Kevitho Kera
I am glad that Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE) brought out the Nagaland handbook to be studied by class 9 & 10 school students.
I also studied it and I am glad I did. However, I wish it had mentioned the Naga Plebiscite of 1951 where 99.9 % of Nagas voted for complete sovereignty. I wish the handbook delved into the Naga Freedom movement more. So many important events and personalities have been left out. We want our Naga young people to know of our Naga history, our pasts and our historical rights.
You see, Naga young people have been brought up with the staple diet on India; its history, polity, economy and sociology. Young Nagas from a tender age have been bombarded with the word ' India '. I feel it is unfair that young Nagas are not fed properly on Naga history. A huge section of Naga History is blank in that handbook.
It is only those who are preparing for NPSC Exams, who get the chance to read on Naga history a bit. Not every Naga youth sits for NPSC Exams. Naga political struggle needs to be read by every young Naga.
My appeal to NBSE is please increase the Pages and include more on our Naga freedom struggle, our young people needs to know our history. I think at least a paragraph on the Naga Pebliscite of 1951 needs to be mentioned, if at all it is controversial to mention the other events or has NBSE received direction from the Centre not to mention important events like the Naga Pebliscite of 1951.
A generation of young people is going to rise up who knows nothing of the sacrifices made by our ancestors.
