The Naga Nation needs healing. Victims and survivors need healing; perpetrators are in their own way victims of a violent system; and they need healing as well. The need to heal and reconcile emphasizes presence of polarized opinions and it occurs in the backdrop of a history that has witnessed much hurt and suffering. Hence it is essential to place the issue of healing in the dialectical interplay of reconciliation, resolution and reconstruction. These three processes function interdependently of each other and are in essence the embodied aspirations of a healing nation.
A nation seeking healing must invariably address reconciliation, resolution and reconstruction. It is said that what politics offers at its core is what life offers at its essence – relationship, communication, conflict, discovery and growth. By this one understands that broken relationships which result from conflicts must at one point or another muster the will to enable a political process that leads to re-communication and re-discovery and growth. In effect, it demands a new way of life, governed by principles of respect and dignity. The outcome depends on the process.
In times of crisis it is very easy to focus on the outcome without quite realizing that the outcome depends on the process itself. The process therefore is critical in the search for reconciliation, resolution and reconstruction. It is fundamental that the process be open and public. Any process towards reconciliation needs to involve public participation. It is about the truth and therefore unless the process is open, the truth will not be unveiled. Some may assert that a public and transparent process is open to the possibilities of political manipulation; and it is true that it does happen. The tension between the need for transparency and the need for a safe space is inevitable and inescapable.
To sow the seeds of healing in the Naga nation, it is fundamental to ensure that a democratic, pragmatic and relevant approach that reveals the truth without neglecting mercy, justice and peace is weaved into reconciliation. For the sake of future generations, it is important not to politicize the process of evolving a pathway towards reconciliation, resolution and reconstruction. The importance of ensuring an inclusive process cannot simply be ignored. For too long, in the name of convenience and adjustment, democratic participation have been overlooked. This has proved detrimental and has only resulted in aggravating polarized positions of differences and jeopardizing the well-being of future generations.
For once, let’s transcend the isms that ail Naga society, and let’s put into perspective the need for Nagas to recognize the necessity of a dignified existence that will be made possible through mutual respect and understanding.
