My close encounters with NNWs

Women cadres of the NSCN-IM seen during a function at Camp Hebron (PTI file photo)

If you’re wondering what NNW is, it stands for ‘Naga National Worker’, a term and a group of people that we’re all only too familiar with. “Do you know who I am? I’m a Naga National Worker”…..many of us have had such threats thrown to our faces, threats intended to make us cower in fear and give in to their demands as they come accompanied by guns.

I was reading a media statement by ACAUT the other day and what they said got me thinking about my own extremely unpleasant experiences with these so-called Naga National Workers. This was what ACAUT said of the various Naga groups….”While the leaders of the factions give mind stirring speeches on the Naga political issue, the hangers-on doubling up as cadres do their dirty work of extortion, maiming and killing.”

Well, I have had a couple of very close encounters with some of these cadres myself which has left a very bitter aftertaste and forever smudged my view of our modern day ‘national workers’……..
apologies to those sincerely committed to the Naga cause. I know there are a few good men and women out there, but sadly they are in a very low minority. The majority are just disgusting little nobodies strutting around calling themselves NNWs and threatening and extorting innocent people. Forgive my bluntness, but I’m afraid that’s the ugly truth.

Anyway, my first encounter happened in 1998 when I was car-jacked in Kohima by two men who proudly declared that they were with the K group. They barged into my car when I stopped to fill up at the main fuel station in the capital town then (known as BOC) and forced me to drive them around under gunpoint for over four hours while they visited offices and people they were extorting money from. Threatened with dire consequences if I tried to escape, I had the gun pointed at my temple several times that day.

Of course, the first words out of their mouths when they got into my car were – “Moi khan national workers ase de” (we are national workers).

Fortunately I managed to walk away from that situation without bodily harm due to the fact that my car broke down in a crowded area. Yes, no physical harm, but only someone else who has had a similar experience will understand the mental trauma of going through something like that.

My second encounter happened in Dimapur some few years after the first. I was on my way back from a friend’s place after dinner one evening when a group of around ten to a dozen men, dressed in camouflaged uniforms and holding automatic rifles menacingly, blocked the road near old Dhansiri Bridge and stopped my car. There were a number of auto-rickshaws and a couple of other cars lined up too. At first I thought it was the Indian security forces carrying out one of their unnecessary harassment checks. But as the men approached my car, I realised they were our very own NNWs. Coming to my door, one man started asking me silly questions in intimidating tones he obviously thought appropriate for such an occasion.

Meanwhile, another man opened the door on the passenger side, picked up my handbag which was lying on the seat and started riffling inside. When at last he found what he was looking for, he straightened up, whipped out the cash I had in my purse and very expertly counted the money. Satisfied with what he found, he told me I could go and banged the door shut. Their ‘mission’ that night was clearly just to rob innocent citizens going about their normal life.

Someone later told me that he too had been through the same thing with that group of people and that they belonged to the IM. Some cadres of that faction were reportedly camped in the Naga Shopping Arcade area at that time. Well, I really don’t care what faction they belonged to. I just know that I was robbed by a group of people who call themselves our ‘national workers’.

I know that many of you have had similar encounters with these hoodlums. And that’s exactly what most of them are – hoodlums, thugs and petty thieves. They join one of the many factions just so they can extort from the hardworking masses and live off that without doing a day’s honest work. And now we hear that they’ve even become contract killers. So if someone wants to get rid of a rival or a troublesome family member, they can now just call up these faction members, negotiate the fees and get the job done?

And they dare call themselves Naga National Workers? They are an insult to the genuine Naga nationalists who suffered and made the ultimate sacrifice for our cause; the men and women who were inhumanly tortured, raped and killed and the countless children left orphaned and homeless, their parents slaughtered in front of their eyes.

They are not Naga National Workers. They are the ones who have sullied the Naga name and brought dishonour to our cause. Today, when people talk about the Naga political struggle, the main focus is always on the criminal activities of the factions.  That is their contribution to the Naga cause.

I agree with ACAUT that the leaders of the various factions are good at giving rousing speeches and making profound statements on the political issue. And if you have noticed, many of them have also taken to praising the Lord and invoking God’s name every time they open their mouths.

NSCN-K cadres in prayer (Sourced from the net)

I’m sorry but it just doesn’t cut it with me. Despite their show of piety, I’ve never heard the leaders come out against the activities of their cadres or take any concrete steps to discipline them and clean up their organisations. On the contrary, they go to all lengths to defend and sweep matters under the carpet and even justify murders. Hallelujahs on the one hand and condoning crimes of the worst kind on the other………how does that work out for a true Christian?

Before anyone jumps to the conclusion that I’m pointing fingers at any one particular group, let me be clear that I’m talking about all the many NSCN/NNC factions and any other that might be floating around. These days it’s difficult to keep track with a new one popping up every now and then. Setting up a faction is obviously lucrative business.

My heart beats, and will always beat, for my beloved homeland and my people, but I’ve had enough of the criminals who have for years been tormenting and inflicting untold sufferings on the people under the guise of our just cause. So sue me, but I’ll say it as I see it - they are a disgrace to the Naga name.