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sub-committee elected in Delhi to advise on the constitution of the Naga Hills, December 1946 |
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While Naga views were gradually getting more and more precise, the all-India Constituent Assembly was making progress in Delhi and in December 1946 it elected a subcommittee to advise on the constitution for the Naga Hills. Many Nagas had hoped that only tribesmen would be appointed and that the sub-committee would thus be able to freely express the wishes (14) of the tribes. When they saw the names, however, they realised that Congress intentions were completely otherwise. The Chairman was Mr. Gopinath Bardoloi, the Assamese Premier, while the other members were the Rev. J.M.Nichols Roy, an Americanised Khasi and member of the Assam Congress Ministry, Mr. A.V.Thakkar, a Congress social worker with no experience of Assam and Mr. Rupnath Brahma, a Hinduised Kachari and Congress Minister. The only Naga member was Mayang Nokcha himself. Everyone realised that the object of the sub-committee was not to give the Nagas the constitution they wanted but to ensure that Congress ideas of what the Nagas ought to want should prevail. |
