Aheli Moitra
Once the paper had been presented and discussion followed, Rev. Dr. Wati Aier stood up to speak. But what he did was sing. The Convener of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation broke into a Japanese song, or one that came to be known as a Japanese song to Naga people who grew up in Kohima in Dr. Wati’s day and age (he is entering his seventies).
Dr. Mikio Miyagi, also entering his seventies, began to clap along. It did not to matter whether the song existed. The Japanese theologian had begun his paper presentation on ‘Christians and Reconciliation: Okinawa Experience’ with an apology to the Naga people, and others, whose lands Japanese armies had invaded and ‘wronged’ during World War II.
After the song, Dr. Wati sought forgiveness too. “Brother, please forgive the Nagas for doing wrong to the Japanese,” he said before hugging Dr. Mikio. The Nagas had sided with the British when the Japanese invaded. It eventually led to the Battle of Kohima and defeat of Japanese forces.
People in the audience at DABA’s Elim Hall on December 12 stood up, clapping in solidarity with this heartfelt moment of reconciliation.
Till this point in history, much of any literature that contains the Nagas alongside the Japanese is in reference to the Second World War. The stories are ridden with awe and treachery, the stuff of wars. An elderly uncle once retold one such fantastic story—of a man appearing from the forest as a silhouette on a setting evening, his sword raised, hair flowing, a dying army following. Uncle was a child. The Japanese had come with some oxen. “They looked like us, but we stood with them,” said the uncle of the Naga physical affinity to the Japanese but political solidarity with the British. The British, in turn, left the Naga lands in the mouth of a conflict that ravaged the Naga lands for decades hence.
“Forgiveness is a reciprocal relationship,” said Dr. Wati. Would this be the beginning of a new phase? Would this grain attract more such reconciliation grains to form a future told as a narrative of peace and reconciliation between the Nagas and the Japanese? Would there be peace memorials one day?
In the audience, this author also stood in solidarity. A dent of envy emerged in the heart. Why could the Indians and Nagas not find such a space for friendship?
The possibilities for the Indian state to begin the process of friendship, justice, healing and reconciliation is vast. And as Dr. Mikio Miyagi showed, all it needs, at times, is a simple gesture. An apology. An acknowledgment of past wrongs.
Could the Indian Army apologize to the Naga people? Could they evacuate the strategic camps set up all over the Naga lands; convert them into gardens which everyone can play in? Can the trucks disappear from the roads? Can the Indian and Naga become friends, as one people with another? Can memories of war break into dreams of peace?
More questions can be sent to moitramail@yahoo.com
