Dr Asangba Tzüdir
After a lot of twists, turns and drama the demand of JCC and NTAC is finally fulfilled. The bandh is lifted and life seems to have returned to normalcy. Ironically, life has returned to the same ‘normal.’ And our Dear Nagaland and the people had to go through such turmoil and paralysis just to wind up in a change of leadership while the issues which were part of the larger struggle seem to have vanished in thin air. Thus, it’s back to square one with a change in guard but the same ‘normal.’ The question then is: What were Nagas fighting for and what have we achieved? As a footnote, what was clearly seen through this amorphous episode of shifts was that the struggle was based on a ground which was not only unclear but also ill-prepared and secondly, we have a group of legislators who cannot be trusted leaving aside any iota of integrity and principle as was seen from the events leading to the change in leadership.
There is so much more than this kind of resultant change in leadership and we need to seriously ponder on the ‘horizons’ of change and engage actively on the change aspects for real change to happen. The return to the same ‘normal’ is not something to cheer about because the unresolved issues which have not been given due warrant will keep haunting us.
The points of reference in seeking a solution for these unresolved issues are yet to be deliberated with due merit. One of these is the provisions under Article 371 A. Beyond the 33% reservation for women vis-à-vis Article 371A and the power struggle between the ‘people’ and the ‘state,’ it has put us in a more challenging existential reality in relation to our Religious or Social practices, Naga customary law and procedure so also its associated Civil and Criminal Justice. All these aspects provoke the question of Naga Identity and though a point of reference, it has shifted from its traditional setting in time and space and demands newer understanding within the evolved spaces. Nagas need to redefine and concretize the parameters that come under the ambit of religious, social and customary laws and practices.
A way forward therefore is to evolve from the traditional setting and work out models of value based ideals of equality, justice and fraternity in tune with the changing times. For this, every section of Naga needs to travel forward (not backward in time) and put our thinking heads together towards the formation of a new Naga social, political, religious and cultural Identity. Above all, a new model of an all inclusive system of democracy and a bottom-up approach to power needs to be adopted towards generating well informed dialogues. Often ill-informed dialogues in relation to questions of ‘rights,’ ‘legality’ and ‘constitutionality,’ give rise to a skewed power struggle between the ‘bottom’ and ‘top.’
The outgoing CM has assured that, “all issues will be smoothly solved” under the new leadership but there are challenges beyond the issues related to (mis)governance and until the emerging issues of identity are properly addressed, Nagas will continue to stay under a ‘veiled normal’ going backwards in time.
(Dr. Asangba Tzüdir contributes a weekly guest editorial to the Morung Express. Comments can be mailed to asangtz@gmail.com)
