There was a time when the Naga identity was synonymous with values such as honesty, truth, justice, honor, and loyalty. These were not just virtues; they were lived realities, passed down through generations. Folklore and oral traditions recount tales of unflinching honesty and trust, stories in which theft was so rare that locks were unnecessary. But today, those same values seem like distant echoes, evoked only in nostalgic recollections.
Truth now often hides behind a curtain of lies. Justice is negotiated instead of delivered. Honor is dismissed as outdated idealism, and loyalty, once a bond of blood and trust, can now be easily bought. We are not just losing values, we are losing ourselves. What once made the Naga people distinct and dignified is now being compromised in the name of convenience, greed, and modernity.
But it is not only our moral traits that are fading. Our physical attributes — strength, agility, and endurance — are also in decline. The Naga people were known to be hardy, shaped by the demands of the hills and the resilience of life in the wild. Today, sedentary lifestyles, poor diets, and apathy have replaced physical labor and discipline. Obesity, once unheard of in our communities, is now a visible concern, even among schoolchildren.
Imagine a generation of Naga people unable to scale the very hills their ancestors once roamed with ease. It is a disconnection not just from land but from identity. Like a fish forgetting how to swim, we risk forgetting what it means to be Naga.
We are also losing our community spirit. Individualism, while not inherently bad, has begun to erode the sense of solidarity that once held our communities together. The idea of community welfare, once a shared responsibility, is often now reduced to personal gain.
Something has clearly gone wrong. And while it may be too late to return to a pristine past, it is not too late to reclaim the essence of who we are. These traits, our values and our vitality, are not just cultural markers; they are the backbone of our collective dignity and survival. Without them, we risk becoming hollow imitations of ourselves, shaped by outside influences but lacking inner strength. To lose these traits is to lose our direction, our identity, and ultimately, our future. Reclaiming them is not an act of nostalgia. Surely, it is an act of necessity.