Young voice against the state of affairs
Vilivi A. Chopy
In the midst of the greatest landmass on earth; God put me there by His Grace – and Here I Stand. To my east, west, and south, nations and peoples of the world’s largest. To my north, the Roof of the world; The great eastern gatekeeper, between the East and the West, A Fulcrum and a Bridge, that’s who I am. God put me there – and Here I Stand. Within the lush hills and mountains, the rivers and the valleys, Nestled amongst the greatest mountain ranges on the planet – the Himalayas, God put me there – and Here I Stand. More than a millennium ago, my forefathers came, To a land that was lush, fertile and wild. We were one with nature. It was free. It was bountiful. It provided all our needs.
Equality, Fraternity, Liberty, were not slogans, but a way of life. We were proud. We were free! In a God given land – we put down our roots. Never subjugated any peoples, nor were subjugated by any. Honesty, Integrity, Justice, were not slogans, but a way of life. We were proud. We were free! God put me there – and Here I Stand. For centuries, we were undisturbed. We lived our lives in splendid isolation in our village state Republics. 1832 saw the advent of colonial Great Britain to the Naga country. This was the first outside power into our heartland.
Our brave warriors with spears were no match against their modern rifles. It was inevitable that resistance ended for some time. A quarter of our land was “administered” by colonial Britain and the rest of my country left as “Excluded Area”. 1946, in the words of Jawaharal Nehru, Tribal areas of Naga people and their territories were “neither part of India nor Burma, nor of Indian states nor of any foreign power”. We were Sovereign! We were Free! 1872 was a watershed for country men. By the spirit of God inspired, Edward and Mary Clark of America, Risked their heads and ventured into the country of fierce headhunters. The first Church thus established in our land, in Molungkimong village. 1929, we told the British Simon Commission that when Britain would leave, “……..could never have conquered us themselves, and to whom we are never subjected but leave us alone to determine for ourselves as in ancient times”.
Naga people in a peaceful plebiscite in 1951, reaffirmed this wish. But alas! it was not to be. October 1955 saw the start of a terrible war that ravaged our land. At its height, for every able bodied young male Naga, Stood 7 soldiers of the occupying forces with bayonets at hand! Thousands killed, raped, tortured and maimed - men, women and children. Even the sacred places of the Church too were no protection. Women gave birth in the open in front of the jawans. Hundreds of villages razed to the ground – many of them, again and again. Mangmetong village of Mokokchung – 17 times. Uncountable troves of our cultural heritage burnt and lost. Who will hear the cries of their tears and blood? Their stories of shame and suffering. Untold and unheard, yet I dare not forget. In silence they cry, with tears that flows no more. God put me there – and Here I Stand.
Our land, once so proud and so free, lies utterly broken and desolate today. Ravaged not just by the dogs of war, but now by our own, of proclaimed leaders and followers, all crazed by a greed that knows no bounds. Birds no longer sing. Clouds no longer bear the rain. The Sun has dimmed. Our nights have grown darker and longer. Our people have lost their sight, their hearing and their voices. It has become a land of the deaf, the dumb and the blind. But God has put me there, with a purpose – and Here I Stand. Where has Justice gone? Where has Freedom gone? When will the birds sing again? Who will light the torch and bear it once again? Like the Phoenix, we will rise again. I will no longer be drunk by the gaiety of festivities under slavery. I will speak for the down trodden and the weak. I will stand by the throne of Justice and Liberty! I will refuse to be silenced! I will demand my Freedom! Truth, Honesty and Integrity as my forefathers were clothed with, will once again be my staff, my rod and my guide. Then, the God of my fathers, my Jehovah, will once again turn His face towards His people. He will once again stretch out His hand in mercy.
The clouds shall then rain again, and the Sun shall then shine again. The ravaged land, broken and desolate, shall then be restored. So help me God – Here I Stand.
Written by Moa Aier, the poem was presented by Vilivi A. Chopy, a student of C-Edge College Dimapur during the ACAUT Public Rally Against Corruption on August 25, 2017.
