Some of those who voted YES had this to say:
• Absolutely. Without our social, economic, political and cultural rights the meaning of being a Naga gets lost. Our Naga identity is only a means towards our human rights. Unfortunately, the human rights situation is not very good and the human rights organizations are not strong enough to tackle the situation. Most of the problems we face today in Nagaland are about the lack of human rights.
• Only when we understand and appreciate the value of life, human or otherwise, will peace happen in every sphere. Respect for others emanates from an intelligent realisation that life and the right to live are inborn in every being. Peace is just a natural outcome of this higher intelligence which we seem to lack. In an ideal world, there is dignity even in death. The way we treat the sick and the dead reflects the way we live.
• Yes most of us are ignorant about it... When we know our rights we know what we should do.
• A vibrant human rights culture is needed for every society.
• Yes and not only creating awareness but we also need some more powerful authority or system to enforce it.
• Yes, human rights should be the foundation of our Naga society. The violations taking place in Nagaland is a result of the political conflict that Nagas are in and so human rights issues have become very polarizing. But no Naga can do away with human rights. The human rights needs to be encourage and strengthened in our local context. Human rights organizations cannot function like they did in the past, now the situation is different and so accordingly they must adopt to this changing scenario. Rather than criticizing each other, let us encourage each other because our human rights depend on each other.
• Yes, we badly needed vibrant human rights culture in our society, which stand up to the occasion to fight against rights abuses committed by both governmental and non-governmental forces in our state. Our rights organisations especially, NPMHR is rather too weak or too bias. They are only too interested in taking up cases against the Indian armed forces, but when it comes to our own so called freedom fighters, committing the same crimes to our people, they are least bothered. Way to go NPMHR! A Naga killing/ torturing a Naga is not a human rights abuse, rite? Human Rights in our state needs to undergo a sea change, if it wants to be vibrant and creditable in the eyes of the people.
• We need a sense of belongingness and one should value its culture n have respect for others culture for humanity. Loss of Culture is a Loss of Identity.
• Yes Nagas is in dire need of a vibrant human rights society. Today, Nagaland is in a state where even the basic and fundamental human rights are not dispensed equally but is benefiting just some section of society at the expense of the rest, which has led to contempt towards the authority, lawlessness and unrest among the tribes, etc. In my humble opinion, to bring at least some kind of peace and sense to this mayhem, we require just dispense of some basic human rights like,
1. Equal sustainable HUMAN DEVELOPMENT for all... Not just development of a particular district or region but equal development for all. maybe if this was realized by the government earlier, ENPO wouldn't have emerged at all. "Social development, social justice and the eradication of poverty are indispensable" the sooner we realize this, the better it will be for us Nagas.
2. PROMOTE WOMEN's political and economic empowerment and equal representation at every level of governing and decision-making so that women too can contribute their views, experience, talents and visions towards peace. (if we look at it, every wonderful leaders around the world were nurtured and raised by women) We must break away from prehistoric patriarchal misogynistic view that women are baby making machines BUT, are beings who can contribute to a better society. So that women are seen as an equal and NOT a weaker sex who can be subjugated by men to satisfy their every whims. Then, maybe we will one day see a decrease in crime against women.
3. EDUCATION is the principle means of promoting a peace, people at all levels need to be empowered to assess and evaluate the possibilities for change. This can be accomplished, but only if governments, communities, and individuals take peace to heart and mind transmit knowledge about peace, themes of co-operation, conflict resolution, non-violence, human rights, social justice, and multicultural understanding. Education... is a very big subject that can go far beyond classrooms. We Nagas must transcend and supersede the "Enemy Image" with understanding, tolerance and solidarity among all peoples and cultures... because there has never been a conflicts or disunity without an enemy. We must drop everything... forgive and forget and fight together for peace and justice. As stated by the UNESCO Constitution, "peace must therefore be founded, if it is not to fail, upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind."
• Yes, if we are not ignorant then the 27th December 1994 incident wud have never been taken place in the land.
• The answer is a Big Yes. Understanding and appreciating Human Rights is vital for a just and peaceful society. A Naga still swear by the worldviews & ethics of a tribal collective where the Tribe is the ultimate arbiter of his choices and destiny. Such social arrangement severely curtails man's free will and liberty; both of which are corollaries of Right to Life. The concept of individual sovereignty is yet to enter our consciousness. In this illiberal social milieu it is inevitable that Right to Life (and Right to Property) is relegated to the periphery of a society's moral discourse and consciousness. An enlightened culture where every man is informed about the basic premises underpinning the concept of Human Rights is a prerequisite before any revolution can occur at the cultural sphere; a change that has the power to free man from all oppressive forces. Appreciating that, Right to Life is an inviolable right - a right inherent in and demanded by Life itself - is an invaluable intellectual tool to fight against oppressive and dehumanizing designs and forces. This knowledge will also pre-empt any tendencies to include oppressive bias(es) while designing institutions or promulgating laws to guide or promote our personal, cultural or political actions and choices.
• The human right activists should mobilize their power, work harder and give equality to all without any discrimination.
Some of those who voted NO had this to say:
• No way. What human rights are we talking about? Everyone is only concerned in their own selfish interest. No one is thinking, talking or living for human rights.
• Unless the Indian security forces leave the Naga people, I don’t see any human rights being respected. Also the so-called freedom fighters needs to discipline and correct themselves, otherwise they will have the ire of the Naga public, who are becoming increasingly disenchanted with their behavior. The Naga cause belongs to the Naga people, not to any particular group.
• Traditional naga way of rights not cultural
• Naga society can never be peaceful irrespective of whether we have a vibrant/chilling human rights culture. Inspite of all these peace talks, the one & only thought most of us have in mind is self-gain and self-rise. Other things & persons are of no concern and always left on the back-burner.Even our once best friends, once they get a govt. job, they start acting as if we are strangers & forget the once common language-naganese, which till the other day were spoken fluently. But the crux of the law is that everything that goes up fall down. That's our naga society. Pray aloud and steal, steal, steal and spend the loot in AIIMS & CMC-Vellore.
• Draconian acts like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act must be repealed once and for all. Otherwise the continuation of such acts will only prevent our human rights from being enjoyed.
Some of those who voted OTHERS had this to say:
• I believe that strong and vibrant cultures themselves nurture tolerance and justice. All cultures worth the name protect, support and encourage diversity; and just is the practical mechanism which enables them to do so.
• There is a need to introduce human rights education in schools. We have reached a stage where our cultural rights are being threatened. So even our cultural rights needs to be taught, if not, we will lose even our culture. The concept of human rights must be diversified to include: culture, social, economic, political, environment, women and so on. Then it has even chance of being strengthened. Just focusing on political issues is not enough.
• Human Rights organizations like the NPMHR need to be strengthened. They played a very important role in highlighting the state repression and black laws like the AFSPA and much credit needs to be given to them. Without the role of NPMHR, people like Irom Sharmila would not be basking in glory today. But the Naga situation has changed and NPMHR has not been able to change to this changed situation. Its time they listen to what people are saying and they need to correct themselves.
• The human rights condition in Nagaland is too poor and too weak. Not many people are aware about human rights. Actually, to create a peaceful Nagaland, it is so important to have human rights education in schools and colleges. Unfortunately those working on the syllabus and curriculum are too narrow minded and lack the vision to introduce courses on human rights. It’s high time for Nagas to wake up.
• Anything borrowed may not last forever coz "Change is the only Constant." We the Nagas need indigenous movement of any kind. For a just and peaceful society we do not need mass movement but INDIVIDUAL MOVEMENT.
• What we are facing is ignorance and the inability of the Naga people to voice out for their human rights. Individually there are many educated and knowledgeable people who are aware and have very precise knowledge and understanding of human rights. But as a society, we are still very far away from human rights literacy. This is the problem. What we need is a mass movement for human rights. The present failure in the human rights circle is this: very bright and strong individuals, but very poor mass participation. This needs to change.
• A vibrant human rights culture is no doubt essential for any society. It, however, cannot be said whether such a culture can engender a just and peaceful society. Firstly, pre-existing and fundamental imbalances at the macro level of such determinants as economic, political, social conditions and resource access tend to become internal and self-generational causes of conflicts. Unlike in developed and more homogeneous societies where there is less disparity in, say, wealth distribution and access to resources, a developing, heterogeneous and polynormativism (co-existence of modern and traditional norms) society will be more prone to internal contradictions and aggressive resource competition. Second, lack of universal agreement on what constitute human rights becomes an open-ended debate, subjecting the definition to multiple, and often inconclusive and indefinite, interpretations. Third, even if there is a broad agreement on human rights to subsume such rights as civil, political, social, cultural, economic, and religious rights, the question of whether they are absolute and justiciable remains open-ended. Some friction thus becomes inevitable or an unintended byproduct. But having said that, such a culture at least serves to strengthen awareness level and to enable assertion of such rights, more so in the event of their violation.
• Absolutely. Without our social, economic, political and cultural rights the meaning of being a Naga gets lost. Our Naga identity is only a means towards our human rights. Unfortunately, the human rights situation is not very good and the human rights organizations are not strong enough to tackle the situation. Most of the problems we face today in Nagaland are about the lack of human rights.
• Only when we understand and appreciate the value of life, human or otherwise, will peace happen in every sphere. Respect for others emanates from an intelligent realisation that life and the right to live are inborn in every being. Peace is just a natural outcome of this higher intelligence which we seem to lack. In an ideal world, there is dignity even in death. The way we treat the sick and the dead reflects the way we live.
• Yes most of us are ignorant about it... When we know our rights we know what we should do.
• A vibrant human rights culture is needed for every society.
• Yes and not only creating awareness but we also need some more powerful authority or system to enforce it.
• Yes, human rights should be the foundation of our Naga society. The violations taking place in Nagaland is a result of the political conflict that Nagas are in and so human rights issues have become very polarizing. But no Naga can do away with human rights. The human rights needs to be encourage and strengthened in our local context. Human rights organizations cannot function like they did in the past, now the situation is different and so accordingly they must adopt to this changing scenario. Rather than criticizing each other, let us encourage each other because our human rights depend on each other.
• Yes, we badly needed vibrant human rights culture in our society, which stand up to the occasion to fight against rights abuses committed by both governmental and non-governmental forces in our state. Our rights organisations especially, NPMHR is rather too weak or too bias. They are only too interested in taking up cases against the Indian armed forces, but when it comes to our own so called freedom fighters, committing the same crimes to our people, they are least bothered. Way to go NPMHR! A Naga killing/ torturing a Naga is not a human rights abuse, rite? Human Rights in our state needs to undergo a sea change, if it wants to be vibrant and creditable in the eyes of the people.
• We need a sense of belongingness and one should value its culture n have respect for others culture for humanity. Loss of Culture is a Loss of Identity.
• Yes Nagas is in dire need of a vibrant human rights society. Today, Nagaland is in a state where even the basic and fundamental human rights are not dispensed equally but is benefiting just some section of society at the expense of the rest, which has led to contempt towards the authority, lawlessness and unrest among the tribes, etc. In my humble opinion, to bring at least some kind of peace and sense to this mayhem, we require just dispense of some basic human rights like,
1. Equal sustainable HUMAN DEVELOPMENT for all... Not just development of a particular district or region but equal development for all. maybe if this was realized by the government earlier, ENPO wouldn't have emerged at all. "Social development, social justice and the eradication of poverty are indispensable" the sooner we realize this, the better it will be for us Nagas.
2. PROMOTE WOMEN's political and economic empowerment and equal representation at every level of governing and decision-making so that women too can contribute their views, experience, talents and visions towards peace. (if we look at it, every wonderful leaders around the world were nurtured and raised by women) We must break away from prehistoric patriarchal misogynistic view that women are baby making machines BUT, are beings who can contribute to a better society. So that women are seen as an equal and NOT a weaker sex who can be subjugated by men to satisfy their every whims. Then, maybe we will one day see a decrease in crime against women.
3. EDUCATION is the principle means of promoting a peace, people at all levels need to be empowered to assess and evaluate the possibilities for change. This can be accomplished, but only if governments, communities, and individuals take peace to heart and mind transmit knowledge about peace, themes of co-operation, conflict resolution, non-violence, human rights, social justice, and multicultural understanding. Education... is a very big subject that can go far beyond classrooms. We Nagas must transcend and supersede the "Enemy Image" with understanding, tolerance and solidarity among all peoples and cultures... because there has never been a conflicts or disunity without an enemy. We must drop everything... forgive and forget and fight together for peace and justice. As stated by the UNESCO Constitution, "peace must therefore be founded, if it is not to fail, upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind."
• Yes, if we are not ignorant then the 27th December 1994 incident wud have never been taken place in the land.
• The answer is a Big Yes. Understanding and appreciating Human Rights is vital for a just and peaceful society. A Naga still swear by the worldviews & ethics of a tribal collective where the Tribe is the ultimate arbiter of his choices and destiny. Such social arrangement severely curtails man's free will and liberty; both of which are corollaries of Right to Life. The concept of individual sovereignty is yet to enter our consciousness. In this illiberal social milieu it is inevitable that Right to Life (and Right to Property) is relegated to the periphery of a society's moral discourse and consciousness. An enlightened culture where every man is informed about the basic premises underpinning the concept of Human Rights is a prerequisite before any revolution can occur at the cultural sphere; a change that has the power to free man from all oppressive forces. Appreciating that, Right to Life is an inviolable right - a right inherent in and demanded by Life itself - is an invaluable intellectual tool to fight against oppressive and dehumanizing designs and forces. This knowledge will also pre-empt any tendencies to include oppressive bias(es) while designing institutions or promulgating laws to guide or promote our personal, cultural or political actions and choices.
• The human right activists should mobilize their power, work harder and give equality to all without any discrimination.
Some of those who voted NO had this to say:
• No way. What human rights are we talking about? Everyone is only concerned in their own selfish interest. No one is thinking, talking or living for human rights.
• Unless the Indian security forces leave the Naga people, I don’t see any human rights being respected. Also the so-called freedom fighters needs to discipline and correct themselves, otherwise they will have the ire of the Naga public, who are becoming increasingly disenchanted with their behavior. The Naga cause belongs to the Naga people, not to any particular group.
• Traditional naga way of rights not cultural
• Naga society can never be peaceful irrespective of whether we have a vibrant/chilling human rights culture. Inspite of all these peace talks, the one & only thought most of us have in mind is self-gain and self-rise. Other things & persons are of no concern and always left on the back-burner.Even our once best friends, once they get a govt. job, they start acting as if we are strangers & forget the once common language-naganese, which till the other day were spoken fluently. But the crux of the law is that everything that goes up fall down. That's our naga society. Pray aloud and steal, steal, steal and spend the loot in AIIMS & CMC-Vellore.
• Draconian acts like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act must be repealed once and for all. Otherwise the continuation of such acts will only prevent our human rights from being enjoyed.
Some of those who voted OTHERS had this to say:
• I believe that strong and vibrant cultures themselves nurture tolerance and justice. All cultures worth the name protect, support and encourage diversity; and just is the practical mechanism which enables them to do so.
• There is a need to introduce human rights education in schools. We have reached a stage where our cultural rights are being threatened. So even our cultural rights needs to be taught, if not, we will lose even our culture. The concept of human rights must be diversified to include: culture, social, economic, political, environment, women and so on. Then it has even chance of being strengthened. Just focusing on political issues is not enough.
• Human Rights organizations like the NPMHR need to be strengthened. They played a very important role in highlighting the state repression and black laws like the AFSPA and much credit needs to be given to them. Without the role of NPMHR, people like Irom Sharmila would not be basking in glory today. But the Naga situation has changed and NPMHR has not been able to change to this changed situation. Its time they listen to what people are saying and they need to correct themselves.
• The human rights condition in Nagaland is too poor and too weak. Not many people are aware about human rights. Actually, to create a peaceful Nagaland, it is so important to have human rights education in schools and colleges. Unfortunately those working on the syllabus and curriculum are too narrow minded and lack the vision to introduce courses on human rights. It’s high time for Nagas to wake up.
• Anything borrowed may not last forever coz "Change is the only Constant." We the Nagas need indigenous movement of any kind. For a just and peaceful society we do not need mass movement but INDIVIDUAL MOVEMENT.
• What we are facing is ignorance and the inability of the Naga people to voice out for their human rights. Individually there are many educated and knowledgeable people who are aware and have very precise knowledge and understanding of human rights. But as a society, we are still very far away from human rights literacy. This is the problem. What we need is a mass movement for human rights. The present failure in the human rights circle is this: very bright and strong individuals, but very poor mass participation. This needs to change.
• A vibrant human rights culture is no doubt essential for any society. It, however, cannot be said whether such a culture can engender a just and peaceful society. Firstly, pre-existing and fundamental imbalances at the macro level of such determinants as economic, political, social conditions and resource access tend to become internal and self-generational causes of conflicts. Unlike in developed and more homogeneous societies where there is less disparity in, say, wealth distribution and access to resources, a developing, heterogeneous and polynormativism (co-existence of modern and traditional norms) society will be more prone to internal contradictions and aggressive resource competition. Second, lack of universal agreement on what constitute human rights becomes an open-ended debate, subjecting the definition to multiple, and often inconclusive and indefinite, interpretations. Third, even if there is a broad agreement on human rights to subsume such rights as civil, political, social, cultural, economic, and religious rights, the question of whether they are absolute and justiciable remains open-ended. Some friction thus becomes inevitable or an unintended byproduct. But having said that, such a culture at least serves to strengthen awareness level and to enable assertion of such rights, more so in the event of their violation.
