Reproducing Grace Collins‘ letter to Shashank Mattoo, Hindustan Times (U.S. Correspondent) ad verbatim. The letter was written on 17 January 2026 in response to queries from Shashank Mattoo.
The letter reads:
Dear Mr. Mattoo,
Based on decades of reporting on the Naga issue, I have observed consistent misquotation, selective framing, and contextual distortion in certain Indian media outlets. In light of this, I am willing to respond to your questions on this occasion—but only under the condition that any use of my words adheres strictly to the verbatim quotation guidelines outlined below. Any deviation would compromise the accuracy of the reporting and risk misrepresenting both the historical record and my position.
At the outset, questions focused on an individual’s ethnicity or citizenship are generally regarded as inappropriate and irrelevant under accepted U.S. journalistic standards. While U.S. anti-discrimination statutes such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Immigration Reform and Control Act primarily govern employment, they reflect a broader professional norm: personal characteristics such as race, national origin, or citizenship should not be used to frame credibility or motive in professional discourse. Senior U.S. press officers and journalists have confirmed that such inquiries fall outside standard practice.
That said, in the interest of transparency and clarity of record, I will respond directly.
I am a United States citizen, born in the United States. I do not hold Indian citizenship, nor am I of Naga descent. My engagement with Naga civil-society issues has always been as an independent human-rights advocate, not by virtue of ethnicity, nationality, or religion.
If you must know my active engagement with Naga civil-society issues ended in 2011 due to serious health complications resulting from medical negligence. After my recovery, I did not resume any organizational, advisory, or operational role with the NSCN or with any armed group. Since then, my involvement has been limited to independent observation, without affiliation, instruction, or participation.
You also referenced my filing with the U.S. Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (22 U.S.C. § 611 et seq.). FARA is a disclosure statute intended to ensure transparency with the U.S. government. FYI: FARA requires that any registrant be a U.S. person. This clearly establishes my status as a U.S. citizen and confirms that I cannot hold Indian citizenship. The publicly available filings provide full documentation of my compliance.
My interaction with One Naga Voice—like my interaction with hundreds of other civil-society organizations, churches, factions, community platforms, and individuals over many years—is voluntary, transparent, and not subject to the direction or control of any organization, faction, or government. One Naga Voice is a people-centric platform connecting Nagas across their homeland and global diaspora. I do not advocate specific political outcomes such as sovereignty or statehood; those decisions rest exclusively with the Naga people themselves and the governments concerned.
I have not been contacted by Indian authorities regarding my work in the United States. Should such contact occur, it should be directed toward advancing a peaceful resolution to the long-standing conflict between the Government of India and the Naga people, rather than toward intimidation, spinning their factual history or discrediting my human-rights advocacy.
MEDIA ACCURACY AND CONTEXT
Coverage of Indigenous and minority rights in Nagalim/Nagaland has been full of misquotations, selective framing, or contextual distortion. Responsible reporting on these issues requires engagement with established historical and documentary record, including:
•The Nagas did not legally join the Indian Union by conquest, consent, treaty, or concession; the issue was treated as external following British decolonization in 1947 and should be to this day not covered up my the Govt of India and to be pulled in as an internal issue.
•Since 1947, Naga communities have experienced over 250,000 human-rights violations, including sexual violence, arbitrary detention, torture, and extrajudicial killings, with limited accountability.
•Claims that India is the world’s “largest” or “oldest” democracy warrant scrutiny in light of caste hierarchy and the documented rise in religious persecution since 2014.
•Laws such as AFSPA, UAPA, state anti-conversion statutes, FCRA, and PAP/RAP regimes collectively restrict civil liberties, religious freedom, and independent scrutiny.
The denial of a visa in 2025 to Reverend Franklin Graham underscored concerns regarding systemic religious intolerance. Similar patterns of restriction, surveillance, and harassment affect other minority communities, including Christians in the Northeast, Kashmiri Muslims, and Sikhs advocating for Khalistan.
For more than a century, the Naga people have lived as a peaceful, highly literate, and culturally rich society. Reporting that relies on stereotypes or colonial-era tropes misinforms the public and perpetuates prejudice.
CONDITIONS FOR FURTHER ENGAGEMENT
I am prepared to engage further only on the basis of professional journalistic standards, historical accuracy, respect for clearly defined on-the-record boundaries and discussions on how to resolve this almost 80 year old conflict.
MANDATORY QUOTATION NOTICE
The following statements are the only portions of this correspondence authorized for direct quotation. Any quotation must be reproduced verbatim, in full, and without paraphrasing, truncation, or contextual distortion. No other portion of this correspondence is approved for quotation.
CITIZENSHIP AND TRANSPARENCY:
“I am a U.S. citizen, born in the United States, and I am fully transparent about my background and activities.”
INDEPENDENCE:
“My work on Naga and other human-rights issues is independent and not directed or controlled by any organization, faction, or government.”
JOURNALISTIC STANDARDS:
“Questions based on ethnicity or citizenship are irrelevant and inconsistent with professional journalistic standards.”
LEGAL STATUS OF THE NAGA PEOPLE:
“The Naga people never legally joined the Indian Union by conquest, consent, or treaty; and while the Naga army has maintained a strict, eighty-year policy of never killing a single Indian non-army person, the Indian army has killed countless unarmed Naga villagers through extrajudicial executions and collective punishment. Because the criminalization of Nagas arises from unilateral artificial political boundaries rather than violations of international law, genuine peacebuilding requires the unconditional release and pardon of all Nagas imprisoned in their own homeland.”
OPPRESSIVE LAWS AND DEMOCRATIC CLAIMS:
“Given the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, anti-conversion laws, the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, the Protected/Restricted Area Permit regimes, and the persistence of caste hierarchy, it is incumbent on Hindustan Times to explain how the claim to be the world’s ‘oldest’ and ‘largest’ democracy can be sustained.”
AFSPA:
“The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of 1958 has enabled decades of grave human-rights abuses in Naga and other minority areas by granting sweeping powers and de facto immunity to security forces and must be repealed to allow accountability and the rule of law.”
UAPA:
“The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act permits prolonged pre-trial detention, severely restricts access to bail, and has been used against journalists, students, Indigenous activists, and minority communities, rather than solely against violent actors.”
ANTI-CONVERSION LAWS:
“India’s anti-conversion laws are used to harass religious minorities and suppress freedom of conscience and belief.”
FCRA:
“The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act has been systematically weaponized to shut down NGOs, churches, and humanitarian organizations, undermining civil society and religious freedom.”
PAP/RAP:
“The Protected Area Permit and Restricted Area Permit regimes restrict independent access to Northeast India, suppress reporting, and limit scrutiny of human-rights conditions, particularly in Indigenous Naga regions.”
REJECTION OF DEFAMATORY STEREOTYPES:
“The Nagas are not terrorists, insurgents, secessionists, primitive ‘savages’ or cannibals; such characterizations are false, offensive, and prejudicial.”
HUMAN-RIGHTS FOCUS:
“My engagement is grounded in universal human-rights principles, including non-violence, dignity, and democratic norms.”
POSITION ON POLITICAL OUTCOMES:
“I do not advocate political outcomes; such decisions belong solely to the Naga people themselves. I report and analyze what the majority of Naga people have expressed as their aspirations for the future.”
COMMITMENT TO PEACE:
“I support peaceful dialogue and civil-society engagement rather than violence. There is no justification for this situation to remain unresolved in 2026 after more than 600 rounds of peace talks.”
SCOPE OF FURTHER INQUIRY:
“I trust this clarifies my position, my work, and the professional standards I expect to be respected. As you should also know, my filings are biannual, and any other questions regarding my work can be answered by reviewing my registered filings with FARA, which are open to the public.”
Sincerely,
Grace Collins
*Before taking note of her response, Hindustan Times had already come out with their story on 16 January 2026. Naga lobbying back in US spotlight
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/naga-lobbying-back-in-us-spotlight-101768503624656.html
