Introspection | Kuileng Ragui, Ukhrul District Headquarter

Allow me to address fellow Nagas, as “Citizens”, citizens in the best sense of the word, who have the skills and knowledge to live a public life; who are able to live a life of civility -and to share a few thoughts on Nagas right to freedom from oppression and perpetuate as an entity.

Ever since the dawn of humanity, mankind of its own descent has professed to live as an entity. However, at times the mightier embraced the weaker section to form empires, kingdoms etc. And in the process of this assimilation, enfeeble races are reduced to insignificance, at times exterminated into extinction. Those that are resilient enough face untold socio-cultural-economic and political discrimination in the hands of the superior and more organized forces.

We all learned to read and write through the Indian education system and therefore whether we like it or not, we are all students of Indian history. And the starkest observation of Indian history right before our very own eyes is the domination of the Indians by the British imperialist to achieve their selfish economic interest.

My point here of discourse is, not about the Indus valley civilization, the Mughal empires, the partition of Bengal etc, but of how, the British Colonialist under their selfish divide and rule policy, ruled India (like the Indians are ruling the Nagas against their expressed will) and the Indians were made to serve its master in servitude. We learn from these that; the Indians were subjected to the worst socio-cultural-economical-political subjugation under the apt divide and rule policy of the British Colonizers; some few projected Indians to serve the Britishers interest while neglecting the whole mass, who had to suffer the most under their subtle and atrocious policies.

That, while Europe was progressing in the 19th century, the Indians were not allowed to develop even in their least traditional ways; their educational-system, socio-cultural-political system was so manipulated to such extent that, the Indians had to live in abject poverty. Beginning from the onset of the East India Company, the Indians were reduced to serfhood and experienced misery upon miseries collaborated by few greedy Indians.

And the Indians are deploying exactly the same divide and rule policies and domination of the Nagas, the way they wish. Nagas were primarily educated through the evangelizing works of Dr. E W Clark at Mokokchung and Rev. William Pettigrew at Hunphun/Ukhrul. The Indian had never seriously considered educating/developing the Nagas and its areas. They have rather administratively continually curtailed higher education. It is for all Nagas to witness that even to this day nothing substantial has been developed here in any Naga areas in the fieldof medical, science & tech, industries etc except the proliferation of dividing and sub-dividing the Nagas everywhere, investing in the industry of division upon division of the Nagas. The only design of the Indians is to manufacture more division, scrapping on the Naga mentality of sectarianism, tribalism and those of Indian piece meal worshipers and actively encourage communalism which, in turn strengthened more social division. Seriously, are we noticing any major infrastructure developments in any Naga inhabited areas? The connectivity in Nagas areas is in a shamble, higher education systems are practically nil, no transfers of modern technology and industry in Naga areas has been initiated, thereby strengthening the process of the economic under-development of the Nagas.

Servitude to Indian govt intelligence agencies by worshipping their schemes to divide and be divided from within the Naga community will do no good but will only deteriorate the already fragmented Naga society. Maintaining their hold over the Nagas by setting into motion the divisive forces of communalism, tribalism and regionalism and by bolstering up the decadent indifferent Nagas will only project the furtherance of more industry of division.

As can be witnessed, the structure of the Indian patterns, aims, methods, curricula are all designed to serve their oppressive interest. And the irony is, true to their designs, our educated Nagas are not coming forward to contribute in the Naga nation building processes, ever complacent in theirIndian positions- whereas in the context of the Indians, the educated instilled and stirred the spirit of nationalism through analysis and criticizing the colonialist and exploitative character and organizes an anti-colonialist campaigns and political movements.

That, our Naga intelligentsia are so aped in Indian manners and customs, not realizing that modernity is more a question of approach, of thinking, of values, and not of manners of speech, or dress, or eating habits. We, (Nagas) do not realize that modern ideas and culture could be best imbibed by integrating them into Naga culture, eg. Instead of Indian marriage law, the Naga customary laws; instead of encouraging and promoting Indian civil/criminal laws; Naga customary village laws. Is it not a fact that the Naga employees of India are ever ready and complacent to book the resistance movement workers as law breakers under NSA, UAP Act etc etc; looked upon as acts of lawlessness? The law enforcing uniform personnel ever ready to pocket from the business community in the performance of their duty; readily pocket clandestinely from the NPG collectors.

Is it not we ‘Nagas’, ourselves, the intellectuals who are espousing that because of the Naga’s inherent social, cultural and political defects, Nagas need to be ruled perpetually by foreign masters?That the causes of the defeat of such multitude of Nagas by the Indians lay in the weakness of our internal social, economic, political and intellectual make up.

In the context of the Indians, as can be witnessed from the Revolt of 1857, it brought every Indians together, the Hindus, the Muslims, the peasants, the zamindars, the sepoys, save for few princes and chiefs much like our Naga educated and employees describing it as “Providential”.

We, Nagashas an unsure, two-sided attitude towards Indian rule over us-the Naga Intelligentsias, Chiefs, GBs are as a class loyal to the Indian rule since their interest coincided withthose of the Indians. Similarly, the Naga members of the higher bureaucracy shared with the Indian the benefits of a high standard of living in a poor Nagas land and the feel of administrative power and high social status, they, ‘Nagas’ remain by and large loyal instruments of Indian rule to the end.Some conservative society (those within the ambit of society not willing to look beyond tribalism) and religious (sycophants) outlook inclined them towards political conservatism. The followers of the other trend supported the Indians in the hope of maintaining their traditionally (Naga CSO’s) dominant position in the society.

Will these complexities within our Naga society pave any positive way towards a consolidated assertion of the Nagas right to live under one Political-economical-social-cultural umbrella?

One factor that is worth pondering over here is, we Nagas must learn from the Indians in their unifying force; comparatively, they had a tumultuous task to unify their mass, because of the prevalence of caste systems, the practises of the untouchables and so many other anti-social practises; yet they laid aside all those and stood up against the British government. In our context, we Nagas just have to shed our tribal identity and tone on the Naga Citizenship identity; think beyond communalism, start speaking beyond tribalism, practise beyond regionalism; we just have to become Citizens of the Naga political emancipation; nothing can stop the force of a burgeoning nebula star; its brightness growing stronger and stronger, bursting into immense measure of light and energy towards political deliverance.

We must endeavour to arouse national feeling, consolidate on this feeling, bring large number of the Naga people into the vortex of nationalist politics and political agitation and struggle.

In the history of mankind, one of the most disastrous impacts of tribalism is witnessed in the African continent. People with their limited understandings of the Geo-Eco-Politics, assumed that the African countries are the worst under-developed continent through their widest microscopic spectrum. But, are we aware of the policies of the imperialist to keep the Afro people divided on the lines of sectarianism, tribalism, regionalism, so they continue fighting among themselves over one issue or the other, while the imperialist can keep on manufacturing their interest?

All along, whether in the African continent or of the Nagas, “fishing in the troubled water”, has been the proffered instrument to rule over a sectarian society. Are we, Nagas any better off than any African states, just because the music of bullets isn’t whizzing passby us right now? The colonisers are tapping on every mistake we make as a Naga Citizen. As long as we are less than a Naga Citizen, the oppressors will keep on flooding with the instrument of manufacturing its product of division after divisions.

So, nothing is more imperative for us, Nagas to come together and assert our birth rights at this juncture as a Naga Citizen. There will be no better day than today; it is “now or never” attitude that must be toned by every Naga and raise the issue of our Naga identity in unison. Nobody needs to look beyond what one’s heart tells; not to the left nor to the right but what our heart desires and demands; the right to be heard and recognized as an entity of one common racial stock, “The Nagas”.

Thank you.