O, Tangkhuls! People are speaking something against you. Come forward if you are bold enough. Say sorry and admit your mistakes. Then, people will excuse you. If you have something to defend, tell the nation the reasons so that the people will know that the charges and allegations leveled against you are false and without foundation.
You are not the only Naga tribe fighting for national freedom. Other tribes are also shouldering their share of responsibilities. As human beings, they too have their shortcomings. Why you alone then are given the yellow card in the political arena? Maybe, you are oversmart and headstrong, paying no respect to your comrade-in-arms of other tribes.
Maybe, you lack the discipline and undermine the azhas which govern the working and functioning of Nagalim. Today, it appears that you are losing in whatever you do. No one is heard saying that the Tangkhuls are brave and reliable in our national struggle. No one is saying that the Tangkhuls are faithful and steadfast clinging to the national principle and policy. Defecting from one faction to another is not your style of serving the nation.
Like a warhorse, you head straight into the theatre of war without hesitation. Like Esua who forfeited his heritage to his cunning brother Jacob yet did not harm him for fear of his father Isaac, you did not harm any tribe or community in retaliation for fear of God and fraternal feelings. Many in your rank and file have laid down their lives but more and more of your sons are joining the movement to show that you are committed to the national cause. Every able bodied person is ready to respond to the call of the nation. In a family of five brothers, four brothers are in the Naga army. Only one brother looks after the parents. They feel that national victory is their inheritance. This deed shall be part of the annals of Naga war for independence.
Even patient sufferings from the dreaded disease HIV are taken care of in the civilized world. A humane approach is made to make such person live life with dignity in the society. Had segregation been done in society, their lots will be miserable and they will be looked upon as sub-human. Nay, they will be considered worst than animals who enjoy veterinary benefits. But you are given “Quit Notice in Nagaland”.
What unpardonable crime have you committed? The Bible says, “I tell you the truth, all sins that people do and things people say against God can be forgiven. But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit can never by forgiven. He is guilty of a sin that continues forever” Mark 3:28,29. The simple meaning is that if anyone after knowing that Jesus Christ is the son of God and personal savior then condemns Jesus, he will be never be pardoned. Is the crime committed by the Tangkhuls of this kind? If so, what is the use of fighting for Nagaland as a Christian nation under the banner of “Nagaland for Christ”? Will lifetime services of a patriot be meaningless? It is really disappointing to see the drama taking place within Nagalim today. Many like-minded friends will feel the same bitterness.
May I put the following questions to the public and organizations.
1. Will there be any Tangkhul in free Nagaland?
2. Should the Tangkhul Phizoites withdraw themselves for the struggle because they have no share according to “Quit Notice”?
3. Should the Tangkhuls in NSCN(K) withdraw themselves from the movement because they are unwanted?
4. Should the Tangkhul in rank and file withdraw their support to the national movement led by NSCN (IM) because they have no share in it?
5. Should the struggle for Naga national freedom be carried out without the Tangkhuls?
Dear brothers! Our struggle is not a joke nor day-dream. Any step that is fatal to the core issue will give chance for the common enemy to rejoice over our division and disunity. They will try to bring a time when we are disillusioned and broken up into pieces. But we are still oblivious, busy in fighting factional wars. We remain silent even when Quit Notice is served to one of our brothers. If the Tangkhuls are forsaken, what alternative do they have? They have to look for a new direction which will be costly and irreparable. Indeed, we are on the cross-road.
An open-minded public debate is required so that we are not swept away by hatred and anger. National interest is greater than any ill feeling or revenge. Let the public come forward and advocate for the right course to go before it is too late. Finally, let us deliberate over compromise and reconciliation and have a united Naga struggle as before.
KUKNALIM
Ng. Muivah, Sr. Lecturer (SG) Retd., D.M. College, Imphal
