Karaiba Chawang
Kohima | January 27
When all efforts fail to bring healing, reconciliation and understanding amongst the different groups of the Naga “national workers”, NBCC, has virtually nothing more to convey, but ask the latter to stop using the slogan ‘ Nagaland for Christ’ for killing purposes.
At a ‘Prayer and Peace March’ held today at Kohima, which was intended at invoking Jesus Christ down to the wounded Nagas’ land, NBCC, Peace Director, Rev Kari said that killing is an insult to the preaching of Jesus Christ. “All Naga national workers have sinned against God. That’s why their works do not progress. Let us pray to God to forgive them’, he lashed out, while addressing the peace rallyists at Tinpati traffic point.
He also asked all “national workers” to confess their sins and seek God’s intervention at this worse of time. Although, man itself should be called Satan, or there is another Satan as such, is hard to tell. However, speakers at today’s rally were unanimous in their expression that Satan is already here to disrupt peaceful coexistence of the Nagas.
Rev Keneilevi, Pastor UBC, who also spoke at the rally at MLA Junction, said that all the tribalism, corruption, venality and killing are the works of Satan. “Christ does not advocate violence. It is not Christ’s rule anymore, but the devil’s rule”, the pastor said, asserting that if Christ rules, fear and anxiety will depart from the land.
Rev Kari Longchar also held similar view, when he added that ‘it is the intention of Satan to disrupt peace in our land’.
NBCC has been working hard towards restoration of peace in Nagaland for the last 50 years. Several programmes have been launched by them towards this end. These included ‘Touch Kohima’, ‘Nagaland Transformation’, ‘2006 Renewal Conference’ at Kohima and the ongoing ‘Healing and Reconciliation’, besides other prayer programmes and meetings.
Few years back, even Naga Hoho, the apex tribal body of the Naga, had also attempted to bring about reconciliation amongst the different warring factions of the Naga national Workers.
The state government, churches and even some National workers themselves has also attempted to bring peace at their own level.
However, all these concerted effort had met with disdain from the leaders of the undergrounds groups, and had gone in futility.
Not only did the factional killings dominate today’s prayer and peace march. But, in a startling revelation, Rev Keneilevi, quoting some clinical reports, disclosed that every month about 1000 abortions are being carried out in Kohima and Dimapur alone. This silent killing is the worse sin, which need to bear equal concern as the factional killings, he added.
Following the crowd, as they walked silently down the dreary street of Kohima town, one could clearly read the mind of the people on the hundreds of placards. “Peace is the way”, “Peace, like charity, begins at home’, “Let reason together and help bring peace”, “We still have choice, let give peace a chance’, and many more.
Also one could feel the general air, though not expressed, amongst the rallyists that fratricidal killings does not stem from the spirit of patriotism anymore, but from the evil spirit of unwillingness to accept the Naga tribe in its wholeness, but to reduce it down to in-cohesive level of tribe, clan and individuals.
The rally also, through an unspoken language, conveyed that Naga freedom struggle is no longer a struggle to free from Indian imperialism, but has become more of a struggle of one faction to free from the domination of another faction, one tribe from another, faction from a tribe and vice versa.
The rallyists also offered prayer for the government, businessmen, public leaders and denizens of the state capital. The rally was organized by NBCC and Kohima Pastor Fellowship.
