Kedi Haralu
It was many years back, when I was studying in New Zealand, when I had watched Mel Gibson play the part of William Wallace in the blockbuster movie, Brave Heart. It did not mean much at that time and I took it as just an “awesome movie” and nothing beyond that. But after many years down the road, I watched the same movie and this time it occurred to me that it was just like our situation and the betrayal just the same as ours, for was it not the same thing that happened to us in Nagaland? Nagas betrayed Naga’s, friends turned on friends, sons against their fathers, why? It was all because of one weakness of ours, our love for money. Since it was far beyond our conscience, our pride, our patriotism and our passion. I recollect when I was young an old family friend who were amongst the first to take up arms against the Indian forces, used to always tell me that Nagas will never achieve their goal, for money has changed their whole outlook and vision. “Nagas bravely stood up against the volley of bullets and fought back with the tenacity and savagery they were known for, but when the Indians changed their tactics, which was shrewdly planned, they started to flood in Crores of Rupees through subsidies and financial grants. Due to this most of the Nagas fell and readily surrendered.” He would tell me this over and over again, for he wanted me to remember as I grew older and he did a good job, for I still hear his voice reminding me till this very day.
Our greed was taken full advantage of and it came to a point where brothers turned against their own brothers, leaving behind a legacy of bloodshed, hatred and revenge, which has carried on even to this very day. Money had successfully divided us Nagas into factions and groups (internal enemies), thus, the Indian politicians only had to sit back and watch the future unfold, and with utter excitement and glee, as Nagas started to kill one another and betray one another. Thus we have lost the war for the battle had already decided our fate. Now, how can we speak of patriotism, sovereignty, integration and unity? If one still does grasp what I am hinting at, just has to look at the best houses, the very best of Real Estate plus the most trendy cum latest cars. Again, who has the market and business establishments under them? Who controls the Syndicates, right from the Vegetable Market to big time racketing? I guess I don’t have to say any further, for the proof is right there under our very noses. If we really want to get the truth, then one has to just ask who owns all the things mentioned above. Now, how can we speak of sovereignty and freedom, when we are already under the bondages of our own inner self? It does not make much sense when we speak of Cease Fire and Peace Talks, are just an excuse to prolong the whole issue, plus most importantly, it only gives the rich more time to get richer and poor, poorer.
As the Scots lost the war against the Crown of England due to their own faults, we have lost ours due to our own faults. When I say fault, I mean our greed, our passion for power, our lack of convictions, our apathy and complacency and most significantly our loss of identity. We have been bought and no matter what we say, we will continue to remain slaves of the Indian Government. The Congress Booklet which had sealed the fate of the last Government is somewhat a perfect example of what I am saying. Regionalism came to Nagaland after many decades, but unfortunately most of the “so called Hard Core” Regionalist, have sadly started to make the same mistake as their predecessors in the last Government. This is all due to one social evil – our love for easy money. We like to take the example of the Israelites, but how can we even ponder and linger on the fact that our causes are alike. I think not. For they have something which we do not possess, a quality which has kept them alive, that quality we now know it to be “pride” and “conviction plus passion to do the right thing and fight against those who oppress them.”
During the Second World War, the Holocaust had literally wiped out the people of Israel. Millions of Jews died under the Nazi dominated rule where they were gassed at with poisonous gasses, used for target practice, and even the young and old were not spared and were herded off like cattle’s, straight to the furnace. They were destroyed. There was not an iota of life left in them and they were demoralized and had scattered all over the world. But they had one thing which Nagas do not have – Pride. I do not take the word Pride in a haughtiness sort of way, nor take it as the pride of a dictator, a tyrant, or a Religious fanatic, like Osama Bin Laden and Bal Thakkery, but the pride I am taking of is the pride to be a Jew, the pride to survive at all cost, the pride that does not fall and falter when money is poured out, the pride that will fight back for what is rightfully theirs and the pride of being proud of being a Jew in good times as well as bad times. What was the ultimate result? The people of Israel came back to their ancestral land and created the State of Israel and the countries that opposed this were all taken care of by the God we all have the privilege of knowing, and their demise was a reality (I take the Example of England, for after they opposed the Israelites from setting up a nation which was rightfully theirs, thus England became a small fry in the Western World, with Countries like the US and also Russia becoming the next superpower (it is a fact that these two countries had stood for the people of Israel, that was why they were blessed). Looking at it from a more practical point of view, let us take the World Trade Market. The Diamond market is dominated by the Jews, the latest technologies was conceived and delivered from Israel, the Agricultural Revolution, which saw the banning of Chemical Fertilizers and the introduction of Bio Fertilizers was started by the Jews, and their biggest achievement was, the complete transformation from a desert into a lush, green and healthy agricultural haven. Even if we take it in a military point of view, Imagine a small nation hardly the size of the smallest State in India, stood up and faced the ire of the Muslim nation i.e. in the Middle East. All the Middle-East countries, which were under the Islamic dominance, united for one reason. That reason being, their mutual hatred for Israel. Hence they vowed to destroy the nation of Israel and all its people living there, thus getting rid of them once and for all. But they (the Muslim Nations) lost, that too big time. How humiliated would you be when your well equipped army, large in number as well as having all the firepower necessary, were defeated by a tiny nation called Israel? The 6 Day War, the annexation of the Golan Heights and much later, the rescue of the Israeli hostages at Entebbe during Idi Amin’s’ rule, proves their tenacity and their pride of being a Jew. (The Commando strike at Entebbe was undertaken by well trained Israeli Commandos half a world away - they landed, killed the hostage takers, defied an African Country, rescued the hostages and returned to Israel in just a matter of 48 hrs). The Mossad or the Israeli Intelligence is a thousand times better than the KGB or the CIA, or even if both put together. Why? The answer is very simple - the “A Jew would never betray another Jew.” So after all these examples, my one question is, how on earth can one even think of speaking of Israel and comparing them to us.
In conclusion, most leaders regardless of which Government they may belong to, or Organization or tribe they may represent, like to take the example of the Jews when speaking to their followers or their cadres, but do they share the same Pride of the people of Israel? I think not! The answer today is not the extension of Cease Fire or prolong Peace Talks, but the most important, is, to free ourselves from our own bondages and also by eliminating all negative aspects that thwart the growth of our society, plus exposing all those all those who claim to be freedom fighters, but what they care for most, is not for the Nagas nor their destiny, but to gather more and more wealth. Then and only then we can call our selves freedom fighters, but before that, none of us has earned the right to even speak of Sovereignty and Integration. We are just providing our services as court jesters and jokers to the Indian Government. I am sure they have a good laugh when we claim that India owes us our freedom. It is most important to remember, “Freedom is not what is around us, but freedom is what is in us as a Human Being.” Freedom cannot be bought nor taken, but it can be achieved only through self realization and change of our mindset, our character and our actions. This is freedom.
