‘Silence speaks louder’ goes an adage and is believed to be infallible and effective by many in certain situations. But in a place like our land Nagaland where anything and everything is discussed, accused, denounced and defamed through the newspapers, silence does never speak louder, but instead has become to be thought of as a sign of faintness, weakness and self-surrender.
The most worrying aspect of these excessive accusations in our newspapers by persons deprived of wisdom and tolerance is the manifestation of gradual communal flare-ups, divisions, misinterpretation of facts and disorientation of the unlearned mass by some ill-learned leaders. This ought to be checked. Unlearned and innocent Nagas ought to be careful of ill-learned leaders and their ideologies lest they also imbibe such worldviews and tread the footsteps of the ill-learned.
Words are powerful. The Bible said it and we have seen it. We are witnesses of the many affluent orators and writers who have finally landed up in prisons, exiled or severely indicted for their words. And that word ‘yardstick’ which frequently appears in the articles related with Intangky issue; if the same yardstick is to be applied to us writers as well , Nagaland can surely expect many leaders like Varun Gandhi, who for his ‘communal flare-up speech’ was recently imprisoned and his prestige as a social worker went down forever.
The ideology present in the article written by one social worker Kevika S Sumi, which was carried in one of the local dailies entitled “Intangky belongs to Nagas of Nagaland” is a shock and should be a wake-up call for us Nagas.
At this juncture of the Nagas issue for sovereignty, a time when the bells of unity are ringing, a crucial time when the realization and preparation for a mass involvement in the push for early solution is high, Mr. Kevika S Sumi has, to our misfortune, attempted to open up the old wounds of the Nagas again by:
1. Segregating the Nagas of Manipur from the Nagas of Nagaland thereby manifesting his limited knowledge of the term ‘Naga’. Whereas the dream of every Naga is to unite and bring all Naga inhabited areas under one sovereign administrative unit, his statement has widely separated us and caused division among ourselves.
2. By falsifying Beisumpuikam village as a village of the Zeliangrong Nagas hailing from Manipur’s Tamenglong district is a total fabrication. Whereas everyone including the government knows and accepts that the village existed since time immemorial with the beginning of Naga history, and that the Zeliangrongs were the original inhabitant and landlord of Intangky; and that out of generosity, part of the land was donated to the government of Nagaland for a Reserved Park by Beisumpuikam villagers. Therefore, any attempt or even a fantasy to simply evict Beisumpuikam village from Intangky would be like the monkeys’ futile fantasy of chasing away the farmer and taking hold of his maize field!
3. By maintaining that the NSCN-IM is a group led by the Tangkhuls and Nagas from Manipur, Mr. Kevika S Sumi has brought about a bad name to the Government of Peoples’ Republic of Nagalim. If at all he is to be believed, should we presume the other national workers from different Naga tribes in the NSCN-IM as puppets of the Tangkhuls or puppets of Nagas from Manipur? No. They work for the Naga Cause. That is what unites them; that is what brings contentment to their hearts. This clearly manifests his greed for position and leadership and the readiness to part ways if he is not given the highest recognition.
4. One needs to ponder, particularly at this hour, the sanctity of a person’s state of mind to boldly declare that the Nagas of Nagaland are treated like dogs in Manipur. This is sensitive and such claims can be found wanting for excessive use of his right to speech. I have never been offended by any Manipur Nagas or Meiteis in my several visits to Manipur. This surely is a weird kinda person!
5. The counsel that he gave and the challenge he posed on the wisdom of the NSF and the Naga Hoho for poking their nose in the NC Hills violence, while neglecting the evicted Inavi Villagers. His assumption and seeming fear that the intervention of a parent body like the NSF and Naga Hoho in the NC Hills violence will make it a Naga issue, is a narrow and limited thinking. No one has so far claimed the NC Hills carnage a Naga issue although a Zeme Naga tribe is involved. Therefore his comparison of the NC Hills violence and Intangky eviction is very much irrelevant. His attempt to put together the Intangky eviction issue and NC Hills carnage thereby put the Zeliangrong community in the limelight demonstrates his seeming hostility on the Zeliangrong tribe in particular.
6. Let’s face it: Chased out 27 times and still intruding! This is a social shame of greed and wantonness. Such stubbornness and greed is unbecoming of the ethics of any Naga men and women. No right thinking citizen or society would ever think of giving any moral support to the outcome of such greed. Encroached 27 times! This literally and figuratively amazes me as rare of rarities, one in a million! However many rights one may possess to inhabit a particular land, if one is accused of intrusion and chased out 3 or 4 times, any sensible and responsible family man ought to look out for other places for the comfortable settlement of his wife and children.
The question is, why have all these unnecessary and irrelevant accusations come up with the Intangky issue? The picture drawn by this so-called social worker on this Intangky issue is murky and filled with ‘isms’. A Psychologist can conclude, by cross-examining his assertion, as a man void of wisdom, devoid of the potential to possess a genuine love even for his own tribe. His ideology poses a threat to the unity and diversity of Nagas. His open hatred and intention to humiliate the Zeliangrong community in particular, needs to be forgiven by one and all.
Pawan Rahaa
Jalukie
