Kaka D Iralu
A public leader or politician, when elected to a public office, takes an oath of allegiance to uphold and defend his country’s integrity and constitution. Similarly, a soldier, when he has completed his training and commissioned, takes a similar oath of commitment to defend his country’s territories. But what about an ordinary citizen who is neither a politician nor a soldier? Does he owe no allegiance to his country’s constitution or defence of his country? Can he leave such duties to the politicians and the soldiers and pursue his own happiness without bothering about political duties or obligations to his country?
In the context of these questions, our Naga Yehzabo (Constitution) begins with these very profound and solemn pronouncements:
“We, the people of Nagaland, solemnly acknowledging that the sovereignty over this earth and the entire universe belongs to almighty God alone, and the authority of the people to be exercised on the territories is a sacred trust from God … having our attachment to the truth of popular sovereignty … to establish national institutions based on the common ideals of Democracy, Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity among the people…do hereby adopt the Yehzabo of Nagaland”…( Preamble to the Yehzabo of Nagaland pp1)
Now it is we, the Naga people (and not some others), who had pronounced and adopted these words and pledged our allegiance to our constitution and our country. As such, we, the Naga people definitely have a duty and a responsibility to uphold our Constitution and defend our territories as defined in article 1 of our Constitution. Article 1 of our Constitution states our territories thus:
“The territory of Nagaland shall comprise of all the territories inhabited by the indigenous Naga tribes and such other territories as the Tatar Hoho may by law admit on such terms and conditions as it may deem fit”
However, the tragedy and the most shameful thing that we Nagas are doing today, is the fact that; instead of defending our own country and our constitution, we are pledging our allegiance to the constitution of a foreign country called India. Here, just imagine an Indian pledging his allegiance to the constitution of Pakistan and then even sacrificing his life for the defence of Pakistan! That would be an absolutely absurd thing to do. And yet, that is just what we Nagas are doing today.
Now, if we do not have a country of our own, and if we also do not have a “unique history” of our own, then it would have been a different matter. But to have a country of our own, and a history of our own, and then pledge our allegiance to another country is the most shameful thing any nation can do. In fact, no nation on earth can stoop any lower than that.
That brings us to the question why Nagas are Nagas, and Nagaland belongs to the Nagas. Nagas are Nagas, and Nagaland belongs to the Nagas, because God made us Nagas and gave us our geographical land- NAGALAND- for our habitation. This fact is clearly spelled out in Acts 17:26, when the word of God says:
“And he (God) made from one (Adam) every nation of man to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation.” (See also Deut 32:8).
Here, it is a universal fact that national identities or national land ownership rights, does not begin or belong to an individual or a nation. Instead, in it’s true essence, both national identities as well as national land ownership rights are bestowed by God to all the various nations of the world through God’s own goodness. This is a fact, because we are all born naked from our mother’s wombs. Also, when we were born, we did not bring even a single grain of soil (land) into the world. As for our national identities, our individual opinions were never consulted, when we were being formed in our mother’s wombs. The undeniable fact is one where: If we have a Naga father and were conceived in our mother’s womb, we become Nagas when we are born into the world.
The same truth is true of all individuals of all nationalities throughout all of human history. An exception to this universal truth would be a Naga deciding to become an Indian citizen or vice versa by volitional choice. Legally, this may be permissible, but biologically, such a person will still continue to be a Naga-Indian citizen. Therefore, national identity-wise, or geographical identity-wise, we can only be what God had pre-destined us to be. This means that both our national identity as well as our geographical identity are God given gifts – gifts given without any personal reference to our personal opinions.
This is why our Yehzabo states: “And the authority of the people to be exercised on the territory is a sacred trust from God…” Yes, our national identities as well as our geographical identity, are SACRED TRUSTS given to us by God. These identities therefore, cannot be bartered for doing economic business with India or Myanmar or any other nation on earth. Far from doing business with this ‘trust’, we instead have both a political as well as a religious(sacred) duty to defend our lands for the perpetuation and continuation of our nation’s heritage for all times to come. And yes, every citizen of Nagaland, who is, by God’s ordination called a Naga, has a duty to both God and country to defend what God has given to us as “our apportioned lands”. To do anything less is to be a coward and to be unworthy of God’s gracious gifts. Here, if we are to surrender our country to another country, then we will not be just guilty politically, but even guilty of transgressing God’s divine ordinances and institutions.
When will this profound truth and the corollary political and religious duty connected to that truth, ever penetrate our thick foreign indoctrinated skulls and brains?
When will Naga Christians ever understand the truth that Christian religious duty is not just confined to giving one’s tithes and going to Church. When indeed will we finally comprehend the truth that Christian religious duty involves all other facets of one’s life, including that of political duty, economic responsibility, environmental concerns, etc, etc.
Long live Nagas and Nagaland
