(The Issue of the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) elections in Nagaland, along with women reservation and gender issue, had earlier attracted vehement, even violent, reactions from the Naga public and further divided the Naga society. Even lives were lost. Another attempt was made to impose these elections, but thankfully, this time the State Government withdrew the legislation before things got out of hand and the matter has died down for now. But this is sure to rise up again in some form in the near future. Sadly, after so many years, a lot of the issues under discussion still seem to be in a state of confusion. This is an attempt to bring some clarity as the writer sees them).
Nagas and their society organisations are usually quick to generalise and to assume. What has, in recent years, also become quite visible, especially for the tribes belonging to the Tenyimia group, is to quickly join the pack and run with the “mainstream” – this is not the “pure democracy” and “independent spirit” and “veto power of the individual” that their people had lived in the recent past and handed down through the generations since time immemorial! Together with this is seen, in ever larger measure, an acquired practise of servility to the master which was earlier witnessed only among their “Indian” neighbours and which they used to scoff at!
How has this come about? The reasons could be many. But the most visible one is the promotion of personal interests and the constant struggle and seeking for self-gain. The desire for self-gain has, on the one hand led to loss of ability to think straight, to speak forthright and to stand for truth while on the other hand, it has led the empowered to demand blind obedience, even servility from those less able or less empowered than themselves. The result is loss of dignity for both. The desire or capacity to think far into the future and for things of lasting value no longer seems available or hold appeal while all considerations have become temporary and of immediate gratification. In such an environment, there is little or no scope for statesmanship. The “Peyu” (wisdom) of old has become subsumed by wealth. In olden days, our people used to say, “Rich is he? So what? He is not Peyu!” Such a statement in the present milieu is just no longer possible.
The biggest loss is that we are losing our ability to think independently. Some years ago I recall my senior friend, Professor Niu Francis Whiso. Through a friend, I had subscribed a copy of the Manchester Guardian for him to read. For a while he was very happy and expressed gratitude to me. But some months later, when I asked him again, his reaction was, “I have stopped reading it!”. I asked him why and he said, “The analytical/opinion pieces were so good and I enjoyed reading them so much that I began to stop thinking for myself; so I have stopped reading!” Today, what is the trend we are seeing? If a leader, especially a minister, makes an average statement; his fans and followers would blindly start forwarding and issuing their statements in support and the vast majority would follow suit! Our civil society bodies are full of good and capable men but many of these bodies are also filled with political camp followers!
An easy example at the moment is what is going on in connection with the Naga Mothers Association (NMA). Due to differences of opinion, especially in connection with the ULB elections, and the strident views of some women on gender equality, the organisation is being demonised and condemned by civil society organizations, particularly from the tribe bodies. What seems to have escaped most people is that organizations and individuals who may be its officials for the time being are two different things. However likeable or distasteful, individual office bearers are temporary while the organisation itself is a more permanent entity and we need to make differentiation between the two. What has been tragic is that when a strong collective body of our people emerge, we seem to have a penchant to come together to attack it and destroy it till it lies in dust. The same thing happened with the undivided Naga Hoho which at one time, under Melhupra Vero, became a most respected body. Our own political organizations (Overground and Underground) tried to infiltrate the Naga Hoho with their “moles” and “agents” in an effort to manipulate it in their favour until the organization was no longer respected and acceptable to all Nagas as capable of representing the Naga people – today, once again, Nagas do not have a strong reputable and cohesive people’s organisation that can represent and speak for our people. How tragic is that?
Similarly, the Naga Mothers Association (NMA) had become a recognised and respected body, especially with their “shed no more blood” campaign at a time when most Nagas were cowering fearfully and staying silent in the face of fratricide and targeted daily assassinations. This is a contribution of the NMA that I, for one, will never forget. Also what happened to the saying, “I do not agree with you but I will fight for your right to speak your beliefs?!” It is true that some of the women have forgotten that Naga women have always been known for their “healing touch” and that Naga society had itself has probably survived at some difficult times because of them; instead they have exhibited a callousness that did not mind further fragmenting society in the false, if fervent, belief that they were fighting for the emancipation of Naga women. Like their Naga men counterparts, they too became enamoured of symbolisms. I do not agree with some of the views as espoused by NMA officials especially on gender equality because I think what they are saying is largely a foreign concept (more later), but surely, there are ways for everyone to express their views other than to completely condemn the organisation.
In the light of these happenings, one also has to ask the question, “What is the role of the State Government and the State machinery?” This question comes up because, like it or not, the machinery of State is the only Money Tree in Nagaland and everyone not only expectantly waits for their share but also do all they can to shake the Tree so that its fruits will fall on them! This State Machinery has become so powerful. It can either be used to save the Naga people or it can totally destroy our peoplehood and our future. Take the issue of Corruption which most Nagas say concerns them. In Nagaland, the very creation of Nagaland Statehood has made possible widespread corruption. Why? Because, for a very long time, most Nagas treated money coming from Delhi as “Indian Money” and not their own as they did not feel they were Indians! This meant no one was demanding accountability from their leaders on how State money was being used even when these leaders were using the money as if it was their own personal money! And, this in the background of the fact that Naga society went from Barter Economy to War Economy during the World War II and since then remained at “Insurgency Economy”! Today, when many Nagas talk about fighting corruption in Naga society, few think about the role played by Nagaland State itself. But if we do not go to the root, we risk treating the symptoms without ever curing the disease.
And what about the G-20/B-20 summit that has just been held in Nagaland to show-case that Nagaland is an integral part of India and Nagas are Indians even while resolution of the Naga Issue is ignored and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has still to be extended all the time while no sanction will be granted by the Government of India for the killings of innocent Naga civilians? – following the successful experiment in Nagaland, the G-20 template is now being attempted in Kashmir along with a 30 billion Rupee smart city scheme for Srinagar! State or no state, Nagas still find themselves in an existential limbo, living a kind of dual personality and identity and they will continue to be like this so long as the Naga Political Issue is not resolved. But, apart from verbal diarrhoea, by both Naga leaders and GoI about resolving this most-important issue at the earliest, and going through the motions, including doing away with all “oppositions”, little seems to actually move forward. In the meantime, the Nagas, tribes and all, continue their “equi-distant” existence, blissfully continuing their in-fighting and not too bothered about their own hopeless fragmentations. Any issue will do to divert their focus and to pit themselves into opposing camps and to start arguing. Meanwhile, the Naga feeling of fatigue about their Political Issue is being re-enforced through delays so that the sense of hopelessness and fatigue will become a habit. “Non-Nationalistic” behaviours of the various UG cadres through extortions etc and crony capitalism by the Overground State Machinery fit very well into this play – by the way, the two biggest Factions in Naga society are the Overground and Underground although most Nagas seem to have forgotten this fact!
The recent Municipal elections issue, important as it may be, is not free either. But in this regard, it will be worthwhile to remember that while the demands of Statehood may have made some taxation imperative in a self-governing environment, it was Naga refusal to pay taxes to foreign rulers that first led to Naga resistance against British Imperialism. The 1879-80 Battle of Khonoma and Naga desire to remain as free as they always were was all about refusal to pay taxes to someone else for lands that belonged to them! The Naga Memorandum to the Simon Commission in 1929 again reflected this wish and the reason why the Naga leaders demanded to remain outside the Reformed Scheme of India. Even the 16-Points Agreement (Point No 11), the legal document that first gave Government of India legitimate claim over Nagaland, specifically and categorically made provision for Nagaland to be financed in a different pattern from other states in India. Even then, early administrators of the Government of Nagaland complained that “the collection of Annual House Tax was one of the most difficult and risky task … amidst the tremendous impediments posed by the UGs with their full might where they had completely gripped and sealed the villages” (Nagas 80 Plus, page 129). Against this backdrop, a wise Government would be very careful to remember Naga history because that is how our people have come to be where we are!
The Naga Political Issue is probably the oldest unresolved conflict situation in the world today. The Issue which started nearly a century ago has continued to defy solution despite many attempts and even near resolutions in the past. Somehow, something always seemed to go wrong whenever an opportunity for resolving it arose. In the early days, the Naga Nationalists were in no mood to compromise their stand of Naga Independence and failed to see that the Government of India was in no position to talk of Naga Independence. Government of India has also tried all stratagems, including military solutions – at least one military commander is said to have even boasted that he would “finish the Naga Problem” within six months – but failed. Today, the situation has become much more different today and has taken a complete turn-around with the Government of India in a position to literally do what it wants while the Nagas have become fragmented and with the NSCN-IM, the best trained group, unwilling to accept the other Naga groups on equal footing which has remained one of the main hurdles.
What is also surprising is that at a time when the vast majority of Naga people are clamouring for “solution”, Government of India apparently is not taking advantage and even seems to play delay tactics. Also, while the GoI is said to have accepted the “unique position and history of the Naga people”, there has been no visible attempt to solve the Issue on that basis. Instead, we see prominent members of the Government, including Governor R N Ravi, trying to provide a different narration, squarely still blaming the British for genuine Naga aspirations. An honest straightforward admission of the facts of Naga history, while equally stating that Naga Independence is not possible, as the basis of a lasting agreement has still not been tried after so many decades. Attempts to re-write history in the past had only made the Issue more intractable by adding insult to injury as if the Naga people were incapable of independent thinking. On the other hand, the Orwellian warning that “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history” still seems to find adherents who try to practice it on the Nagas! GoI need not feel the need to prove that India’s own Kautilya is cleverer than Machiavelli or any other such characters all the time, especially in their dealings with a tiny people like the Nagas where they have already proved many times that they can keep the Nagas divided and the Naga Issue at bay while pretty much doing what they want in Naga society. The G-20/B-20 Summit, in the wake of the Oting massacre of Naga civilians, is an easy recent example. Instead, it will be better and more profitable for everyone, including people of India and it’s Government, if GoI will play its role fully with wisdom, sagacity and statesmanship on the world stage!
The duty of Naga leaders is clear. But those Nagas with the ability to think, and especially those in the field of academia, who can speak more freely, have a bounden duty to Naga society and they must play their roles fully if they have even a modicum of concern for their people and society.
Charles Chasie
D’ Block, Kohima
