Imlisanen Jamir
Last week, in the busy streets of Dimapur, in front of a school gate, a student who could not have been more than 12, was seen poking at the butt of a rifle carried by a soldier. A look of horror swept across the mother’s face, as she quickly pulled her son away. The child smiled bemused and hopped away with his mother, as the unaware soldier continued standing stoically.
This scene sums up life in Nagaland.
Generations of Nagas have grown up with the sight of guns amidst their town centers, in front of their homes, schools; resulting in a people desensitized to how abnormal and shocking the scenes in Nagaland would be to any ‘outsider.’
Saturday’s killing of civilians and a soldier during a security operation at Mon reminds us of the violent conditions under which the people of Nagaland live. We have tried hard to subdue the realities of our existence under militaristic conditions by creating our own ‘normal’ through any distraction that gets our mind off our violent past and present.
Incidents like the one this weekend though, serve a grim reminder. Beneath the veneer of this ‘normal’ that we’ve created for ourselves lies our true condition. Whatever progress and development we may make as a State and a people will account for very little as long as impunity is given to security forces under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
Naga society is in need to carefully re-consider how, as individuals and communities we have defined our enemies, disarmed our empathy and compassion, organised our hatreds, and rationalised our destructive acts through conflict. But this will not be possible so far as our lives are dictated by oppressive laws and in the absence of Just Peace.
Comments can be sent to imlisanenjamir@gmail.com
