The Prime Minister of India appreciating the Naga cultural heritage and way of life is no doubt significant. In a country as diverse as India and with a population of close to 2 billion, each community having its own culture, it is indeed pleasing to note that the Prime Minister noticed the efforts made by Lidi Kro-u of Kohima village. There are many such organizations or groups like the Lidi Kro-u of Kohima village, some of which possibly could be doing even much more than Lidi Kro-u. The point here is not how much one is doing, though. The point is that the Prime Minister of India appreciating Naga culture and promoting it to his audience is in itself a big booster for Nagaland in a lot of ways. Besides, it has made headlines across the country as news and media outlets have covered it extensively. As grateful as we are to the Prime Minister, it also reminds us to question ourselves if we are doing enough to preserve our cultural heritage – both tangible and intangible.
Today, our children and youngsters are living and growing up in a different time – a time when the world has shrunk and people interconnected like never before in the history of the world. Their thoughts and minds are influenced by an array of issues and with unlimited information available to them in the palm of their hands, they are growing up with a worldview quite different from their parents and predecessors. As fast as the world is changing, they are bound to keep up with the times. Thus, as they try to keep pace with the advancing world, they are naturally disconnected from their culture. In the process, they become more accustomed to the global or popular culture while their very own native culture becomes alien to them. This trend is now even seen in the rural areas and villages where we think the trove of our culture lies. As such, the day is not far away when we will have a synthetic culture – a culture that is no longer authentically Naga.
This threat of losing Naga cultural heritage is not the fault of the youngsters. It is partly because of the changing times (on which we have no control) and partly because of the elders who failed to raise their children ‘right’. No culture is perfect and there are no doubt flaws in our culture as in any other. These flaws, the obvious ones that are no longer relevant to the times, need to be phased out if we want our children to take pride in our culture. The parochial attributes of our culture need to be simply done away with and the relevant attributes refined. Otherwise, we risk the likelihood of our own children disowning our culture. The threats posed by alien cultures on ours is one thing but our own children growing up in disapproval of our culture is quite another. Teaching the tangible aspects of our cultural heritage to the younger generation is an effective way of preserving our heritage but it will be a mere superficial practice if it is not based on the intangible facets of our heritage. Where will the youngsters learn that from if not the elders? But, are our elders worthy teachers?
