Overview for Let Freedom Ring: Story of Naga Nationalism
Let Freedom Ring: Story of Naga Nationalism is indeed a unique book. It is the story of the Naga national movement under the leadership of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN). It is unique on many counts. First, it is based on documents and interviews of the leaders of the movement. Second, the book is a work of a Naga political scientists who has analysed the movement without sacrificing the rigours required of a scholar. This is the first book to analyse the relationships between the NSCN and various international organizations. The book traces the history of the formation of the NSCN as an aftermath of the Shillong Accord. This peace accord, signed in the dark days of the national emergency, was hailed by the Indians as a harbinger of an era of peace. For the Nagas the Accord was a betrayal of the aspirations of their people. It is an analytical document of the Indian State’s responses to the Naga national movement, from using the security forces to crush the movement to the role of the intelligence agencies in creation of Naga-land State and the signing of the shillong Accord. Dr. Shimray also exposes how the Church was used by the Indian intelligence agencies to undermine the credibility of the China-returned Naga nationalists. Let Freedom Ring is an indispensable reference work for research scholars, journalists and experts who with to understand the Naga National Movement in a total perspective.
A.S. Atai Shimray (Author)
A.S. Atai (Tuimatai) Shimray was born in Tushar Village of Ukhrul District, Manipur State in north-east India on July 13, 1957. He went to school in Imphal and graduated from Patkai Christian College in 1977. He went on to study in Delhi at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and finished his post graduation in 1983. The Following year he joined as a lecturer at Patkai Christian College, Dimapur, Nagaland. He received his Ph.D. from the North East Hill University (NEHU) in 1997 for his doctoral thesis on "Naga Nationalism and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland." Shimray was also active as a student leader and was student's union advisor at college and became president of the Tangkhul Student's Union. He was an ardent Naga nationalist. He passed away on July 23, 2002, leaving behind his wife Tiakhala and three children
Bagchee
