The thin line between natives and migrants

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Khrietuonyü Noudi

Migration is a worldwide phenomenon and this fact has always put the minority people in grave disadvantages when their territories are intruded by massive migrating population from all quarters. This is where the Nagas find themselves today. Today we are not fighting a full-fledged war against anyone. Visibly or apparently we are not in a state of war with any people or nation and we feel and believe that we are living in a time of peace and tranquility because we are literally not burying dead bodies of our sons, brothers or fathers killed by bullets or bombs in battle.

 
But today we are, in reality, up against a much more dangerous phenomenon which threatens our very existence as a people. We are up against an invisible enemy that is slowly penetrating into every nook and corner of our society like parasites penetrating into flesh and eating it away. But since it is not a conventional war, many people are not even aware of it. We are not being made to bury dead bodies because of this menace as of now. But with every passing day, bits of our identity, our culture, our resources, our land and our future are being eaten away. We do not feel we are in a state of war with the people coming into our lands. And the people migrating to our lands for varied reasons also do not feel that they are waging a war against us because most of these migrants come here for the job opportunities that are available here. But the irony is that if this trend continues unabated, the migrants would become like erasers slowly wiping away the natives from their own land and the Nagas as a people may continue to exist only in the pages of history like many indigenous people around the world. The migrants do not come to our land with guns, bullets, swords or spears and therefore we do not consider them as enemies now but as their population in our midst increases, one day they are sure to become a formidable force impossible to be ignored.

 
It is heartening to know that many amongst us today are alarmed at this phenomenon and are trying their best to draw a clear distinct line between the natives and the migrants. But the irony is that the line between natives and migrants in a land like ours has always been very thin and delicate. And I am afraid that at some point in the future this thin line will become almost non-existent and cunning outsiders will surely take full advantage of these outlets to enter our lands in bulks. And we are only fooling ourselves if we think that the government can effectively tackle this menace by coming out with some legislations. Of course, the government needs to do its part but without the support, co-operation and involvement of the people, the question of effectively fighting this invisible war does not arise. Every single native should be made aware of these realities and it should be the endeavor of every one of us to play our part (no matter how trivial) in this fight. 


Talking about the thin line between natives and migrants, we may cite the example of the Red Indians of North American and the Aborigines of Australia. Where are these people today? Before the Europeans set foot on North America, the native Red Indians lived in that land like kings and queens with the whole lands and its resources to themselves. But after Columbus revealed there is land beyond the Atlantic, it became the biggest mission of the European nations to send expeditions to this new found land and fully exploit the land, its resources and the natives living there. And in a matter of 300-400 years, the native Red Indians were no longer kings and queens in the land which was once theirs but became more like outcastes with no one to hear their pleas, their stories and their voice. In the same way, the Aborigines were also the real natives of Australia but today their population accounts for a mere 3.1 % in the land where they once had everything to themselves. I pray that such a fate does not befall on the Nagas.       


I am afraid I have nothing much to appreciate about India, its people or its culture. But I am a big fan and supporter of the Indian cricket team and for over 2 decades I have closely followed International cricket. One national cricket team which has always intrigued me and provoked deep thinking in me is the South African cricket team. South Africa is a country situated at the south of the continent of Africa. So, one would normally assume that the South Africa team would be or should be represented by Negroes or black Africans. But in reality, there are hardly any Negroes in the South Africa team. As long as I have noticed, the South African national cricket team has always been represented by white Caucasian men. Why is this so? I guess this is also a classic example of migrants outnumbering the natives and making it their homeland. And as I ponder over it, I am somewhat compelled to think that at some point in future there may not even be a single Naga in the Nagaland football team and that the likelihood of a Naga team being represented by non-Naga Hindus and Muslims is already on the card if we do not wake up from our slumber and do something about increasing our numbers and checking the influx of migrants into our lands. If there is one day to be a Naga football team without any Nagas in it, I would pray that I die before I see such a team. 


We have a tendency to make a big deal about legislations like the ILP and the so-called article 371 (A). But what are these if they remain only in papers and if these can be altered or even abrogated without our consent and knowledge. I believe that legislations like the ILP are well-intended and that it can achieve results if implemented properly but the problem is that we are in a hapless position where we don’t have the needed manpower and tools to carry these out. As far as Article 371 (A) is concerned, I somehow feel that it is only a decorative item in the Indian constitution to appease and pacify us for the time being. 


Regarding the recently proposed legislations like the CAB and the RIIN, I feel that even if the intentions of the government are good and noble, there are plenty of loopholes in them for unscrupulous elements to take advantage. And if these are not implemented and carried out effectively for which it was designed, it would have catastrophic impact especially on people like the Nagas who are already fighting a losing battle against infiltration. Talking about the loopholes in these proposed legislations, let me mention two points here. When the CAB says that it would grant citizenship to Hindus, Parsis or Christians who had entered India before a certain point of time, is it not saying we are against Muslims and is it not a ploy to increase or at least maintain Hindu majority and dominance in the country? And when the RIIN says that it would take a certain year (1963 in this case) as the cut-off year to categorize natives and migrants, is it not, in a way, discrediting and insulting the indigenous Naga natives who had lived in the Naga hills for centuries and from whom we the present generation inherited this beautiful land which we call home? And when we take a certain year as the cut off year, are we not giving ample opportunities to migrants and the crocodiles in our system to lie and manipulate? We all know that to be categorized as a native or a migrant is a matter of life and death in our present case because many strings (both seen and unseen) are attached to it. And we know that many would go to any extent when it comes to matters pertaining to their own lives, their own survival and their future because it is already clear that many of the migrants presently in Nagaland have no intention to go back to their native places. Most of them are here either to live here or die here because their means of survival has already run out in their original lands and they see their future only here in our lands. And that is where the real danger lies.  And so, when the line separating the natives from the migrants is already becoming thinner and thinner with every passing day, we should be extra careful when it comes to implementing legislations which have the potential to backfire and annihilate us.

             
As mentioned above we may not be in a state of war with anybody officially and apparently. But we are up against something much more dangerous, unimaginable and catastrophic. Today our fight is not against guns, bullets, swords and spears. But it is against time, against numbers, against space and against an alien world closing in on us…