massive harassment in the wake of it. But India led by Nehru himself ignored them totally. Unrelaxed peaceful approach, however, continued from the Nagas until massive military operation started one after the other with indiscriminate killings and incarciration of hundreds of villages, destruction of crops, raping of countless women etc. in 1954. For the sake of non-violence and its divine principle we humbly bore the utmost humiliation, indignities and vindictive inhuman provocation all along the years since 1947 -1954 that the great men of India might understand the deeper truth that lay beyond their feelings and that violence might be safely averted in time. What areas of peaceful means Nagas did not explore to thrash out the matter across the table! But endurance miserably failed to soften the Indian rulers whose hearts had already been hardened with a callous arrogance. They only talked, "Nagas would be crushed within a day" and took pride in it. Even in 1978, Morarji Desai, the then Prime Minister of India declared 'I will exterminate the Nagas without any compunction'. India deleberately closed down all the avenue for peaceful settlement forcing the Nagas to bow down or to defend themselves by whatever means. If the world says 'even a worm will turn', what is wrong in Nagas fighting back in self-defence? India demanded only "unconditional and total surrender", that is total submission. But it simply don't work even hitherto. It will still be harder to work in the days to come, for servility is not found in the Nagas' concept of life. However, on the initiative of the Baptist Church Council a peace mission was formed in 1964 consisting of Rev. Micheal Scott, a devoted peace maker, Jaya Prakash Narayan, the Chief Soravodya leader and B.P. Chaliha, the celebrated Chief Minister, Assam, and a Cease-fire agreement was signed on the 6th Sept. of the same year for political negotiations. The talks dragged on several years reaching Prime Ministerial level. India unilaterally abrogated the talks in 1972 and genocidal activities resumed. The peace mission declared that the Indo-Naga issue was "political"; therefore, it needed political solution. But India and Burma relentlessly sought military solution and that is definitely the problem that hindered. Rev. Micheal Scott was expelled by the Indians on their own.J.P. Narayan warned and his arrest was demanded by many Members of Parliament on 22nd Nov. 1965 for suggesting: "It is far more important to have friendly Nagas on our frontier closely associated with us in some new constitutional manner rather than unfriendly Nagas kept forcibly within the Indian Union." Again, in 1975 the NNC and Federal representatives came out for talks with the Indian Government having all the confidence in the latter's assurance of peaceful negotiations. They were asked to lay down their arms. In good faith they did so. But, at once, the terms of total capitulation were brought in to be signed on with a threat of unimaginable dire consequences in case of refusal. The helpless representatives knuckled under. This is the fashion of humiliation Nagas were made to experience through from the very inception of their dealing with the non-violence-professed India. But things are not that cheap with the Nagas. They know where they are and where they will be. This objective reality of the Indian state made the National Socialist Council to be realistic in their approach to the problem. To them, to lay down gun before the monster expecting that he would do the fairness is the folly of follies ever to be committed. This is precisely the reason why NSCN declared that they would never lay down from their hands their arms, their freedom and their country. We are constrained to hold fast to the gun until the other side is sincerely prepared for peaceful negotiations and a third party steps in to mediate peace and honor.

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