The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) have served a 24-hour ultimatum to the Chief Minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio, this evening, to trace and arrest the culprits who destroyed the NSF office- Naga club building in the early hours of Saturday.
“…the Federation is constrained to demand to your esteemed office and the popular government of the day to identify and arrest the anti-Naga individuals within a period of 24 hours w.e.f 6:00pm of 27 May 2023,” the federation stated in the ultimatum and further said that if it fails to do so the federation shall be compelled to take up actions it deems befitting.
Minister and BJP President Temjen Imna Along, who arrived at the scene to take stock of the situation strongly condemning the act said that people who destroyed NSF office are not fit to be called as citizens of Nagaland.
“The Naga Students Federation carries the aspirations of the Naga people in every sphere whether its political, economic or its our traditions, our culture, our heritage and the future of our Nagas and we do not think that such kind of people should be living in and around us who are the people doing such kind of things,” said Along.
Minister Temjen Imna Along with NSF officials outside Naga Club building on 27 May 2023
Along maintained that booking the culprits under law will not be enough and suggested that names of the culprits should be erected for Naga generations to know, with their faces so that every naga will know that this are the “holigoons” who have destroyed the symbol of Naga aspirations.
“It is completely to be condemned by every right thinking Naga citizen from wherever or whichever tribe it may be. I am shocked to even hear and know that such kind of things can happen in our capital, amongst our people today,” added Along.
Commenting on the ultimatum served by NSF, Minister Along was of the view that, 24 hours is a long a period.
“The people know very well who have done it, they should be taken out of their homes and they should be put in jail. Such kind of things should never happen so I believe the police is already in the for front of investigating it and in the right time those people should be brought to jail. My people know very well who they are so they should be brought and be punished and met to pay to build a first class building that can never be destroyed ever again by them,” said the Minister.
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Along with four office rooms of the building, at least ten adjoining shops were also completely destroyed.
No arrest has been made till the filing of the report. The investigating team are screening the CCTV footages, informed a police official. A five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Additional Superintendent of Police has been constituted to investigate the matter.
Minister Temjen Imna Along with NSF officials outside Naga Club building on 27 May 2023
The Naga Club building housed the office of the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF), an apex body of the Naga students and youth and also some shops and printing press as well as the office of Kohima Press Club and All Nagaland College Students’ Union.
Mention may be made that the Naga Club Building, which is said to have been constructed in the 1930s, has been occupied by the NSF since 1983 with the consent of the then Naga Club officials. The Naga Club, founded in 1918 by a group of educated Nagas during the then British rule, went on to provide the socio-political foundation for the Naga nationalist movement. In 1929, the Naga Club submitted a memorandum to the Simon Commission asking that Nagas be given a choice of self-determination after the British departure from India.
The building was taken over by the government after the Club went dormant for some time. But members who revived the club could not reoccupy the building, therefore, they said to have approached the NSF to take over the matter and the latter in 1983 occupied the building.
Issues surrounding the building cropped up around 2018 when the NSF was preparing to hold 100 years commemorative programme of the Naga Club when a group of people including some descendants of the club members revived the Naga Club. In August 2022, the recently revived Naga Club issued an eviction notice to the NSF, however, the federation was of the view that the revived body should gain the mandate of the Naga people before claiming ownership of the building.
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