Jack T. Chakhesang
Not a few people are fond of saying “Tomorrow never comes!” And they pat themselves for having reiterated an oft quoted cliché amidst applause by the gullible. However, you may like to think it over. For the fact is that tomorrow comes every day.
That is why Today is Yesterday’s Tomorrow and so de facto will be Tomorrow’s Yesterday---in a perennial on-going cycle until the end of time.
Therefore, as the head line suggests, all aspects of life, hence history in all its ramifications is implied. However, for the sake of home grown concerns, I shall here focus mainly on our Nagaland these days---in short, as of today.
This necessitates but a very brief recap of our inherited customs and traditions. The genesis of Naga roots have been speculated with convincing evidence as also folk lore of several tribes by anthropologists and historians plus authors of various shades, capabilities and interests thus going back a few thousand years to around 3,000 B.C. in China and Inner Mongolia.
The yester years
According to former Director of Arts and Culture, Alemchiba Ao, in “A Brief Historical Account of Nagaland” the Nagas of today are a composite mixture of nine races. These include traces of the Negroid and Caucasian elements. However, they are primarily of the Tibeto-Burman stock of Mongolian origin mostly through migrations from East and South-East Asia and also some from the West.
This intermingling of races during waves of migrations over millennia can perhaps explain why Nagas of today are of all shapes and sizes and complexions. Some tribesmen are tall or short and even of medium build. They are also fair, very fair and even of dark complexion. A few do look a bit Negroid while yet others seem to imbibe a touch of the Caucasian. These features are extant in all the 40 (forty) or so Naga tribes. Along with the inherited inherent nature they make up (comprise) the general mind-set of the Nagas of today.
Be that as it may, what I would rather like to embark on here is from a statement of British Field Marshal Sir William Slim who commanded the Allied Forces in the Burma Campaign during World War II. In his memoirs “Defeat into Victory” Sir William asserted: “The character of a people is shaped by the type of land they have inhabited for the past 400 to 500 years.”
In this context, a few years ago, some researchers had identified five places of antiquity in Nagaland. These are Khosoma and Khezhakeno villages in Phek District, Long Terok in Mokokchung District and two others in Mon District. They unearthed some cracked clay pots and the like and had them carbon-dated in Florida, USA. The findings were dated to about 700 years ago---in other words around 1,300 A.D. The pros and cons of such discovery I leave it to the experts, of course.
Head-hunting & Agriculture
Nevertheless, we now know that our forefathers who settled in our present day homeland, sited their villages mostly on hill tops for all round defence but with a constant water source nearby if not within the village itself. These thatched villages had surrounding walls constructed with stones, wood and mud with one main gate chopped from a tree of vast girth.
The so called enemies perceived by the inhabitants of a village were not foreigners or alien peoples but their counterparts in neighbouring villages and even tribes. From this it follows that they instituted the practice of head-hunting mainly for pride and prestige. A woman’s head from another village or tribe was considered a rarity and high accolades were conferred on the head-hunter concerned. Basically, they were a martial race when the need arose. Perhaps, despite Christianity, this nature is still inherent in us Nagas of today but not with daos and spears rather with guns and money enthused and propelled by whatever ideology or political bullets of the day.
Most times the villagers engaged in cultivating the immediate slopes of their hill tops as also the vicinity (surrounding areas) with the streams, rivulets, even rivers and in some cases the watersheds as their boundaries. They managed to sustain themselves with whatever grains, fruits, vegetables, animals, poultry, and fishes the land provided. That is why even today 70% of our people are rural-based and agrarian.
This was a short step to having law and order within the village through administration by the elders. Thus were the Village-States developed as entirely independent entities with traditions and customary laws---somewhat like the City-States of ancient Greece?
In the process, some villages developed affiliations with other villages near and far and even tribes had similar affiliations. Hence there were periodic interactions in a sort of festive mood.
If we really bother to ponder, every land area in every part of the world provides something particular for the people’s sustenance. Where there is lack of something, alternatives are provided. For instance, the Middle-East is mostly arid desert but with oases and sizable patches of greenery here and there. So water in these countries is a precious commodity. Providence has however endowed billions of gallons of crude oil and natural gas beneath the sands which today makes these countries very wealthy. Here I skip over the economic aspects since these are well understood.
In a similar vein, our Naga Hills are also blessed by nature with munificent flora and fauna. There are over 1,200 types of plants out of which 215 are edible and some also have medicinal properties and which have been used by certain elders imbibed in the craft of herbal healing for various ailments.
Living off the land our ancestors came to worship nature which they believed as being animated by spirits good and bad and started practising Animism.
Since the land and its resources provide for the sustenance of a people, it is regarded as an entity which feeds and nurtures the growth and development of its children---just as a mother would. From this it follows that most peoples call the land of their ancestors as “Motherland.” So Indians also call their country Bharat Mata just as the Russians say “Rodina” or the English say “Mother England,” just to cite a few.
There are some exceptions of course like the Germans who call their nation as the “Fatherland” and have gone to war many times to emphasise this concept. The most notable German ventures in this context were the two World Wars which they lost. {Ironically, the incumbent Chancellor (equivalent to Prime Minister) of Germany is Angela Merkel---a woman!}
The Americans, however, refer to their country as Uncle Sam based on its initials of USA. Yet it is interesting to note that since recently they also have a Homeland Security, a salient organisation among the U.S. 16-odd intelligence agencies.
And as for our Naga brethren who now comprise Naga Political Goups (NPGs), they have always called our nation as Homeland. As such, like any other nationals, to defend one’s land is one’s birthright even to sacrifice our lives for it for the sake of our countrymen should the need arise. And like any other nation, that is what Naga struggle is all about.
The Naga tribes, like most communities of the world are also male-centric. So, it is also undoubtedly remarkable that especially the Angami society and its other Tenyimia affiliated tribes which have been staunchly patriarchal ever since they adhered to Animism, should have a female deity as their Supreme Being. As Animists they believed that nature is animated by spirits good as well as bad.
A British author wrote in his memoirs over a century ago, that the Angamis also practised a “purest form of democracy.” Other tribes had their Village chieftains and the Konyaks had their Anghs. These aspects are still recognised even today in some form or the other.
Over the centuries, however, Christianity gradually entered in phases and although we have celebrated our Quasqui Centennial, it took decades to cover all parts of our State. Now, our Christian Sesqui Centennial is but six years hence in 2022. We now are about 95 per cent of Christians of various denominations.
Being basically an agrarian State, around 70 per cent of the population are still rural based the rest being urban and semi-urban, or even semi-rural---for that matter.
Fortunately, with education (literacy rate being 79.6 % as against the national lesser average) has come much awareness. And yet, in spite of it all the basic mind set still needs thorough introspection. Christianity has also played a major role in the education of the Nagas.
Nagas first began to assert their identity in 1929 to the British Simon Commission visited Kohima. The British had offered the status of Crown Colony which was declined. However, the Naga areas were declared as “Excluded Areas” and left much to them even under British administration. The Nine-Point Agreement of 1947 also known as the Hydari Agreement envisaged a measure of hope for Naga aspirations.
However, not content with this, responding to a clarion call of the Naga National Council, 99.9 per cent of Nagas had put their thumbprints in favour of independence status. As a consequence, the Nagas in general, did not participate in the first two Indian national general elections. The NNC formed an armed wing as the Naga Army and began their war of attrition. Government of India responded with the now very much controversial AFSPA, 1958. Much has already been written on the Naga pursuit of sovereignty and the tragic and even positive events that are part of any conflict needs no emphasis here.
The Nagaland People’s Convention (NPC) headed by concerned educated leaders being aware of the atrocities the villagers especially suffered decided to have a sort of truce with Government of India (GoI) and so the 16-Point Agreement of 1961 was enacted whereby it paved for Nagaland’s statehood. A section of people have always termed the NPC leaders as “collaborators” but in a deeper sense, when you ponder it, this agreement gave a respite to the Naga people especially the rural inhabitants.
Jawaharlal Nehru, then Prime Minister, has been castigated too because he was put to embarrassment when he visited Kohima with the then Burmese Premier U Nu and with whom they had arbitrarily marked the international boundaries between the two countries with certain unnecessary fallouts. Be that as it may, when Nehru laid a Bill in Parliament for the creation of a 16th State of the Indian Union to be henceforth called “Nagaland” there were questions by certain Members as to why the new State should not be called Naga Desh or Nagasthan. To this Nehru had said, “If the Thais can have their Thailand, ten let the Nagas have their Nagaland!”
And so on, Naga history flows because the NNC and Naga Army still carried on their activities fighting for their Homeland. A Peace truce was signed in Sept. 1964 but while a Peace Centre is still at Kohima, it is in all frankness, a sidelined entity.
Then came for the first time, a major ambush on then Chief Minister Hokishe Sema’s convoy but he escaped unhurt. And soon after this, the Naga Affairs which had hitherto been under the Indian External (then Foreign) Affairs Ministry was put under (Internal) Home Affairs Ministry.
Meanwhile, the “counter-insurgency” operations by Indian Army and Para military Forces continued and which again put the rural people into extreme indescribable hardships. It was then on November 11, 1975 that the Shillong Accord was signed between then Governor L.P. Singh on behalf of the Government of India and “Representatives of the Underground Organizations.” Quite a few people tend to denigrate this Accord but the fact remains that a measure of peace was ushered in and development works continued within the resources then available and made possible.
And now we come to the “Framework Agreement” between GoI and NSCN (IM) and that too, after 19 years of ceasefire and over scores of meetings in various parts of the world, signed in 1997. The gist of this is not yet made fully public for several reasons. Understandably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been keen to resolve the Naga political problem ASAP and so did Interlocutor R.N. Ravi but within the ambit of the Constitution of India. However, both have realized that Naga history is not only unique but the Naga issue is very, very complicated and has several ramifications. Regarding our Naga brothers in Myanmar, it is related but different issue.
Two points are very clear from the side of GoI. The first is full Independence of the Nagas is out of question. In this connection NSCN(IM) leaders have mentioned “Shared Sovereignty”. This is to imply that the Nagas have always been an independent people comprising Village-States that had never been under any foreign rule for ages until the advent of the British in 1832 and later on Indian rule (by force or invasion?). So, Naga uniqueness is to be impressed upon.
The second point is the amalgamation of all contiguous Naga-inhabited areas in Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh into Nagaland. Had our brethren in these areas had been part of the Naga People’s Convention and opted to join the move for Statehood, the question of integration would never have arisen. As things stand now, our neighbouring concerned States have already declared that they “will not part with even an inch of land.”
All said and done, however, one cannot really blame anyone for the delay. Nevertheless, what may yet be possible is some sort of autonomy for the contiguous Naga-inhabited areas in the neighbouring States. And as for our Nagaland perhaps a “higher status” than Statehood may be conceived. These will mean some new Bill to be laid and passed in Parliament. The question of Naga National Flag and Naga Army also raises pertinent points or else “Shared Sovereignty” as propounded by NSCN(IM) leaders will turn out to be mere semantics.
One of the core problems of Naga society in general is that tribalism is still prevalent above all other considerations and it seems this characteristic will continue to be nourished for how long we cannot say. No matter what whether we call for Unity which is the motto of Nagaland State, the various (now called) Naga Political Groups (NPGs) are not likely to come under the umbrella of the NSCN(IM) which claims to have the mandate of the Naga people. They all want “equal” participation. As seems now, these NPGs are like various denominations of the same religion but with certain salient differences.
On top of that, the Naga public as also the other citizens of Nagaland is fed up of all the misdemeanors by their various cadres plus taxes and extortions under the very nose of the State Govt.’s authorities. We also must deeply introspect as to the various forms of illegal and/or ad hoc activities in the various Govt. departments. Over ground or underground we Nagas are yet to be truly and fully united. And that is our current malaise. Forget about our claims of inherited Naga hospitality, honesty and courage, we are now morally impaired.
The Church which has much influence can also play a major role in our Naga issue but first it must set its house in order. After all, the Church is also manned by humans just like any ordinary citizen. These leaders must strive to maintain balance of their human impulses and spiritual commitments to rise above human frailties and further inspire more committed flock onto the right path. The laity must be motivated to supersede the fine quality of the various palatial Churches of various denominations. Then only, will Nagaland be truly for Christ.
Thus, just as the sun rises each morning after the night following the sunset, Tomorrow will dawn and will be what we make it Today based on improvements of our Yester Years.
