The ongoing debate for recognizing Nagamese as an official language is concerning. Amidst all the problems; state financial debt, unpaid salary or delay of salary payment, to corruption (of course) to Nagaland attaining second highest unemployment rate, the central government sought to alleviate our problems by making Nagamese an official language. No doubt Nagamese has enabled not only communication between different Naga tribes and other communities but also has become a bonding element we cannot do away with. Yes, it is definitely here to stay, so why the need to make it official? Making it an official language will definitely lead to its advancement, however not recognizing it is not going to in any sense aggravate its usage. The vendors and shopkeepers are going to use it anyway; different tribes and communities are going to go on communicating in Nagamese; we will all be still speaking in this pidgin, whether it is officially recognized or not.
A lot of us, northeastern, particularly Nagas have problem in articulating. Perhaps this is one major reason why we are not vocal in classrooms. We can read things fluently or communicate but when it comes to expressing views and concepts we lag behind. Nagas who don’t agree with me are probably the ones from privileged sections with their endowed cultural, social and economic capital. I remember my high school when English speaking, apart from classroom interaction (teacher-student), was made compulsory and students were fined or punished for speaking in Nagamese or one’s own dialect. Conversing in English however did not persist. The problem was not only laxity in its implementation but mostly students/friends would laugh at you if you spoke with them in English. Thus, we became more fluent in Nagamese than English at school. A Meitei friend of mine cursed the poorly taught English language and imposition of Meitei language in her school; she had so much difficulty in expressing her very original and sound ideas. My most recent interaction on this issue was with my Khasi roommate, who like her other fellow Khasis could speak English fluently at the same time articulate her ideas well. She mentioned how in their schools conversing in English is followed very strictly and because there is no other language to bind them to other communities, English becomes the only option. Meghalaya has even their vendors and shopkeepers able to communicate in English along with Khasi and their own dialects.
My point is, though English is considered an official language, many of us still are in the process of learning to articulate and express our ideas and concepts in it. Being able to articulate oneself in English, both orally and in written, is extremely crucial in education. It becomes a defense, a marking criterion, a deciding factor for the future. Nagamese is, in my view, an obstacle to such progress. To the argument that stated that Nagamese will help us better understand our subjects or concepts, I would disagree; I wonder where will we find the words to explain Pythagoras theorem or the term society or photosynthesis. Instead of working on a Nagamese dictionary I think it would be a better alternative if we put our time, energy and money in making quality education; teaching students to articulate their learnings in English, instead of just reading, writing and answering.
In terms of identity, I doubt if most from Nagaland still feel the “Naganess” in them. Most people from my generation grew without even knowing that there were Nagas outside Nagaland. My understanding and view of the Naga identity is shrouded; however one thing I keep holding on to is the history of our movement and the name that keeps us one despite the territorial divisions. Nagamese excludes the Nagas beyond Nagaland; thus making it official also enures the physical division.
We need to understand that awarding official language status to Nagamese is not going to improve our conditions in any way, definitely not our education system. If we are not able to take a stand against this decision we are wasting article 371A.
Article 345 of the constitution of India states that it leaves the choice of official languages free to the states themselves and does not interfere in specifying, so why is the Central government doing so? I hope the state government is able to take a stand keeping in mind the debates and its priorities. I also hope that we, the Nagas, will be able to resist and fight against anything we believe is not democratic- not of the people, by the people and for the people.
Videkhono Yhokha PhD Scholar, Sociology Jawaharlal Nehru University
