Chibenthung Yanthan
Research Scholar, JNU
[dropcap]A [/dropcap]dramatic incident that happened in my neighborhood in the recent past has left me thinking about my identity as a Naga ever since. One peaceful evening I was attracted to an argument in the process between a Naga and a Bengali. Amidst the drama that unfolded that evening, disturbing the serenity in the neighborhood, the Bengali suddenly mustered so much courage to shout “I am also a Naga”. Amused to this proud declaration, the Naga asked “Oh yeah! How is that so?” The argument that the want to be “a Naga” made that evening still lingers on my head clearly to this day and rightly so, this article is a progeny of that argument. “I am a Naga… I eat pork, beef and dog” said the proud Bengali guy. It didn’t take time for him to reduce the identity of a Naga to merely a cluster of tribal’s who consume meat and that consumption of the meat that we intake simply became the criteria for him to be considered part and parcel of being a Naga.Now, this incident will provoke different narratives to different minds if we try to pause and engage over it. And I believe that many of us have come across such thought provoking incidents in and around. I assume that someone just reacted with surprise to his argument and questioned, “Seriously? How could he even say that?” well I am afraid there is much more to question about. What could have gone wrong here with whatever he said? Was he to be blamed alone? Or somewhere do you also get a feeling that we need to question “the way we have portrayed ourselves to the outsiders”. I say yes! We are to be blamed for allowing people to reduce our identity to such extent. Isn’t it even shameful to think about the ‘Amur Falcon’ news that made big headlines, in the magazines and newspapers (national and international)? Should you and I be proud that Nagaland was highlighted as a merciless state located in the north-eastern part of India who killed thousands of migrating birds and relished its taste for lunch and dinner? Is that the best we could have done to let people realize that “well I know now that there exist a state called Nagaland in this world”.
There are already different narratives of pre conceived notion existing about us in the head of people who have heard of us. The belief that Nagas are still a tribal group living in the hills yet to be shaped by modernity and education, dominates the thought of those who have not met us, yet for those who have associated with us considers fun and party loving as our priority and laziness is the next best attribute that they associate us with. Having said this, the simple point I want to make here is that our identity as a Naga certainly goes beyond the misunderstanding that people have developed about us over the years. In the first place we are Christians and our state go by the so called tag “Nagaland for Christ” true that we have distorted and misused ourselves in several ways which all of us are aware about, using the name of “Christ”. Shameful isn’t it? By virtue of being Christian could we then try to portray ourselves in a better manner? Wouldn’t it be more digestive to hear that Nagas are a group of tribal people who are known for being honest, non corrupt, hard working, forgiving, loving, humble and benevolent. I think if you and I could base ourselves firmly on the principles of truth that Christ has taught the fallible beings then the identity that we are attached to could have been different altogether. At the least as a responsible Naga we could begin to reorient our relationship and the way we approach the fellow beings around us. Let the celebrated identity of the past that “Nagas are tough and fearless warriors” not influence the way we are today. We could only admire and respect our ancestors who earned that identity at a time when ‘modernity has not touched their lives’. Things have changed in the present, and this generation calls for alteration in the way we approach things in life. Thankfully we don’t need to train physically and mentally at the possible prospect of being attacked by the Ahoms, side the British soldiers in warding off the Japanese from Kohima or raid another village. The need to be progressive and contextually situate ourselves cannot be discounted at this point of time. Education has touched a major section of our society unlike other unfortunate states within India and even countries abroad. What has education taught us then? What does it mean to be the residents of “Nagaland for Christ”? to be aggressive and violent, gang up and loot poor workers and shop keepers, to be feared as a local notorious hooligan, celebrating every event by getting drunk and causing ruckus in the street, locality and within family making oneself look more and more barbaric, to disrespect parents and abuse them, to rape someone’s daughter, sister, wife and mother (God’s created being), to break into someone’s house and loot to the extent even killing, to seek revenge, to corrupt when given an opportunity etc… sad but true our society is woven by these happenings and we care less to address them just because we are still proud to be ‘Naga warriors’ but in doing so we are only validating the many assumption of the others about us.
Should we then care to pause and ponder over what has been unfolding in our society dear all? Should we continue being stereotyped? I hope by the end of this article I am able to pose some questions in the minds of some thoughtful Nagas which may help us to reorient if not more at least 1 percent of our attitude as a Naga more importantly as a tribe who stands for Christ. I should not ask for more I guess. Lastly, let us make the criteria of being called a Naga be worthy of respect and admiration, something that goes beyond ‘eating pork, beef and dog’.
