Kaka D Iralu
Martyrdom is often projected as the greatest sacrifice that a person can do for another person. It is an act where a person sacrifices his own life so that others might live. Jesus too extols this noblest of virtues by saying:”Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”(Jn. 15:13) The reader must however note that the motivating attitude to such an act is LOVE –“greater LOVE has no one”... As for this important theme of love, the Scriptures elsewhere stated that loving God with all of one’s heart and soul and mind and loving our neighbours as ourselves is the greatest commandment ever given to mankind (Matt. 22:37-40). Then in 1 Cor. 13 we are told that gifts like prophecy, miracles, tongues, knowledge etc are just like resounding gongs and cymbals if there is no love. It went on to state that in the end there would be faith, hope and love but that LOVE is the greatest of these three. (1 Cor 13: 1-13)
In our Naga struggle for the defense and recognition of our independence, martyrdom is not an experience that is unknown to us. Many thousands upon thousands from both our defense force as well as civil forces have laid down their lives for the sake of our country and its future. Among them were many a young man and woman who never got the opportunity to get married and have families of their own. Then there were other parents who never survived to see their children grow up. Yet there are some among us today who would acquiesce to the assertion that there exists a ‘martyr’s attitude’ which can be defined as ‘sacrificing or suffering in order to arouse feelings of pity or guilt in others.” There can be no greater insult to a martyr or ‘martyr minded’ person than to denigrate a patriot with such an allegation. No Naga can ever stoop lower than holding such an attitude towards a martyr or patriot.
In my short 63 years of living life in war torn Nagaland, I have heard as well as seen many Naga martyr fall and die for our country. Tragically after the ideological split in 1980 where the Shillong Accord of 1975 was cleverly used to cover up the crimes of the split, I have also seen many Naga martyrs who were riddled with bullets in the crossfire. Their deaths are deeply mourned and I won’t be surprised if the Naga leaders who gave the orders for their butchery should be punished both in this life as well as in hell.
Lastly, there are still remnants of those living martyrs in our midst even today. I call them “living martyrs” because they are daily sacrificing the comforts of their homes and family lives to uphold the national principle and independence of our country. They gave their whole life’s services for our nation’s cause. They did not get any economic benefits out of it. Even today, they are not paid a single Paisa for their services. Yet they have been carrying on their national duties day in and day out for all these years. These-mostly illiterate-but uncompromising patriots are my heroes and models. And here, let those who are falsely accusing these national workers of being paid by the Indian Government, let them produce in writing what amount these national workers are paid every month. I know for sure that the Indian Government is paying some amount monthly to the Nagaland Peace Center (NPC). This has been going on ever since the signing of the Shillong accord in 1975. But as to how much amount they have received to date and how they have used it, direct your inquiries to the Chairman of the NPC.
