Book Description

Enter the Forbidden Land tells the story of three attempts by Frans Welman and his companions to enter Nagaland, the land of more than forty Naga tribes. Although all three efforts ended in failure, the attempts demonstrate how India and the lesser-known Burma, now known as Myanmar, have been successful in keeping foreigners out. Neither country wants outsiders to observe the raging war that started shortly after independence from colonial Britain. The Nagas, who time and again have made it known to both former colonizer Britain and newly emerging India that they wanted to be left alone, were invaded by India in 1954. Now 50 years later the war is still on, although for the second time in its history peace talks are taking place. This war, forgotten by the international community, was the challenge for Welman and his companions. Their goal was to check on the rare yet compelling accounts of the land and people that told of beauty and democracy among the Nagas and their tenacity to not give in to a powerful alien master. The three journeys enlighten the reader to how fifty years of domination make a people believe that what has been done, including genocide, is genuinely defined in true terms. These journeys open eyes to see the beauty and the beast within. They will lead to the fascinating Nagas, who are in dire need to be assisted in their quest to be free.