Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has done well to take a much needed initiative of building a bridge of friendship between two well known villages—Ungma under Mokokchung district and Tuophema in Kohima district. The Babu Tzubu Amphitheatre was inaugurated by Rio on December 20, 2011 at Ungma village. Both the village has produced two Chief Minister—one SC Jamir and Neiphiu Rio himself. We appreciate the foresight shown by Rio to reach out to peoples across the divide. He has shown this with his initiative both in Eastern and Southern Naga areas. While some people may question the ‘political’ motive of such programmes and manifestos, yet to be fair, everything should not be viewed from the narrow prism of politics alone. In fact both the Chairman of the respective Village Council Tuophema and Ungma were present during the inauguration. And as rightly mentioned the Babu Tzubu Amphitheatre will be a symbol of friendship between Ungma and Tuophema villages and not NPF party and Ungma village. Political parties, governments or leaders may come and go but such a thing as friendship and amity will outlive the vicissitude and metamorphosis of politics. Rio in his address during the inauguration expressed the hope that this will nurture the friendship and unity between the Ao and the Angami tribes and the Naga people as a whole. At a time when there is growing distrust and suspicion between different tribes on different kinds of issues, this kind of initiative will go a long way in fostering lasting friendship and unity. We need more of such inter-tribal ties to be strengthened.
The inner strength of the Naga people can be found in our culture and tradition and we need to tap into the goodwill that is found here. It will be noteworthy to mention here a particular festival held a few years ago at Lungwa of Mon district. One of the stated objectives of the gathering was to unite the kinfolk arbitrarily separated during the head-hunting days. By using the inherent strength of culture, the Konyak Nagas from Arunachal Pradesh, Myanmar and Nagaland converged at Lungwa in an effort to revive and renew their bond. As such, if Nagas can develop such cultural meeting points, gradually, there will be a meeting of the mind, which can help nurture a feeling of oneness. The initiative of Rio to foster friendship between the Ao (Ungma) and Angami (Tuophema) Nagas may be good for politics but also immensely beneficial in the long run for peace and unity among the Nagas. Likewise, such kind of initiative or ‘peace models’, can be replicated to help resolve conflicts and foster greater understanding among peoples and tribes. Some of the recent events has raised question whether narrow identity politics and fundamentalist beliefs are becoming more pronounced even though we all talk of peace, reconciliation and unity of the Nagas. While we cannot wish away our tribal affiliation, nevertheless we need to strengthen our common affiliation as Nagas if we want to live and let live together. It is quite a paradox world that we live in. We speak of great progress of the human mind in terms of knowledge and technology yet it is quite disturbing to see among the Nagas the reiteration of the old dogmatic belief of ‘we’ and ‘us’. Initiating inter-tribal and cultural meeting points in the specific area of conflict resolution and peace building exercises is very relevant for Nagas today. Narrow identity politics should pave way for mutually beneficial relationship and one that will help the Nagas into evolving a shared future.
The inner strength of the Naga people can be found in our culture and tradition and we need to tap into the goodwill that is found here. It will be noteworthy to mention here a particular festival held a few years ago at Lungwa of Mon district. One of the stated objectives of the gathering was to unite the kinfolk arbitrarily separated during the head-hunting days. By using the inherent strength of culture, the Konyak Nagas from Arunachal Pradesh, Myanmar and Nagaland converged at Lungwa in an effort to revive and renew their bond. As such, if Nagas can develop such cultural meeting points, gradually, there will be a meeting of the mind, which can help nurture a feeling of oneness. The initiative of Rio to foster friendship between the Ao (Ungma) and Angami (Tuophema) Nagas may be good for politics but also immensely beneficial in the long run for peace and unity among the Nagas. Likewise, such kind of initiative or ‘peace models’, can be replicated to help resolve conflicts and foster greater understanding among peoples and tribes. Some of the recent events has raised question whether narrow identity politics and fundamentalist beliefs are becoming more pronounced even though we all talk of peace, reconciliation and unity of the Nagas. While we cannot wish away our tribal affiliation, nevertheless we need to strengthen our common affiliation as Nagas if we want to live and let live together. It is quite a paradox world that we live in. We speak of great progress of the human mind in terms of knowledge and technology yet it is quite disturbing to see among the Nagas the reiteration of the old dogmatic belief of ‘we’ and ‘us’. Initiating inter-tribal and cultural meeting points in the specific area of conflict resolution and peace building exercises is very relevant for Nagas today. Narrow identity politics should pave way for mutually beneficial relationship and one that will help the Nagas into evolving a shared future.
