In times of conflict and political strife, Truth is conveniently stepped-over and becomes the first casualty, causing despair. Nonetheless, it does not however mean that the Truth has just simply vanished into thin air. It merely implies that Truth is prevented from being the guiding principle in public discourse, though it remains to be present in society’s sub-conscious. Public discourse is distorted by narratives which are part-truth and part-lies and while it temporarily assumes the role of the perceived truth, it has its own realities which cause more havoc and despair. Subsequently, Truth is isolated to the margins and is prevented from being a decisive force for the restoration of dignity.
A society’s unwitting and ironic role as a co-conspirator to turn its back on the Truth weakens its foundations and over time loses its sense of direction and causes a diversion away from its natural course of history. The center of its existence is temporarily blinded by the glare of its contradiction and unleashes a vicious cycle of self-hate, guilt and violence, which takes an insular and inward direction of self-destruction. This cycle continues till the Truth is liberated from the bondage of deceit and marginalization.
Perhaps it is in the context of such realities that people of great faith have reasoned that in a time of deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. It is such people who have with utmost courage and faith, reasoned with the conditions of their being to stand in defiance against the status quo of untruth. Undeterred by threat they willfully embrace the inconvenient but liberating Truth. Such times in history have been the defining moments of a people’s existence to possibly live with dignity and compassion.
Nagas are at a time when the continuous whitewashing and denial of the Truth is inflicting self-destruction and it has come to pass a situation where any further whitewashing will lead to a path of no return. In spite of the appalling current affairs and conditions, perhaps Nagas have before them the finest hour to unlock the keys of self-destruction and to set free the Truth. Such an unfolding of the Truth and transformation from despair to hope demands each Naga to be decisive and resolute while engaging with the present conditions, in order to create a just future.
Such a process necessitates the celebration of imagination, which also is a celebration of tomorrow. Imagination is about turning one’s head and heart away from the sterile remembrance of the past and creating a future. Indigenous thinking states that the human heart in order to make its journey needs to be guided by the elements of truth, dignity, consistency, honesty, respect for oneself and for the other, love and memory. The interplay of these elements lead to an imagination which points towards tomorrow and this paradox is what prevents past hurts from being repeated in future.
The process of imagination and envisioning takes place with the liberation of Truth, without which it remains a mere exercise to momentarily get away from the realities of the situation. For the Naga imagination to bear fruit it needs to rooted in Truth of the people, and with the present situation where there is denial of Truth, the politics of despair will be victorious. To prevent despair and to nurture hope, it is essential that Nagas begin embracing the difficult but liberating Truth, after all it is the Truth that will have the final word in reality!
