Nagaland - an abode of peace and beauty, a state rich in tradition, culture and values.

An eyeopener for the nation and the world

One doesn’t need to spend a long time in Nagaland, to be mesmerized by the honest, clean and straight-forward looks in the eyes of each and every Naga citizen, young or old, man or woman.  This speaks volumes of the fact that in the world of corruption, crime and materialism, the people of this beautiful state are very close to Godliness and spiritualism.

The Chief Minister of Nagaland, Mr Neiphiu Rio, echoed the words of Swami Vivekananda in his speech  - “May I be born and reborn again and again, and suffer thousand miseries, if I am able to worship my God the wicked, my God the afflicted, my God the poor of all races.”   “I respect all religions.  I shall go to the Mosque of the Mohammedan, I shall enter the Christian’s Church and kneel before the Crucifix …… I shall enter into the forest and sit down in meditation with the Hindu.”   And the essence of these words can be visibly felt as omni-present in the entire state of Nagaland.  Assimilation and not destruction, harmony and peace, and not dissension – is the motto of all the Naga people.

They continue to practice their festivals so that they do not allow their rich traditions to be wiped out completely by the changing face of today’ modern world.  They have managed to strike the right balance of preserving their culture and traditions, and at the same time, pursue their religion, while taking the path of progress and development.

One of the strikingly unique selling points of the Naga people is their rich culture and tradition.  People from all over the world love to come to their land and join them in their festivals, not only to be part of  the festivities, but also to get a glimpse of the old world.  To the western and the developed world, they present a glimpse of a rich culture which is a blend between the old world and the modern society.  If we look back at our history, we find that our Naga people have moved from an era of head-hunting to the computer age in a little over a generation.  For the Nagas “it has been a thousand years in a life time.”  Perhaps, no race or society has taken such giant leaps towards progress within a very short time.  Naga people  are a  case-study  for  the rest  of the  world. Their  intellectuals, thinkers and leaders have been ensuring that in this process of giant leaps, their society is guided in the right direction.

The Naga people strongly believe and follow that only lively and meaningful culture can produce lively, meaningful and vibrant people what is good, is tapped, preserved or promoted and made to serve them, and what is not, is let go or refined to make their society a richer and happier place for them to live in.

The beautiful state and its hospitable, caring and humane people will bring you back to this heavenly part of our country, again and again and ……., and they know how to make you feel ‘at-home’.

 Lt Col Nirupam Bhargava Public Relations Officer (Ministry of Defence) Kohima