Witoubou Newmai
Ambivalent feelings are fast overwhelming the ‘collective Naga’ today because of skewed responses to the challenges the society is facing. This situation of the Nagas is reminiscent of the poem, ‘A Far Cry from Africa’ by Caribbean poet Derek Walcott:
“…Where shall I turn, divided to the vein? I who have cursed The drunken officer of British rule, how choose Between this Africa and the English tongue I love? Betray them both, or give back what they give? How can I face such slaughter and be cool? How can I turn from Africa and live?”
According to Amartya Sen, Derek Walcott “cannot simply discover what is his true identity; he has to decide what he should do, and how—and to what extent—to make room for different loyalties in his life.” Mr. Sen also says that the poem “captures the divergent pulls of historical African background, his loyalty to the English language and the literary culture that goes with it.”
Giving his view on such a situation, Amartya Sen says that “we have to address the issue of conflict, real or imagined, and ask about the implications of our loyalty to divergent priorities and differentiated affinities.”
There are numerous factors contributing in building up the present situation in Naga society. Failure to treat localised and broader issues according to their requirements is one. The manner in which Naga society is responding to various onslaughts, especially to the so called “development packages” and "alluring platforms," gives the impression that there is no other bigger responsibility the society has, thanks to moral degeneration.
In a conversation with this writer, Naga elder Niketu Iralu expressed his concern on how Naga society responded to challenges it came across. He stressed on the need to respond correctly to the challenges by quoting British historian Arnold Joseph Toynbee: “All of history can be written in two small words: Challenge and Response. Each society progresses only to the extent it meets it’s challenges.”
Niketu Iralu also gave one thought provoking line, quoted by this newspaper recently, that says, “A struggle not examined is absolutely hellish and impossible to tackle.”
Naga society is not able to respond to the challenges correctly because many people feel today that it is not important to see tomorrow as today’s ‘present’, and the ‘immediate’ becomes too ‘important’ and compelling. It doesn’t matter now for many Nagas if their engagements with the ‘present’ and the ‘immediate’ are at the cost of the collective people’s movement.
If the hobbling people’s movement is to be saved, nurtured and strengthened, Naga society must recognize this problem 'collectively' and urgently.
