Every human action has an underlying motive behind it. But if we dig further down into the motive, we will find an underlying world-view that has guided the motive behind the action. In the case of the Indo-Naga-Burmese conflict, at the surface level, the act of the invasion appears to be just another geo-political conflict where India and Burma invaded Nagaland in order to make their geographical territories bigger and their political powers stronger. This geo-political ambition on the part of India and Burma is an undeniable fact. But equally true is the fact that before the physical action of invading Nagaland was undertaken, a political decision was first taken which was influenced by spiritual and philosophical world-views. In the context of wars and conflicts, long before tanks and aero planes clash in mortal physical combat, political decisions are made which are controlled and guided by religious and philosophical world-views or convictions.
Its repercussions on the Indo-Naga-Burmese conflictWith these thoughts in the back of our minds, allow me to make a religious and philosophical analysis of the conflict in our lands in order to discover the factors that have influenced the invasion.
But before we focus our lenses on the Indo-Naga-Burma conflict, we will first have to take a sweeping survey of the religious and philosophical worldviews that were dominating the whole world towards the middle of the twentieth century. Such a survey is necessary because both Indian and Burmese political leaders who sent in their troops to invade Nagaland were also influenced by the then prevailing philosophies and political ideologies. Such a survey is also necessary in order to understand the conflict from a wider perspective.
Towards the middle of the twentieth century, the world had been conquered by philosophers and their philosophies. These philosophical thoughts had been developing over the centuries right from Plato to Karl Marx. All these accumulated thoughts, coupled with rapid scientific discoveries, were now coalescing into a dangerous potion that would poison the human mind and make him act most irrationally. This period in history was a moment when religion stood almost defeated by modern philosophical thoughts. This victory of philosophical thoughts over religious beliefs wreaked havoc in human relationships and also did horrible collateral damages to social institutions and political establishments.
Now, life in short is an interconnected tapestry (interwoven picture) where morality (or ethics) is connected to law and law is in turn connected to politics and politics to social living. In this interconnected tapestry, man’s social happiness is ultimately dependent on a correct political system that is based on a correct legal structure which is ultimately based on a correct moral foundation. In the Christian concept of the rule of law, behind the law is the law giver who is none other then God-the giver of all the moral Commandments.
The roots of the philosophies and ideologies prevalent in the mid 20th century: As already stated, in the flow of human history, beginning with Plato and Aristotle, many philosophers have said many things as they grappled with the question of morality and the meaning of life. But the coming of Hegel (1770-1831) and the presenting of his philosophical theory (dialectics) was a turning point in man’s thinking about morals and morality. In short, Hegel said that there are no “absolute rights” or “absolute wrongs” but that absolute reality (truth) lies in a combination (synthesis) of “that which is right” and “that which is wrong”. This meant that, for example, a moral law that accepted that “murder is wrong” (thesis) and that its opposite- “not murdering is right” (antithesis), stood challenged and blurred. With the invasion of Hegel’s philosophy, man no longer had “absolute rights” and “absolute wrongs” but only “relative” and “synthetic truths.” The alarming thing about the consequences of such a philosophy was that Law which is based on moral “rights’ and “wrongs” stood challenged and shaken. (As a consequence of Hegel’s philosophy of synthesis, the death penalty for murder was removed from the law books of many countries in the 20th and 21st centuries).
Rousseau (1712-78), had earlier said “man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains”- (enchained to religious absolutism and restraints). Then came along Karl Marx (1818-1883) who, building on all these philosophies reduced man into an economic commodity. He declared that man is enslaved and exploited by the Capitalists and Capitalism. His battles cry was-freedom of the proletariat (the exploited working class) from the Bourgeois (capitalist middle class) so that a classless society of “from everyman according to his ability to everyman according to his needs” would emerge through bloody revolutions. The philosophy sounded so good, it was like the echo of a utopian world.
But such atheistic philosophies converted into political ideologies in the hands of powerful political leaders like Lenin, Stalin, Hitler and Mao Tse-tung etc created many national and international wars like the Russian and Chinese revolutions that butchered millions of innocent lives. But bloodier still was the Second World War that cost over 70 million human lives. These man made wars, based on atheistic political ideologies shocked and shook the world to its very foundations. It also resulted in a human bloodbath- the likes of which man had never witnessed in his entire history. The tragedy and the carnage were such that had a historian of the 18th century been resurrected to see the carnage, he would surely have exclaimed: “Oh my God, this generation must have gone insane!” (I am here focusing only on the effects of philosophies on politics. These philosophies also affected many other facets of human life like art, music, literature and culture in general).
Coming back to the Indo-Naga-Burma conflict, which has cost hundreds and thousands of Naga lives, my book has recounted some of its horrific details and its effects on the lives of our people. But the invasion of our lands came in two forms- one external and the other from within. In the first invasion, the invading soldiers were guided by a caste conscious religious philosophy that believed that some men were born high and others low. It was philosophy that believed that the “high born” had the moral right to rule over the “low born”. In such a caste ridden philosophy, we Nagas were even lower then their lowest caste-the Shudras. As such, we were “castles non entities” who could be murdered, raped and tortured with total impunity. In their philosophical world-view, the individual soul Atma, and the universal soul Brahma were ultimately one and the same thing. Such a philosophical religion must inevitably mean that in the end, both good and evil, right and wrong were ultimately one and the same thing. The philosophy also believed that there was unity in diversity- which must mean that racial differences were of no consequence and geographical boundaries were of no importance. Such a pantheistic religion and philosophy was quite ready to swallow up everything into its religious belly and philosophic umbrella. And these invading forces were sent by a Prime Minister who did not believe in a God or any gods. (Pardon the scalpel of my language, but I can find no other words to condemn the desecration of our beloved lands and people in the 1950’s and 60’s).
Then as if the first desecration was not enough, a second wave of invasion forces marched into our lands. This time it was our own army motivated and propelled by a political philosophy- a political philosophy that had already ransacked our own Mongolian neighbor nations like China and Cambodia turning their lands into killing fields. This philosophical enemy started invading our lands from the 1980’s. Among the believers of this political ideology were some of our own battle scared uncles and elders-our own heroes who had given their all and their best for our dignity and our freedom. But somewhere along the way, something seemed to have snapped in their battle weary souls. We were not able to recognize this new threat because they came into our lands wearing our own uniform and shouting our own political slogans. From the deep forest hideouts of Burma, they came, calling themselves “revolutionary patriots” and sweeping aside any opposition as “counter revolutionaries.” They came redefining the struggle in our land as “a revolution” instead of it being an invasion by India and Burma. And they riddled with bullets any fellow Naga who dared to oppose their political ideology. They called the riddled bodies as “reactionary forces” that needed to be silenced and buried (Here again pardon my language, but my conscience will not allow me to describe one killing with beautiful words and the other with ugly words).
This then is a humble religious and philosophical analysis of the sixty two year Indo-Naga-Burmese conflict.
Finally, in conclusion, fellow Nagas, where do we go from here? Shall we forgive one another, reconcile and become a united nation again or shall we hold on to our own political ideologies and factions and destroy ourselves from within as well as from without???
Its repercussions on the Indo-Naga-Burmese conflictWith these thoughts in the back of our minds, allow me to make a religious and philosophical analysis of the conflict in our lands in order to discover the factors that have influenced the invasion.
But before we focus our lenses on the Indo-Naga-Burma conflict, we will first have to take a sweeping survey of the religious and philosophical worldviews that were dominating the whole world towards the middle of the twentieth century. Such a survey is necessary because both Indian and Burmese political leaders who sent in their troops to invade Nagaland were also influenced by the then prevailing philosophies and political ideologies. Such a survey is also necessary in order to understand the conflict from a wider perspective.
Towards the middle of the twentieth century, the world had been conquered by philosophers and their philosophies. These philosophical thoughts had been developing over the centuries right from Plato to Karl Marx. All these accumulated thoughts, coupled with rapid scientific discoveries, were now coalescing into a dangerous potion that would poison the human mind and make him act most irrationally. This period in history was a moment when religion stood almost defeated by modern philosophical thoughts. This victory of philosophical thoughts over religious beliefs wreaked havoc in human relationships and also did horrible collateral damages to social institutions and political establishments.
Now, life in short is an interconnected tapestry (interwoven picture) where morality (or ethics) is connected to law and law is in turn connected to politics and politics to social living. In this interconnected tapestry, man’s social happiness is ultimately dependent on a correct political system that is based on a correct legal structure which is ultimately based on a correct moral foundation. In the Christian concept of the rule of law, behind the law is the law giver who is none other then God-the giver of all the moral Commandments.
The roots of the philosophies and ideologies prevalent in the mid 20th century: As already stated, in the flow of human history, beginning with Plato and Aristotle, many philosophers have said many things as they grappled with the question of morality and the meaning of life. But the coming of Hegel (1770-1831) and the presenting of his philosophical theory (dialectics) was a turning point in man’s thinking about morals and morality. In short, Hegel said that there are no “absolute rights” or “absolute wrongs” but that absolute reality (truth) lies in a combination (synthesis) of “that which is right” and “that which is wrong”. This meant that, for example, a moral law that accepted that “murder is wrong” (thesis) and that its opposite- “not murdering is right” (antithesis), stood challenged and blurred. With the invasion of Hegel’s philosophy, man no longer had “absolute rights” and “absolute wrongs” but only “relative” and “synthetic truths.” The alarming thing about the consequences of such a philosophy was that Law which is based on moral “rights’ and “wrongs” stood challenged and shaken. (As a consequence of Hegel’s philosophy of synthesis, the death penalty for murder was removed from the law books of many countries in the 20th and 21st centuries).
Rousseau (1712-78), had earlier said “man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains”- (enchained to religious absolutism and restraints). Then came along Karl Marx (1818-1883) who, building on all these philosophies reduced man into an economic commodity. He declared that man is enslaved and exploited by the Capitalists and Capitalism. His battles cry was-freedom of the proletariat (the exploited working class) from the Bourgeois (capitalist middle class) so that a classless society of “from everyman according to his ability to everyman according to his needs” would emerge through bloody revolutions. The philosophy sounded so good, it was like the echo of a utopian world.
But such atheistic philosophies converted into political ideologies in the hands of powerful political leaders like Lenin, Stalin, Hitler and Mao Tse-tung etc created many national and international wars like the Russian and Chinese revolutions that butchered millions of innocent lives. But bloodier still was the Second World War that cost over 70 million human lives. These man made wars, based on atheistic political ideologies shocked and shook the world to its very foundations. It also resulted in a human bloodbath- the likes of which man had never witnessed in his entire history. The tragedy and the carnage were such that had a historian of the 18th century been resurrected to see the carnage, he would surely have exclaimed: “Oh my God, this generation must have gone insane!” (I am here focusing only on the effects of philosophies on politics. These philosophies also affected many other facets of human life like art, music, literature and culture in general).
Coming back to the Indo-Naga-Burma conflict, which has cost hundreds and thousands of Naga lives, my book has recounted some of its horrific details and its effects on the lives of our people. But the invasion of our lands came in two forms- one external and the other from within. In the first invasion, the invading soldiers were guided by a caste conscious religious philosophy that believed that some men were born high and others low. It was philosophy that believed that the “high born” had the moral right to rule over the “low born”. In such a caste ridden philosophy, we Nagas were even lower then their lowest caste-the Shudras. As such, we were “castles non entities” who could be murdered, raped and tortured with total impunity. In their philosophical world-view, the individual soul Atma, and the universal soul Brahma were ultimately one and the same thing. Such a philosophical religion must inevitably mean that in the end, both good and evil, right and wrong were ultimately one and the same thing. The philosophy also believed that there was unity in diversity- which must mean that racial differences were of no consequence and geographical boundaries were of no importance. Such a pantheistic religion and philosophy was quite ready to swallow up everything into its religious belly and philosophic umbrella. And these invading forces were sent by a Prime Minister who did not believe in a God or any gods. (Pardon the scalpel of my language, but I can find no other words to condemn the desecration of our beloved lands and people in the 1950’s and 60’s).
Then as if the first desecration was not enough, a second wave of invasion forces marched into our lands. This time it was our own army motivated and propelled by a political philosophy- a political philosophy that had already ransacked our own Mongolian neighbor nations like China and Cambodia turning their lands into killing fields. This philosophical enemy started invading our lands from the 1980’s. Among the believers of this political ideology were some of our own battle scared uncles and elders-our own heroes who had given their all and their best for our dignity and our freedom. But somewhere along the way, something seemed to have snapped in their battle weary souls. We were not able to recognize this new threat because they came into our lands wearing our own uniform and shouting our own political slogans. From the deep forest hideouts of Burma, they came, calling themselves “revolutionary patriots” and sweeping aside any opposition as “counter revolutionaries.” They came redefining the struggle in our land as “a revolution” instead of it being an invasion by India and Burma. And they riddled with bullets any fellow Naga who dared to oppose their political ideology. They called the riddled bodies as “reactionary forces” that needed to be silenced and buried (Here again pardon my language, but my conscience will not allow me to describe one killing with beautiful words and the other with ugly words).
This then is a humble religious and philosophical analysis of the sixty two year Indo-Naga-Burmese conflict.
Finally, in conclusion, fellow Nagas, where do we go from here? Shall we forgive one another, reconcile and become a united nation again or shall we hold on to our own political ideologies and factions and destroy ourselves from within as well as from without???
