Our Correspondent
Kohima | July 1
Braving heavy rainfall, hundreds of people today gathered here at Old MLA Hostel Junction to pay their homage and last respects to Isak Chishi Swu, Chairman NSCN (IM) as the entourage accompanying the mortal remains of the veteran leader passed through the land of the Angamis.
A public reception programme was organized by the Angami Public Organization (APO). APO President, Dr Vilhusa Seleyi said the demise of Isak Chishi Swu comes as shocking news.
Dr Seleyi said: “The Angami Public Organization solemnly mourns the passing away of a great patriot who has made outstanding sacrifice for the Naga cause...In this fight against a giant nation for decades together, there may have been some controversies in his ideology. The APO however, earnestly appeals to the general public and the leaders in particular, to realize the value of reconciliation and to reaffirm the Naga unity while paying tribute to our leader who has worked to this end till his last breath.”
Niketu Iralu, in a solidarity speech said as Chairman Isak Swu played his political leadership role, he held on with evangelical fervour and zeal to his Christian faith which he had inherited from his pioneering father. Many have stressed this quality in their tributes to him.
“I believe it can be said to his credit that Isak Swu never let go Christ’s imperishable injunction- ‘To give unto Caesar what belonged to Caesar and to God what belonged to God.’ In the leadership he sought to give, there can be no doubt about the place he gave to his command, from above the battlefield of politics and life. I believe it will turn out that it made a crucial difference in our crisis, and it will be remembered with gratitude as his special contribution.
Nagas will pray that the legacy of his commitment to his faith will be brought to bear on the tough issues still to be resolved in the common journey ahead of all of us,” Iralu added.
He further expressed hope that the Nagas will rise to meet the need for change that will enable Nagas as a people to win together that the departed leader yearned for.
He called for the forging of a solidarity that will be sustainable and productive because we will decide to “go beyond seeing only where others have hurt us, and be ready to see where we too may have provoked them to hurt us, so that forgiving and being forgiven will become possible.”
Iralu added: “Kohima was a very small town when Isak Swu came to study in the Government High School. He made lasting friendships with individuals and families here who value him and his family. There is poignancy and grief in the thought that this will be his last earthly passage through the Kohima he grew up in.”
Kohima Village Council Chairman, Medoselhou Keretsii said: “We have gathered here to pay our homage and respect to this great soul because somewhere somehow we have been touched by his life.”
“Here is a man who gave his whole life for our national cause, his demise has shaken our nation, but let me take this platform to urge my brothers and sisters to stand together united, let us be one. I am sure he had this dream,” Keretsii said.
Earlier, the programme was chaired by Vipralhou Kesiezie, Advisory Board Chairman, APO; while Rev. Fr. Alex Vizo, Parish Priest, SFS Kohima pronounced benediction. Several organizations and individuals laid wreaths. A tribute song entitled “Ara Kezievi” was sung by the Angami Students’ Union.
