Dimapur, June 6 (EMN): Nagaland Governor Prof. Jagdish Mukhi on Monday said that Phom Day should not be only about laying down of arms and spears but should also be “about laying down of our pride, greed, isms, misunderstandings and prejudice”.
He was addressing the 70th Phom Day on the theme “Proliferating Phom Day Beyond” at the Public Ground in Longleng, which was also attended by his wife; Minister of Health and Family Welfare S Pangnyu Phom; MLA BS Nganlang; and many other dignitaries.
Also known as “Peace Day”, Phom Day took its root in the head hunting era on June 6, 1952 when the Phom forefathers “committed their lives to put complete halt to conflicts, allowing peace to prevail in the land of Phom, ushering peace within and beyond”, read an update from DPRO Longleng .
“It (Phom Day) is about giving up our superiority over the weak, the poor and the environment at our disposal,” Mukhi said.
Asserting that peace cannot be forced upon but has to be understood and accepted, he said “any people having the power to create and destroy should shake off their pride and work for peace”.
“The broken society can only be healed when we stop abusing the power and opportunities we have and start working for sustainable peace alongside sustainable development,” he added.
The governor said that he was “deeply inspired to learn that leaders and peace heroes of Longleng persuaded the village elders of the tribe to shun the evil practice of conflicts and took an oath to end the head hunting era with a pledge to be peaceful and loyal to (the) government”.
However, he said that the hope of peace becomes dimmer with money, power and knowledge, and ‘the irony is that we have become victims of our own pride, selfish, opinions and unceasing greed for temporary things’.
He lamented that "no surrender" attitude of the most learnt generation has cost the world a lot of their time and resources and it is still left to juggle from conflict to peace and peace to conflict, interchangeably.
Mukhi appealed to the Phom community “to bury the egos, balance of difference and dream a common dream of lasting peace within and with the eco system which sustain us. He called upon the gathering to join the peace movement of ushering peace within and peace beyond with other tribes and states and augment Phom day towards world peace.
He went on to say that India is on a transformational path and a major initiative taken by the government is striving towards self-reliance. ‘India's quest for self-reliance does not mean isolation but rather it seeks to create capabilities that can help the entire humanity in the true spirit of world as one family,’ he said.
The occasion saw state’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Head of Forest Force, Dharmendra Prakash delivering speech on ‘Peace with Environment’. Dignitaries like Pangnyu Phom, Nganlang Phom, KTU president, USLP president, and Deputy Commissioner of Sivsagar, Assam, also spoke at the event, updated DPRO Longleng.
Earlier in the programme, the governor and his wife was accorded with a traditional welcome by the women cultural troupe, followed by National Anthem and Phom Day Anthem by the Gospel team, and march pass by seven contingents comprising NNC Yingli College, Scout and Guides of Good Shepherd School and schools from Longleng.
The day-long celebration was marked by Peace Folk Dances by Hakchang village from Tuensang and Kongan village from Mon; presentation of N.I. Jamir Academic Award and Phom Day Award by the president APGO; affirmation and reaffirmation of Phom Day pledge; prayer of blessings by Phom pastors led by Tialemba, Phom Executive Secretary PBCA; significance of Phom Day, a play by Christian School; cultural dance by Tamlu village Bahadhu and Oushok Nyuhadhu; and inauguration of exhibition stall and peace promoting games -- peace marathon, volleyball for both men and women.