Moa Jamir
As violence erupted following the gunning down of a couple between Shamator and Kiphire on February 6, Nagas were once again witnessing the repetition of an inter-tribal conflict, too frequent in recent times, which continues to undermine human security over and over again.
While the violence since then has ebbed considerably, it also raised a burning question whether our inherent contradiction and friction would implode and shatter the grand illusion of a cohesive society as often portrayed to and perceived by outsiders.
Perennial tribal conflict has erupted time and again. In recent times, we have seen it manifested most prominently in Kohima in 2015 and again in Dimapur in 2012. Tension and conflict in Mon and Tuensang district among different communities has been a recurring theme. Even the quest for political aspiration does not escape from this encumbering shackle. Thus we dwell in a state of permanent conflict.
What could be the reason behind such circumstances? Are we too contradictory a society that we cannot escape its encompassing yoke? Subeno Kithan, a faculty at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Guwahati writing on “Inter-tribal prejudices among the Nagas” (See The Morung Express, September 18, 2015) noted that each Naga tribe, with its unique dialect and cultural practices, reflects “societies within a society”.
As a result, while outsiders perceive Nagas as one, we are everyday reminded of the internal contradiction in our daily interaction with each others.
The assertion of ‘self’ crafted around tribal identity is also responsible for highlighting differences between different tribes, Subeno opined adding the “othering” has taken place to distinguish the non-tribal from the tribal as well as one tribe from the other. The inter-tribal prejudices are products of love for one’s own tribal association, often detrimental to that of others, she noted. Often participation in voting, cultural events, societal institution and churches, concerns or conflicts, and achievements or failures - each find articulation through assertion and recognition of tribal identity within contemporary society, she added.
In a biting opinion piece in The Hindu (January 23, 2014) entitled “Nagaland: Descent into chaos” before becoming the the Centre's interlocutor in the talks with the NSCN (IM), R.N. Ravi wrote that the Nagas, inhabiting present Nagaland State and adjoining areas of north-eastern India and Myanmar, is a rubric for a host of over 25 distinct tribes whose mutual differences far outnumber their commonness, with each tribe culturally distinct and linguistically unintelligible to the others.
It does not stop at the tribal lines, but even within the same tribes - range politics, village stereotyping and clan affiliations create further division in our societies. Our common day-to-day interaction is weighed down with this existential reality.
Fraught with precarious social, economic and ethnic divides while espousing egalitarianism, solidarity and cohesiveness, how do we come out of this existential dilemma?
Politically, the government should take a definitive stand to find a genuine and permanent solution to the present conflict. Not merely washing off its hand with an interim commission or special investigation team for temporary respite.
The apex social organisation should recognise that one-upmanship is a zero-sum game which serves no one in the long run. Authentic and legitimate solutions are arrived at if only one admit the flaws within and take measures to rectify the same.
The Church, as one of the most important moral guide and authority should not only take recourse to fasting or prayer as a permanent solution, but should make continuous effort to find a permanent answer. Remember, sustaining a peace process is continuous and perpetual.
We need to retrospect further and challenge the notion that everything is well within the society. Let us do away with our deep rooted internal prejudice, stereotyping, machismos and patriarchal attitude.
For any comment, drop a line to moajamir@live.com
