Z K Pahrü Pou
Mission Colony, Pfutsero
What makes Indians Indian? Does colour defines who Indians are? No, their skin colour or complexions, unlike the Nagas, are extremely diverse. Some Indians have lighter skin, some have light brown, and some have dark skin. Hence, skin colour does not qualify or disqualify a person from being an Indian. How about defining them on the basis of common religion? No, India is not formed on the basis of one religion. There are Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism, Christianity, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism and thousands of primal religions. Hence, religion does not qualify or disqualify a person to be called Indian. What about ethnicity? Do all Indians belong to a single ethnic group? A big fat NO. India has more than two thousand ethnic groups. They all are different from each another. What similarity does one find between a Punjabi and a Malayalee? Who is to be considered more Indian: a Tamil or a Bihari? Are those people living in New Delhi (Capital City) more Indian than those who are in Goa? No. But many Nagas think that they are more Nagas than others because of their location. What about common culture? India is a land of diverse cultures. It will be simply impossible to write down all the cultures and customs of Indians. Does language the main factor of defining a person as Indian? It is not because there is no just one language. It is believed that there are more than 19,500 languages or dialects being spoken in India as mother tongues. Does caste system determine Indians to be Indian? It can’t be because there are huge population outside of caste system. Despite all these differences, Indians are able to form a nation and live under one country because every citizen is under one flag and constitution.
Can Nagas be Naga as much as Indians can be Indian? Yes. There shouldn’t any problem for the Nagas to be Naga. We have been divided by ‘outsiders’ on the basis of region and tribes. Many Nagas, unfortunately, are being hypnotised by Indians to believe that Nagas cannot be Naga because there are dissimilarities among them. However, comparing with Indian, Nagas can be much more Naga than the Indians are. If Gujaratis and Tamils can both ascribe themselves to the idea of India, there should not be any problem for a Konyak and Anal to call themselves as Naga. Likewise, the differences in culture between Maram and Sangtam should not disqualify them to be called Naga as much as Rajasthani and Oriya (Odia) are Indians despite their differences in all aspects. If differences in language, culture, religion, ethnicity, region and colour do not disqualify Indians to be Indian, or Americans to be American, then the same yardstick applies to the Nagas. Every nation evolves. Let’s not fall into the enemy’s trap and lose our evolving nationhood.
Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of Indian nation, bravely declared that “Nagas have every right to be independent.” We must wake up and reclaim and reshape our shattered birthright. Both big nation (India) and small nation (Naga) have the same and equal right, that is, the right to live in freedom. Small geographical area with less population does not mean Nagas don’t have the right to be an independent nation. Nagas have every right to live under a united homeland under the protection of common Flag and Constitution. Nagas have many things to contribute for the betterment of humanity and the world. Naga’s culture of sharing wealth will help in alleviating mass poverty; working culture will revive dignity of labour; communitarian life will tackle the problem of rapidly developing individualism and competition; and respect for nature is the utmost necessity in the face of ecological crisis today. These are some of the guiding principles that the world is in urgent need. Hence, Nagas need freedom not only for their own benefit but also for India and the world as a whole. To conclude, if Indians can be Indian then Nagas can be Naga too!
