Murder at the altar

Regardless of the Election Commission of India and the Chief Electoral Office of Nagaland’s claims, the recently held assembly election in Nagaland was neither successful nor peaceful. It was not free and fair either. It’s true that the elections are over, the results are out and the new government is to be sworn in now. Technically, all formalities have been completed and all the electioneering tools are now shelved only to be retrieved in the next election cycle 5 years later. But everybody knows the truth about how the elections were fought. Everybody knows how money was used, how votes were bought or how polling officials were bribed. Deep inside their hearts, all the elected candidates must know how they were elected. Almost every possible electoral malpractice was committed and that is the truth. Yet, they will be sworn in and will occupy their chairs until the next election and that is the harsh cruel reality.

Leaving aside the rest of Nagaland, we are all too familiar with how the election was conducted in Mokokchung. Electoral violence and coercion that even went to the extent of loss of life, bogus voting, bribery, deceit, debauchery, free flow of liquor, cash-for-votes, booth capturing – everything that was illegal was practiced in Mokokchung. No election in a democracy can get any worse than this and yet, here we are! Every living soul with a conscience knows the truth. However, of all the vices that were all pervasive during the election, there is one that needs immediate attention now that the electioneering process is over – the role of traditional civil bodies.
Traditional Naga democracy was murdered at the altar of election. Barring a miniscule few, all the traditional civil bodies both in the urban and rural areas were actively involved in the electoral process. In fact, in most cases, all the bogus votes were cast under their tutelage. The traditional institutions have been compromised. The murder of these institutions, the paragon of Naga democracy, is unforgivable. Posterity will judge the day’s ‘leaders’ and elders who are supposed to be the custodians of customary Naga democratic ideals. The Putu Menden of the villages, supposed to be the upholder of truth and justice, the champions of supreme good, have been turned into a mere instrument of anti-democracy. At this rate, it is difficult to say whether it was murder or suicide committed at the altar of election. These institutions have sold their right to be protected by Article 371A.

The traditional village institution that was considered sacred since time immemorial has been bartered away. How can they now claim to be legitimate after they have engaged in illegitimate acts during the election? Apart from the electoral vices, the most important question now is how to restore the sanctity of the village councils, or, in our case, the Putu Menden. The regressive activities that they have indulged in during the election have rendered them illegitimate in truth – and that is a bigger concern for us now. Is there a way to reclaim the Putu Menden and reinstate its inviolate sacred? How can we now forgive the transgressions of the Putu Menden and restore its sacrosanct authority in spirit and in truth? Every one of us must now urgently and seriously study this and find the remedy before we go past the point of no return.