Contribution of late Khathing towards Naga movement
Tuesday, May 12, 2009 (06:51:30)

Posted by RusTy

I would like to highlight a few contributions that Khathing made during his lifetime to the Naga movement.
He resigned from his govt. service to serve the people as a social worker, first as the Phalee village secretary. He contested the Manipur state Assembly elections as one of the leading proponents of ‘Naga Integration’.

He became the first chairman of the Autonomous District council, but relinquished the post for the Naga national cause. During the Prime Ministership of Indira Gandhi, he went twice to the NSCN General Hqrs, Kachin in erst. Burma, risking his own life, and met with the NSCN Chairman, Isaac Swu, Vice chairman, S. Khaplang and Gen. secy. Th. Muivah to mediate a peace settlement between the NSCN and the Govt. of India. Though he was elected again, he was booked under the NSA and put behind bars for more than a year, and apprehended several times for his proximity with the NSCN.
He stood for MLA election while being imprisoned in the Varanasi central jail. Many Indian politicians tried to win over Khathing by offering some appointments or inducements. But he preferred living as a poor, upright nationalist than leading a luxurious life of a renegade. Thus, his family (seven children and now deceased wife) had to live from hand to mouth and discontinued their studies, while he had to live like a fugitive, as the enemies were always on a look-out for him; he was picked up, detained and tortured many a times, and was also among the hit-list of anti-NSCN groups. His eldest son who was doing graduation at Patkai Christian College joined the Naga freedom struggle in 1984. He as well as his 4-5 first cousins sacrificed their lives for the cause.

Many of his close relatives are still in the forefront of the movement. Khathing was also denied ticket by many political parties to contest a seat in the Assembly for his linkage with the NSCN. He later contested the Tangkhul Naga Long presidential election and campaigned for peace-talk between the NSCN and the GOI, but was defeated by an anti-NSCN candidate. Khathing was called to Shillong by the NSCN leaders on several occasions, before and after the cease-fire agreement. He was sent to Delhi twice to lobby Indian policy-makers for an honourable, lasting solution to the vexed Naga issue.

He disagreed with some NSCN leaders regarding the political strategy of participating in Indian electoral politics by sponsoring candidates to raise the Naga Integration issue in Parliament and state assembly. He opined that the GOI would easily see through, and thus NSCN’s bargaining power would be drastically diminished, if not lost. But till his last breath, he stood for the Naga national cause, the long cherished Naga Dream; its fulfillment had been his only mission in life.
He would often say, ‘It is not an illusion, but a reality; not just a desirable thing but a complete necessity”. You can call him any namso, the worrying thing about this political murder is: if a person like Khathing who had sacrificed his career, his children and his everything, did not deserve even a room for discussion, a charge or a warning or a trial before execution, we all can well imagine what is in store for other Naga civilians. If 4-5 decades of dedicated service and commitment could not earn him even a single chance for forgiveness (even if he had committed a crime), we can understand how grateful and forgiving our People’s Republic can be. It speaks volumes about the people’s government, its machineries, the future of the movement and the fate of those propounding the cause. Like a mirage or rainbow, we may never find it. May the dream not die with him! May his spirit be with us all through the journey!

P. Shimreisa, political associate of Lt. Khathing, Viewland, Ukhrul.