The denial of human dignity experienced by Nagas is the direct result of oppression and subjugation perpetuated over many decades by the structures of political domination and remnants of their colonial past. Naga behaviors and actions are being conditioned by a history which is primarily not of their making. Undeniably, the domination ideology defies all humane values and with resolute single mindedness attempts to establish a permanent order through fear and subjugation in the people’s minds. Indeed, this conditioning process is very effective because people become frightened, controlled, suspicious and divided which also weakens and thwarts any potential collective action they may take.
The people need to free the Naga conscience from these oppressive and enslaving conditions through peaceful nonviolent means. Indeed, Nagas, as a people, can become self-determining and generate ideas and solutions to the problems that lie before them. The ongoing day to day reality continually invites and asks Nagas to arise from being the objects of history to becoming conscious creators of their own history.
It is only when human beings examine human history that they recognize the paradoxes within it and the subsequent tribulations that they experienced over time. When a people are completely overwhelmed by compelling circumstances they cannot be regarded as free, in spite of the fact that they are entitled to such rights.
For instance, just because the Naga people are entitled to be free, does not necessarily mean they are free especially when their struggle to have a decent quality of life is ongoing. Similarly, just because Nagas have right to land does not mean that such a right is enjoyed when the land is overwhelmed by the forces of domination and exploitation.
The core ideas of rights is not simply that you are entitled to these rights and that they cannot be taken away from you, but most importantly, that you are able to exercise and enjoy those rights.
Recognizing that no one can claim to have monopoly of insights, the existing reality requires that the collective Naga mind be broadened, and imagine all that others have not dared to imagine. Together Nagas can transcend the fear of disillusionment and emerge from the frozen images through replacing them with the present realities that calls out for liberating the human mind and spirit. Based on such reasoning the Naga people need to critically analyze the concrete situation of their historical, geographical and political realities.
The history of the Naga people is intertwined with and inseparable from the idea of a peoples’ self-determining capacity to exercise its sovereign will. Consequently, in order for Naga people to reconcile, the struggle for Naga rights must be located within the larger struggle for humanization which has at its center the right to self-determination.
