Pakhiu, 67, of Choklangan village, remembers the day in 1983 when he was inducted into the Naga National Council (NNC), where he served as a national Naga worker for 22 years.
Pakhiu narrates the painful struggles during the days when they were hiding in the jungle for freedom and how they were betrayed by someone. With the Indian army in close proximity and searching for them, it became difficult for Pakhiu and his comrades to stay in their house and they had to flee into the jungle.
“Many of my friends died on the way. There were days when we were hungry for many days and nights and had nothing to eat. Women brought us food in secret, that was the only time we had something to eat,” says Pakhiu.
Because of the insecurity, there were no set times when the women could bring them food. Sometimes they had to go without food for days.
“The goal was not to survive the hunger, which we could bear, but above all not to die at the hands of the Indian army. We were not only fighting against the Indian army, but also against hunger, disease and the cold season. We could not even make fire because otherwise we would have been captured,” notes Pakhiu.
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He recalls that women also played a very important role in the Naga freedom movement.
“Women were the least suspected, so they cleverly packed food when they went to the fields and made sure to smuggle it to the men who were fighting for the cause of freedom and taking shelter in the jungle,” says the veteran. In one unfortunate incident, Pakhiu recalls, a pregnant woman was once captured by the Indian army while trying to take food to the men. She was taken to Tuensang jail and there she gave birth, he says.
AZ Phizo, the then president of the NNC, came to their land during the Naga movement. Since Phizo’s life was constantly in danger, he was once hidden in a cave somewhere between Kingjung and Tsoiphu village. “The struggle for Naga freedom was very important and for every Naga because the Nagas have no history, culture, ethnicity or ancestral land in common with the Indians in any way,” he expresses
For health reasons, Pakhiu resigned from the NNC in 2005 after being appointed mayor of his village.
“It is sad to see so many factions that will only lead to the loss of the true vision,” says Pakhiu. However, the 67-year-old veteran firmly believes that the pain they have gone through and the sacrifices made by every people’s worker for the Naga freedom movement will not have been in vain.
