NSCN-IM's women wing denounces Naga women participating in Raksha Bandhan

Newmai News Network
DIMAPUR, Aug 31: National Socialist Women’s Organization of Nagalim (NSWON), which is the women wing of the NSCN-IM, said on Tuesday that it was in for a "rude shock" when some Naga women tied rakhis on the wrists of Assam Rifles personnel at Dimapur and Tamenglong during the Raksha Bandhan.
In a press statement, the women wing of the NSCN-IM said that this does not reflect the ethos of the Naga political struggle “when Naga women were raped, molested, tortured and killed in the most inhuman manner by the Indian security forces in the name of suppressing the rights of the Naga people”.  NSWON said that it is difficult to believe that those Naga women would “do such a thing so disgusting on Raksha Bandhan which is alien to Naga culture”.
According to NSWON, Raksha Bandhan is a ceremony honouring the bond between sisters and brothers when sisters tie a thread on the wrist of their brothers and the brothers in turn presents gifts and promise protection to their sisters. It further explained that the word Raksha Bandhan denotes “tie of protection”. The NSCN-IM’s women wing further said that there is a striking contrast as “we look back into the Indo-Naga history where there is not a single instance when the occupational Indian security forces have given protection to the Naga women”.
The statement also said that it is only a story of crime against “our women, the most despicable human rights violations ever heard around the world”. NSWON added that no sensible Naga women would go against their conscience to tie Rakhis on the “invading forces”. It added that this is a “mockery of our fight to honour the Naga martyrs” that included many women and young girls.
NSWON then said that it would have been more befitting had the same group of Naga women paid a token visit to the widows and orphans of the “martyrs who made the extreme sacrifice”  for the Naga nation.
“To the Nagas, the invaders are no better than the infidels. Their sadistic delight violating the human rights of the Naga people will remain indelible in the Naga history. When the blood of the Naga martyrs are still crying it is appalling to come across some Naga women tying rakhis on the wrists of the invaders when there is no bond of sister-brother relationship whatsoever,” NSWON said. It then asked, “How do they expect the infidels to protect them?”
NSWON with the “firm intention of fidelity to what Nagas stands for condemns the Naga women who tied the rakhis on the Assam Rifles personnel”, the statement said. It then said that this is an insult to the “Naga martyrs” and it has brought shame to all the Nagas.