Nagaland — People in north-east India’s Manipur state waved “Naga National Flag” and sang “Naga National Anthem” instead of Indian flag and Indian anthem on Wednesday as a part of 73rd Naga Independence day, the event was attended by hundreds of Naga tribes across the region.
According to Indian Express, a grand public event was held in Senapati district of Manipur at Katomei public ground under the auspices of United Naga Council (UNC), the apex body of the Nagas under the theme “One Goal, One Destiny”.
The event at a large scale took place in the wake of the prevailing disturbance in Kashmir after Article 370 has been scrapped by the Indian Government.
Special guest of the event was Neingulo Krome, secretary-general of Naga people’s Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR), who hosted the Naga National Flag and sang Naga National Anthem, later leaders of Naga civil bodies made speeches referring to the possible identity crisis.
Leaders of all 20 Naga tribes of Manipur, all Naga Frontal Organisations, Naga women groups, Naga student bodies attended the celebrations.
Neingulo Krome has attributed the large public participation due to the prevailing situation in Kashmir, which according to him has triggered a sense of wariness of the government’s policy, Indian Express reported.
“The celebration this time is historic. There has never been a public event of such a large scale in the past except in small pockets. People coming out in large numbers in support of the Naga movement and to celebrate the historic day is a clear message that people are fed up of the unpredictable policies of the government”, Krome said.
The history goes back to August 14 1947 when some Naga rebel groups declared their national Independence day and since then all the Naga diaspora across the region including Myanmar have been celebrating it as their Independence day.
