Like it or not, we Nagas are no less communal than the RSS or Bajarang Dal people are. We use it under a euphemism though. Civil society had no greater task before her than educating respective tribes-folks. We need pacifist interventionists more than we do of corrective mechanisms.
A person gets his glorious living daylights squashed out of his self one sunny night. In retaliation, he mobilizes a huge reinforcement of family members, villagers, clansmen and perhaps a few rascally illegal immigrants in tow and a couple or three of jobless UGs. This reinforced deployment is all too happy to exact “justice” for Mr. Got-His-Teeth-Squashed-To-Heaven’s behalf.
In response, the ‘opposed’ side mobilize an even heftier team of clansmen, villagers, tribesmen, friends and family and perhaps a couple of adventurous illegal immigrants and a UG or two again. The two belligerent sides clash, with each playing victim and justifying a cause or prejudice. Suddenly, before you can say ‘blink,’ virtually every Naga citizen is involved in preservation his rich warrior culture – punching each other’s blinkers out of their chinky sockets.
In Christian Nagaland, the preceding one year has witnessed on an increase, the shameful, disgraceful, repulsive, feral tendency to mobilize kinfolk into ‘disputes’ (initially, of course) they have no right to be in – even if invited, unless for dialogue. Like all expected human tendencies, such communal underpinnings, in all predictability, have led to serious lapse of socially-responsible sensibilities in Nagaland.
The fact is, I repeat, the fact is, certain Naga communities have already begun to master the “art” of accelerating even the most insignificant of disputes, into full-blown communal conflicts. The despicable inclination to mobilize community members has a convention in our ancestral political ethos. But in today’s world where mutual accommodation and dialogue are perimeters that define genuine concern in societal relationships, vigilante communities are nothing but uncivilized, to say the least. Further, there is not the need to be reminded that communal methods only feed sectarian trends to intensify, with each incident serving as a link to another viler action.
I felt deep shame as a Naga that on May 24 in Wokha, two sections of my own people took to daggers than dialogue all ignited from a violation of traffic rules. I felt deep shame as a Naga when an entire household in Kiphire was wiped out by a mob of contenting villagers, last year, all ignited from a domestic matter. I still feel shame as a Naga recalling the April 22 Wungram colony upheaval - all ignited from some drunken youths’ misdemeanor. I felt shame as a Naga that two communities at 4th Mile, Dimapur, just few weeks ago, would mobilize their respective kinsfolk to indulge in communal insanity – over a burglary.
Literate but uneducated
And the above are mere few instances of us crossing a line that should not have been crossed. We Nagas seem to enjoy mobilizing vigilantes. This tendency reflects our inability to see conflict-resolution in terms of dialogue; that degrees have only brought literacy and not education; that community leaders lack strong moral assertion; that traditional control mechanisms (for instance, councils) have lost to a great extent its managerial mobility (this is one reason many are not convinced that local mechanisms can actually impact change-processes); that the more “rustic” populations are becoming overassertive and thus, in dire need of ‘education’ to educated them on the nuances of co-existence with the more progressive populations; that a progressive, collective society is defined by a practical understanding of the democratic values of accommodation and dialogue.
It is a deeper shame when apex civil organizations maintain silence even in the midst of communal blasts – or worst, take to the side of own community. And it is a truth that certain tribal bodies have exhibited that feral behavior. We have witnessed some instances in the recent past. It reminds of the task community leaders and policy-makers must now decide to take upon their selves – educating their respective kinsfolk, tribesmen and clansmen from turning social trust into vigilante thrust.
Like all routes toward a healthy coexistence, education (not necessarily in the context of material academics, or ‘literacy’) is a must. In fact, the need for education is too imperative to risk gradual erosion of just values and just peace. Before further discourse, it is important that material academics and interventionist education be distinguished and explained. Simply, material academics refer to the educational systems and the parameters they lay down to define vocations, expertise or use. In a word, degrees.
Education on the other hand, refers to what is popularly defined as ‘whole-round development of the body mind and soul; it refers to the polishing of minds to impact intellectual capacity to imbibe values, socially-conscious and responsible thought and action. Education is interventionist – it serves as intervention to correcting a ‘broken’ system. Academics are only a supplementary to education. It is dangerous to consider the popular notion of academics as a medium for change. Academics are only a part of interventionist education. Perhaps, condescending as this may sound, we Nagas are more literate than educated.
From here to there
Community leaders and organizations, by virtue of social mandate, must be in reminder that they are to serve as pacifist interventionist and not as corrective mechanisms. Unfortunately, the latter tendency has muddled the very concept of social justice in Nagaland: community mechanisms – particularly village councils – even dare challenge policy-making processes not the policy, if found defective; hohos and tribal students’ organizations indulge in communal exchange rather than focus on conflict-resolution (strong instances are the recent media trade-off over the Intangki National Park and the Seyochung dispute).
One effective platform where perspectives, views and scrutiny can be highlighted, is the media. The concern is whether or not this powerful medium is put to positive use by the organizations. A positive impact can be had if right-thinking leaders highlight values of mutual accommodation and collective co-existence through the media. Media statements specific to action/decision over issues is inadequate to addressing the core of an issue in question. Rather than making justifications or allegations/counterclaims like Naga bodies have come to make a chronic habit of, the imperative for redress and the need for exploring core causes should be the sole focus. I believe our strength as a right-thinking people is as weak as our tiniest tendency to say the wrong thing.
(Due to constraints of space, I shall be sharing my perspective only in later editions, the role social organizations should play in impacting socially-conscious behavior in members. Readers and citizens are very much welcome to sharing your opinions.)
Readers can continue interacting with the writer at alngullie@yahoo.com or alngullie on Yahoo messenger.
The writer, however, makes a request that no references be made in regard to his personal life.
