Traditional political values highlighted at FAC seminar

DIMAPUR — The bi-monthly inter-departmental seminar of Fazl Ali College (FAC) in Mokokchung was held on Wednesday in its conference hall with Dr. Imnazenla Longkumer, assistant professor of Political Science, as the resource person.

Speaking on the topic “Traditional political values in the electoral policies of Nagaland,” the resource person highlighted how the traditional political values find its way into the electoral politics of Nagaland and viewed traditional institutions as structures formulated to fulfill certain functions according to its customs and norms.

According to Dr. Longkumer, the continued existence of traditional values in Naga society has been facilitated by the accommodative arrangements made by the Indian political system. She stated that Article 371 (A) and The Nagaland Village and Area Council Acts enable the Nagas to continue their customary law and practices, stated an update from the college.

Data from her study indicated that Naga society confirms the attachment of the Nagas to their tradition, customs and usages.

“Even with the passage of time and the introduction of parliamentary democracy, the modern democratic values of individualism, liberty, equality and competitive politics seem to have failed to take roots,” she said.

Dr. Longkumer pointed out that an aspect of asserting traditional value of kinship in relation to electoral politics is found among the Nagas. She substantiated her statement by giving an example of how a clan in Nagaland Ngullietsu Ekhung issued a press release directing all its members to support a particular candidate and thanking another intending candidate from the same clan for withdrawing from the poll race and also mentioned that no individual member is above the Ngullietsu Ekhung.

Stating that there are so many of such instances in the Naga society, she opined that it indicated suppression of individual competitive spirit as well as the continued persistence of family and kinship ties are reflected in the electoral politics of Nagaland. She added that the traditional value of assigning greater importance to group decision over individual preferences was also a factor projected in the electoral politics of Nagaland.

“The practice was so prevalent that ECI issued a warning against backing candidates. However, the pitfall of the warning was revival of oral directives and Naga society being traditional, oral directives carry as much weightage as any written ones,” Dr. Longkumer added.

She concluded her presentation by stating that the infiltration of traditional values into electoral policies has an implication on the kind of democracy the society generates and points to pervasive nature of traditional political system. She further stated that village councils in the Naga society play an indispensable role in determining individual as well as group behaviour which affects electoral politics.