Imnasenla Pongener
For some, “individualism” would be the moral stance and a social outlook. For others, a political philosophy or an ideology. Whatever it may be, it all comes down to emphasizing "an individual’s moral worth." The term harbours an entity where one’s capability is advocated on what can be achieved through self-reliance.
Like the business tycoon, Dhirubhai Ambani, who started his entrepreneurial career by selling pakoras, we are taught to fend for ourselves as per life’s offerings and be self-reliant. So as to speak, believe in one’s own capability. What you thought you could never achieve, you could through “individualism.”
But with growth and greater achievements, one perceives himself as the centre of everything that he makes of the world, and eventually, values and all meaning that links to civilization and culture deteriorates into solipsism, narcissism and takes a toll on sanity. There is the choice of freedom to think and do as we like, but it is the intention and conscience that differentiates the choices being made. It is the attitude towards life and by sheer luck; attitude is a matter of individual taste, where one’s morality is just a part of a carefully crafted individual self.
In the pursuit of happiness and freedom, the cult of individualism is formed where one sees helping another as an obligation. This cult needs no aid to perpetuate its dominance in humankind, for it is unconsciously woven into the very vein of our being. We are free to think for the self to help sustain one’s very existence and in the process of self-sustenance we forget the very land that has moulded us into what we are today.
No doubt, the Nagas have laudable talents but what many fail to do is ‘not focus’ on the self but work on inculcating values making a conscious effort of realising what one could contribute as a single entity to our community. The world now lives on ‘survival of the fittest’ and that I, me and myself are much conditioned by the competition that exists and the environment we breathe in. Individualism brings about division within a group as well as in a community. For instance, there is the identity of our roots passed down from our forefathers that differentiates one from the other. Metaphorically speaking, if “this identity” were stripped from us, we would only have our physical being left. Maybe, this perspective would help us grasp that we are all for the same – to exists in peace, to shift focus of I and we to a united “us.” Or, maybe not.
Considering the various tribes, organizations and factions that exist, we are prone to division and our stance for unity threatened. It is unduly because of our egos and superiority complex above another. But under one roof we are all Nagas, and that identity should be celebrated above all else. Contrary to us being proud of our identity from the mainland Indians, we have self-inflicted differences. Be it in small-talk conversations to big-talk conferences, “unity among the Nagas” is talked about everywhere. It is for every individual to put aside differences to work towards unification with the spirit of “forgive and forget.” By opening towards new ideals and beliefs of what good can be acquired with individualism put aside, a lot could be achieved for “Greater Nagaland” if stood together for every single cause that may provoke assimilation of our land and its people. Nagaland needs collective cooperation in spite of the differences amidst the peril of the country’s democracy.
What good are the talks for development by different organizations if it were to aid in fingers being pointed at one another? What good are self-awarded statuses if we cannot use it for a better tomorrow? The hubris that comes along with it would only stain our culture we hold so proud today. It will be our undoing should we drift into ignorance of the fact that Nagaland needs a united “us.”
Imnasenla Pongener is pursuing her Masters in Communication from University of Hyderabad and is currently doing her Summer Internship at The Morung Express
