Issue of Language is explosive in nature. One thing is because language is the core of one’s identity. I, for one will not speak or write Nagamese if it is promoted as an official language in its present form. It is not that I do not want to have a Naga language.
There are both for and against on according Nagamese as official language. Both arguments have valid points. No doubt Nagamese is a pidgin language, adopted from neighbouring languages. I have seen many non-Nagas speaking better Nagamese than the Nagas. In fact a shop keeper from Bihar will mock and correct you in Nagamese conversation if you do not understand many of his vocabularies. While he is at ease in conversing the so called Nagamese because he can mix fifty per cent Hindi, Assamese, Bhojpuri, you are at unease because you can’t even understand your ‘mese’.
Worse case is the one from Bihar will qualify UPSC writing in Nagamese language if it is officialised in the present format.
Moreover there are certain things we should not waste time, energy and resources in this globalized world where western culture is being homogenised, and English is one among them. There is also this economy of language, whereby you earn your living, including government job, knowing English language. So the apprehension that English may take a back seat if Nagamese is promoted may have some rationale.
We may also suspect ulterior motive behind Modi’s interest in promoting Nagamese. Therefore I don’t think Modiji will be very happy if we refuse to officialise Nagamese because that would mean a failed mission for his grandeur Hindustan.
Inspite of all these, the idea of developing a Naga language has its own advantages. Speaking English does not give you a Naga identity. In a tribal-ridden society like the Nagas, it is very difficult to shed off parochial mindset. It has only brought misery to the Naga society. Therefore it would be a good idea if the state takes step to develop a Naga language. This language will certainly include major chunk of Naga-mese, Naga-ish, Naga-di, but most importantly languages from the Naga tribes.
The official language of Indian Union is Hindi with English as a subsidiary official language. Centre has no role for a state to recognise any language as official language. In Nagaland except for English no other language is used as official language, not even Hindi. It is also not possible to promote any dominant tribal language, not even Tenyidie which is taught up to post-graduate level, as an official language of the state at this juncture given the complexity of the socio-cultural and political realities. English or Hindi is indispensable because all official communications with the Indian Union are done by these two languages. So promote Nagamese but let the contents be mostly indigenous languages and try avoiding Hindi as far as possible so that Naga distinctness is not assimilated to oblivion in the Indian culture. And for this the state should be the initiator.
This will give a distinct cultural attribute to the very idea of Naga, which in itself is a construct. Not that Nagas are not recognised as nation or ethnic group but there is no tangible attribute distinct to the Nagas. Racially there are many other mongoliod groups in India, Christianity which is widely practice is not an indigenous religion, customs and traditions are all very similar like many other tribal societies. By developing and promoting Naga language it can forge a tangible collective identity distinct to the Nagas.
The distinction between dialect and language is very frail. I would say it is only academic distinction. There is no strict rule that a language should have its own script. The purpose of dialect or language is to communicate, both verbal and non-verbal. Given the abundance of scripts today it is not necessary to invent a new alphabet. English alphabet which we comfortable use in our tribal language will serve the purpose. To be clear English alphabet itself is borrowed from Latin alphabet. Therefore dialect as language has no problem.
However while promoting Nagamese or whatever name is given for a Naga language care should be taken so that words are not randomly imported from other non-Naga languages, rather it should be compiled by giving equal weightage to the languages from all the different tribes. For this a good Language laboratory should be instituted. In case of confusion and conflict state should have prerogative authority to give final decision. This of course will not be a new initiative. Under the Naga National Council (NNC) few vocabularies were compiled and used as common language which are familiarised to us now. It is therefore interesting to know the stand of the present Naga Nationalist Groups (NNGs) in this respect as they have been claiming to be the guardian of Naga Identity.
Dr. Phyoben Odyuo Mokokchung
