Meeting Mr. Muivah

A condolence meet is the unlikeliest occasion on which to get an interview. Yet, it happened with me.

Thuingaleng Muivah (now 84), the general secretary of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah), or NSCN-IM, was in Nagaland House on June 29, 2016. He was there to pay his last respects to his companion and important leader of the organisation, Isak Chisi Swu, who had passed away at a Delhi hospital a day earlier at the age of 86 after a prolonged illness. Nagaland House, at A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Road in central Delhi, was teeming with people who had gathered to catch a glimpse of Swu.

For the uninitiated, bagging an interview, leave alone a conversation with Mr. Muivah is an uphill task as he lives under police protection in a government bungalow on Lodhi Road. His movements are monitored. The security layer around him was further enhanced after the NSCN-IM signed a framework agreement with the Government of India on August 3, 2015 to find a solution to the complex Naga issue.

There are occasions when Mr. Muivah speaks to the media and issues statements, but they became extremely rare after the group signed the agreement.

As I stood there, waiting for the casket to arrive, there was a flurry of activity. There were a number of sport utility vehicles being driven in and I saw an elderly person getting down from one with the help of security personnel. As he walked in, I realised it was Mr. Muivah. I followed him to a VIP room, a big hall, being readied for him. I quickly took out my phone and switched on the recorder. I sat at his feet and fired my questions. Hard of hearing, Mr. Muivah adjusted his ear plugs and answered the questions patiently. He said the outfit had not given up the demand of sovereignty. He also said that separate flags and passport for the Nagas were not just a “demand” as “Nagas were never under the Indian rule.” Though it was a brief interview, there were attempts to interrupt the conversation. I persisted. I did not get up till I got my answers.

After the interview was published, a senior government official sought to know when and where I had spoken to Mr. Muivah, and who arranged the interview. Needless to say, like any journalist, my standard response was: we don’t disclose our sources.

Mr. Muivah’s statement put the government in a spot as the Opposition questioned the framework agreement. I was glad that the pavement thumping worked.

It’s a different thing that the Naga peace deal is still nowhere in the picture, and shrouded in mystery.