Kaka D. Iralu
The choice of whether to live in liberty and freedom with dignity and honor, or to live under subjugation and subject hood with shame and anger is a choice freely given by God to all mankind. This is so because God did not create us human beings like machines who have to obey all the wishes of the machine operator. He also did not create us like animals that are predetermined and bound by the laws of instincts. Far above all these mechanical and animal chains, God created us in his own image with the precious gift of freedom of choice. Among all of God’s creation, human beings alone have this unique gift to choose that which would set them free or enslave them. God has given us this wonderful gift by writing his laws of right and wrong into our hearts and giving us the faculty of our conscience which enables us to choose the right instead of the wrong.(Rom.2:14&15)
Down through the ages of human history, some peoples and nations have used this faculty of conscience to evolve political and social systems where liberty and freedom have been preserved within themselves as well as respected, when practiced by others. On the other hand, there have been other peoples in the flow of human history, where freedom and liberty have been centralized on a few individuals or “Class and Caste” and denied to others through brutal means of oppression. The Indian Hindu caste system is one epic example of such centralization of power where the Brahmin caste cleverly centralized all powers within themselves and exploited other castes and other peoples outside the Hindu fold. In doing this, the Brahmin caste exclusively kept to themselves, India’s wide repository of advanced knowledge in science, mathematic, philosophy etc for thousands of years. They selfishly did this by writing them in Sanskrit and Urdu and banning other castes from either learning or reading the two languages.
On the other hand, among the many nations of the world and their civilizations, our Naga ancestors were a people who paid great heed to the voice of their conscience. Without a single religious book or law book to guide them, they were able to formulate a pure form of democracy for our Naga society. In this system, they created a social order which was totally devoid of Kingship, Bureaucracy or Caste and Class hierarchy. What they created was a classless society whose foundations were Equality, Fraternity and Liberty. Their created system was a society and culture that did not have words like “Your Excellency”, “Your Highness” or even the word “Sir.”
Now, it was with a resolute determination to preserve and perpetuate this democratic freedom and liberty, that our political leaders launched our Naga political movement in the earlier half of the twentieth century. The Naga stand then, was to develop ourselves according to our own genius and not under the dictates or exploitations of another country or other nations. It was to live with freedom and liberty in a country we could call our own and live in that independent country with a national identity that was all our own.
But things began to go wrong, when in the 1960’s ceasefire and peace talks; tribalism reared its ugly head and shattered our solid political structure. Things went further wrong when, in the 1980’s, foreign political ideologies were added to tribalism and we started killing one another to uphold our own self created factions and their political ideologies. The struggle from then was no more a people’s mandated struggle to preserve and perpetuate our own unique democracy but one of trying to force a foreign political ideology into Naga democracy. It was nothing less then an attempt to rule Naga society with terror tactics and the power of the gun. All these disgusting activities were carried out in the name of Naga nationalism and the so called slogan of Nagaland for Christ. Launched as they religiously put it- after three days, four days, of prayer and fasting and meditation and what not.
Had we stood together as a nation under the one Naga mandated political institution and government, the whole world, with the exception of our enemies, would have cheered and supported our cause because it was a sublime cause with universal implications. But on the contrary, some tribal leaders with a little education of some degrees in sociology and political science tore our own political institution and government to pieces. These leaders were facinated by so called revolutions in other countries where a few leaders took over political poweres of their respective countries and lived like Kings as dictators.In the process of this attempted takeover of our Naga democracy by our own Naga leaders, we proud and noble Nagas and our just cause was made a laughing stock before the world and our enemies.
Amidst this shame and ridicule, one is however encouraged by the recent unconditional re-unification move undertaken by the GPRN/NSCN and NNC/ FGN GROUPS. One hopes that they will go back to our political roots and try to undo the damages inflicted on it from the 1960’s to the present. The Naga public are hoping and praying that they will put our national aspirations and objectives above their own petty factional and individual interests. We hope that our present leaders will listen to the voices of the Naga masses who had sacrificed themselves and their precious sons and daughters along with their wealth, so that future generations of Nagas could live with freedom and dignity.
LONG LIVE, NAGA DEMOCRACY AND NAGA FREEDOM. May Naga country one day become a land of freedom and liberty. May Nagaland one day become a beacon of hope for other nations who are denied their political freedom by oppressors.
