The two recent back to back incidents at Kohima and Tuensang have brought to the fore once again, the genuine concerns of the Naga public over movement of armed cadres in public inhabited areas. The problem gets worse when such cadres extort money from the public without having being duly authorized to do so in the first place, which itself is an act of indiscipline from within the ranks. And when such wayward cadres take matters into their own hands, they not only cause harm to public peace but also bring embarrassment to the groups that they represent. It is high time for the concerned authorities in the different Naga underground groups to start disciplining their cadres before such criminal minded hooligans in its ranks go about destroying the sanity of the Naga public. The mob’s action at Tuensang on Saturday is unfortunate and should have been averted. Similar cases of mob fury even in the past did not achieve anything good for peace and goodwill other than to demonstrate the frustration of the public over the lame duck approach of the government with regard to the maintenance of law and order.
One of the other issues, which cannot escape attention at this juncture, is whether mob justice is the answer or the problem? There have been many instances even in the past when the irate public had wanted to ‘deal’ with a given situation. The other question that needs to be asked especially to the ‘State authorities’ is why mob violence is becoming a daily occurrence among the Nagas and how is crime and lawlessness being dealt with? The State government would have to take its own set of initiative so that the security of its citizen is not compromised under any circumstance. The UG groups would also do well to understand that their legitimacy is derived not only by way of its political mandate but also on whether it can effectively protect those who have consented to obey it. The UG leadership should streamline its command structure or else it would simply mean the hijacking of political authority by the laws of the jungle—which some of the errant cadres are extremely fond of indulging in.
Nothing illustrates better the heady mix of armed atrocities and mob fury then the Tuensang incident that led to the killing of three NSCN (IM) cadres. The Mokokchung incident a few years back is still fresh in public memory. Only that time, it was the NSCN (K), which was at the receiving end of public discontent. The recent mob uprising at Wungram colony, Purana Bazar in Dimapur also merits attention of everything that is wrong in our present society. For the Naga people in general, it is also a reminder that there is always the lurking danger of tribalism waiting to raise its ugly head and events taking a communal hue. But this should not be allowed to happen. As far as mob justice goes, no can condone it because it is barbaric and does not conform to what a civil society ought to follow. However, people take the law into their hands because the system has failed them. First of all, let there be civility among UG cadres and allow the rule of law to prevail in the State. Otherwise who knows the mob may well be the only solution although two wrongs will never make a right.
