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Dimapur, Sep. 8 (EMN): Yimchunger Naga tribe will now be officially called Yimkhiung Naga tribe and the people will be referred to as Yimkhiunger, while Yimkhiung will be used in all documents and organisations.
This official declaration was made by the president of Yimkhiung Tribal Council (YTC), Throngso Yimchunger, at a programme held at YTC Office complex in Shamator, Tuensang, on Wednesday.
The government of Nagaland had earlier issued a notification about the rectification of the tribe name from Yimchunger Naga to Yimkhiung Naga on August 18, more than two weeks after the Cabinet approved it.
Speaking about the history and pronunciation of Yimkhiung, the president of YTC said that Yimchunger was a ‘mispronunciation or misspelled word’.
“It is not a change in nomenclature but rectification of the spelling from Yimchunger to Yimkhiung. The community was referred to as Yimchunger for all official purposes.
“The idea behind rectification was to give a proper meaning although it was just a matter of correcting spelling, and it was in 2016 when the community unanimously resolved to rectify the spelling and was approved by the Cabinet on July 31, 2021,” he recounted.
Deputy Commissioner of Tuensang, Kumar Ramnikant, in his solidarity message, asserted that the use of the word Yimchunger was an incidental error and was not intentional.
This circumstantial error, he said, can be attributed to the ‘sheer ignorance back then as our forefathers had no knowledge of English alphabets or language’.
“Such errors are universal and we have all been victims of such errors. But the community has been successful in changing the literal meaning. The community is now the forerunner among many tribes,” the DC said.
“Yimkhiung is not only a tribe name but a meaningful word which conveys a strong message about the love of brotherhood and we humans have a lot to learn about the legacy from our forefathers which has been carried in the form of a tribe’s name. It is now the responsibility of the youngsters to perpetuate the true meaning of Yimkhiung in the society,” he added.
President of Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO) R Tsapikiu Sangtam stated that unity is not about ‘two-three tribe’s unanimity but should be an inclusive Naga unity, only then will we have one solution’.
“We should all come together so that our prayer will be meaningful and acceptable. For unity, it should be an inclusive Naga keeping aside the differences and ism, cheap politics, but be inclusive,” Sangtam asserted.
ENPO former president T Kekongchim shared that ‘from today Yimkhiung is entering a new era, taking the history of the forefathers’.
“Today, all the Naga tribes are mingling, coming closer emotionally with a ‘we’ feeling unlike earlier times when the feeling of oneness was just in papers. We Nagas failed to look back to our history which was why there was less co-ordination,” he observed.
“The problem with our Naga society is we are just too attached to our own tribe. The tribalistic attitude is still there, that is why we have no attachment with the others. We talk about the uniqueness of Naga history and preserving our forefather’s culture which was to speak the truth but we are not following them in spirit. The unity of the Naga is a necessity to move ahead,” he added.
“Yimkhiunger has become the most victimised tribe but we still believe that the tribe will be blessed. If you have planted hatred then you will harvest hatred, so do not try to break the beautiful house of Yimkhiunger. There may be many discontentments of the tribe but try to understand the feeling of the people.
“We talk about Naga solution but everyone’s perspective is on the safer side, thinking only about one’s tribe. This will not bring solution because of the internal disunity among the Naga tribes,” Kekongchim asserted.
Convener of 14 tribal hohos of Nagaland, KT Vilie told the gathering that for independence, many Nagas had given their lives.
“The GOI/UGs have resolved for a solution, so Nagas have to unite keeping aside the hatred. The different political parties have come together for a Naga solution,” he said.
Director of NEC Pvt. Ltd., Sapu Bhattacharyya also asked how long the Naga society and the Yimkhiungers would ‘remain like this’, while urging them to change for the better.
“Yimkhiung community has lots of love to give and there is no betrayal, so request the other tribes not to leave the Yimkhiung tribe alone,” he added.