It was during the eighties that many Naga preachers, not necessarily religious, made use of the pulpits to expound the need for reformation of the Naga society. It is said that it became part of almost every speech, address or sermon especially directed at the youth in the state. Some went up to the extent of saying “Revolution not Reformation”. Looking back, it sometimes raises the question as what could have been so bad during the eighties in Nagaland that prompted so many of those speakers, or say preachers of change, to say so. Although there was instability in the government especially in the later part of the decade that resulted in newer forms of politics being played out in the streets, the scene was incomparable to the present times. There were no sudden shootouts between the security forces and the armed Naga Nationalist groups. There were no factional fights among the Naga Political Groups; in fact there were only two distinct groups, the Naga National Council and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland, those days. The tension may have been brewing from then on but it was still not out on the streets, unlike the decade the followed. It is agreed that Naga Nationalism had still not died down even among the members of the public and the internal tussle existed. One group genuinely trying their best to make Nagaland state work while the other group only too eager to state that the flow of 'Indian money' is out to finally 'finish' the Nagas. Nonetheless chances of some, from both the camps, who played their roles more than the rest are likely. The eighties witnessed the killing of two school kids at Kohima during a Naga Students’ Federation sponsored rally that became violent. The eighties also witnessed the do or die attitude of the state’s lawmakers to form governments. It is reported that the culture of keeping MLAs isolated, very much akin to the Kaziranga camps started in the eighties. The only difference then was that mostly the MLAs were housed within Army/Police camps. At one point the tussle in the government formation led to the assassination attempt on the life of the Speaker of the House. It also cannot be denied that the eighties witnessed the unprecedented flow of money and alcohol during elections which resulted in the forceful introduction of the total prohibition Bill in the Assembly due to the pressure from the church bodies and the women groups. Those who were in the ruling party those days still point their fingers to the then opposition of playing a big hand in the NLTP Act. Also, at one point some new radical groups like the Naga Youth Liberation Front also was in the scene for a short while. Whether the storm was still brewing within or was hastened by the calls of reformation and revolution, the Nagas instead faced the worst case of tribalism starting from the nineties. It seemed that along with the call for change, the sermons for bettering one’s own especially the tribe may have occured in almost all the nooks and corners of the state. The rise of so many associations and unions and those groups locally christened as 'Common Platforms', for reforming and revolutionising the state was the breeding grounds of segmentations and divisions. The church was also not left far behind. Nepotism therefore finally became a virtue, the one evil that is strangling the Naga society slowly at present. The split of the Naga Political Groups into so many factions is therefore not a big surprise as the public themselves are so divided. Therefore it may be concluded that either the preachers of the eighties, though correct, their mission got hijacked. It may also be concluded that the preachers then had a rough idea of a goal but not a road-map. It might also be that some were even misled by men of greater influence. So the call for change, reformation or revolution still exists today but except for the benefits of the new technologies and development brought about with the advancement in the world the Naga society seems yet to find the true meaning of change, a change from within. It has become all the more pertinent for the public especially the silent majority to be taught how to logically analyse the many preachers of change that exists in the society at present.
