Longrangty Longchar
Dimapur | December 5
Reaching out to the Nagas living beyond the borders of Nagaland state, appealing for bonds of brotherhood and oneness in Christianity and renewing the call of unity among the Nagas, the Council of Naga Baptist Churches today inaugurated the ‘Naga Restoration Cord’ at Toulazouma village here today with state Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio as the chief guest.
Drawing inspiration from Isaiah chapter 54 in the Bible, (Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch out its curtains wide, do not hold back lengthen your cord, strengthen your stakes) the Restoration Cord, as conceived by the CNBC, envisages inviting Nagas living in Assam, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh and even in Myanmar to come and stay in Toulazuma village under the care of CNBC and receive education and other trainings.
“The aims and objects of the NRC is to extend Christian love and humanitarian services to help restore life from the breakdown of social fabric, to develop the untapped talents and potentials of young people, facilitate common concern for human rights and dignity, peace and justice,” said Rev L Bizo, president of CNBC in a handout that explained the Restoration Cord.
Rev Bizo said that the need of the hour is not violence and bloodshed but restoring peace and reconciliation; not mutual suspicion or prejudice and hatred, but mutual understanding, thinking and reasoning. “It is not reaction and rejoinders but interaction and repentance, not recrimination but restoration. We do not propose to do everything but if the journey of a thousand miles begin with the first step, then this is one step in that direction, and it is a hopeful beginning,” said Rev Bizo.
Today’s inauguration, as one sees it, would be a step to bringing spiritual unity among the Nagas, who are today divided by political boundaries that placed them not only in different states but also in different countries.
“We feel that we are not divided we feel that we are under one administration,” said ENSA president Michael Khaite while speaking at the inauguration. He thanked the CNBC, especially the so-called “western Nagas,” for accepting the Nagas living in Myanmar and taking the initiative to reach out to them and educate them by way of renewing the bond of Naga brotherhood.
He said that though the Nagas are divided into two countries, India and Myanmar, yet the “eastern Nagas” never think that Nagas are divided. Khaite requested Toulazouma villagers to take care of the “eastern Nagas” who would be staying in the Restoration Cord receiving education and other trainings, and categorically requested the people not to refer to the “eastern Nagas” as ‘Myanmarese Nagas.’
Chief Minister, Nephiu Rio, speaking at the function, asserted that there is an increasing desire amongst the Nagas to remove these artificial geographical boundaries, and live together under one administrative dispensation. He said that the Nagas in the present state of Nagaland has advanced and progressed socially, educationally and economically; however, he pointed out that this should not make the people in Nagaland to forget about the other Naga people in other states.
His words gain significance, since the Nagaland State Assembly has passed four resolution in the past endorsing the demand to integrate the Naga areas in different states to be brought under the present state of Nagaland. Civil societies like the Naga Hoho other NGOs and even the underground faction are demanding the integration of the Naga areas; a demand which cannot be fulfilled due to strong opposition by the neighboring states of Nagaland and also the growing feeling of tribalism among the Naga people.
Strongly lamenting that some Nagas resort to violence and killing despite the call for peace and reconciliation by the Naga masses, Rio asked, “Why are the Nagas finding so much problems in forging that oneness or unity? “Apart from our oneness in Christ, are we not all related through the ethnic Naga blood? Are we going to sacrifice the Naga nationalism and unity (for which we have struggled for many decades), at the alter of tribalism and selfish divisiveness,” Rio questioned and asserted that to push forward and sustain the Naga movement is to sustain the struggle for integrity, the foremost requirement is unity.
“The time has come for us now to raise up the banner of peace by forsaking the path of hatred, misunderstanding, suspicion and narrow tribalism,” said Rio and at the same time assured that the efforts put in by the CNBC to bring the Naga people together for better understanding and harmony would not go in vain but bear fruit in the days and years to come.
The PRO of CNBC, Adahe Neli, informed that those people will to stay Restoration Cord would have to fill up a form issued by the CNBC and have to be recommended by the ‘convention’ that is in the different states. Already 12 students are there in the Restoration Cord; who are sent to secular colleges during day time and given spiritual training through bible study, singing etc.
Rev L Bizo also expressed hope that the Cord would be equipped with study and research programme facilities in the near future.
