I do not suffer fools, I get irritated and angry when those who should know better, exhibit symptoms of idiocy; but anyone who has the least pretentions of knowing me, will tell you that I do not hate anyone. What I hate, with a vehemence bordering on murderous rage, is Injustice. Any form of injustice perpetrated on anyone triggers all that is wild and vengeful in me. I don’t know whether it is due to the fact that my father lived by the code of Fairness and Respect to All or because the Irish Christian Brothers tried to instil in all students of our school the belief that Bullying, i.e. picking on someone smaller or weaker than you, was the lowliest act that a gentleman could commit; but I hate injustice.
We Nagas have become a nation of oppressors, which is a more polite way of saying that we have become a nation of bullies. We cheat and exploit each other in every aspect of our lives, but that doesn’t bother me as much as the fact that we are committing the greatest injustices on our Eastern Naga Brothers and Sisters; not so much to those who live in the towns of Nagaland, but to those who live in the forgotten nooks and crannies that make up our border with Myanmar, and the various ignored pockets of Tuensang, Mon and Kiphire.
A friend of mine related how, when his wife was given a “Punishment Posting” to a remote village bordering Myanmar, in Tuensang District, they had to walk for two days to reach the village. How the Villagers were so grateful for the arrival of a teacher, a teacher which they were constitutionally and morally entitled to; how the students would voluntarily sweep their house, cook for them, and fetch water and hew firewood for them. Their thirst for knowledge far superseding everything else. Then LuntsubaMerr Naga, a Facebook friend asked me to “Like” a Facebook Page, titled”The MIMI Outlook:The Voice of the Unheard”. Then again, I had what was supposed to be an acrimonious(on his part, not mine) exchange on Facebook with a Khiamniungan lad, but which turned into an part comic, part affectionate repartee; and which led me to visit his Facebook Page. The pictures posted on The Mimi Outlook and ChilKhiamKhiam’sProfile Page drew involuntary tears from my eyes.Images of boys, who should be playing without a care in the world, carrying firewood; and those of little girls, who should be skipping about merrily, carrying their younger brothers and sisters on their backs, taking on the role of their parents, while the parents toiled away in their distant fields, come rain or shine.
It enrages me no end when I think of all the injustices we commit on each other. In an earlier letter titled, “Missing the Forest for the Trees”, I mentioned how we were so engrossed in the symptoms/trees of corruption, like bad roads, irregular electricity etc. that we were missing the fact that Nagaland had become a forest of corruption. Half of that forest comprises of our Eastern Naga Brothers and Sisters; and which begs the question, “Who is responsible for that?” Thinking of it has led me to the following conclusions:-
1. We “Advanced Tribes” are partly responsible for it, in that we divert the funds meant for them into our pockets, as we do all funds that come within reach of our greedy paws. But the greater sin we commit on them is by teaching the few of them who manage to escape the cycle of poverty and hardship;our evil and venial ways of corruption.
We teach them the Concepts of Christianity and show them the Ways of Satan. They imitate our sins in the belief that it is the way of “Advanced People” and “Modernity”. They see how easy or sins rest on our conscience, and think that they should do the same. We are their Shepherds, it our bounden duty to guide them along the paths that are Good and Righteous, instead, we lead them into the Quagmire of Corruption. May the Good Lord that watches over them strike our right eye and our right hand, may our right eye be blinded and our right arm be withered for falling short of our responsibility to them.For I believe that I AM my Brother’s Keeper.
2. But the greater responsibility for their hardship and suffering lies on the heads of the Legislators and Bureaucrats from the Eastern Naga Tribes. We “Advanced Nagas” know exactly how we are being cheated by our own Legislators and Bureaucrats but we choose to keep silent, unless we feel the pinch of corruption directly. But your people are ignorant of their rights and entitlements; it is for you, The Chosen Few, who have managed to enjoy the rights and privileges of the “Advanced Nagas” to fight for the same rights and privileges for the rest of your people.
A Native American (Red Indian) once said that there were two dogs living inside him. One was a Good Dog and the other was an Evil Dog. The good and evil dogs in him were constantly fighting; and he did good if the good dog won and evil if the evil dog won. When asked who usually won the fight, he replied that the dog he fed the most won. We “Advanced Nagas” have fed the evil dog in us to such an extent that evil seems to have pervaded our entire being, and the good dog in us has been starved to near death. Unless we take drastic measures, there seems to be no hope for redemption for us. But you, my Eastern Naga Brothers and Sisters, still have a chance. Feed the good dog in you just a little bit more, and you are sure to lead your people out of their hardship and misery.
Whether we believe in Divine Justice, Karma or the Laws of Nature, one thing in this world is certain, nothing remains the same; God, Karma and Nature move in circles. What is on top goes below, and that below ends up on top. The time you spend on top is determined by how you treat those below you. I have seen many of our Eastern Naga Brothers and Sisters in our homes. They see us whine and squabbleamidst the plenty that we own; while they remain silent and uncomplaining with the little that they have. They are honest, hardworking and sincere. They seek education and to learn our ways. Treat them well and show them the ways of Good by example, so that the Good Lord may treat you with the same Compassion and Mercy that you treat them. For I have noticed their intelligence; and, as God is my Witness, the day is not so far off that they will rise above us. May they treat us better than we have treated them.
