According to the book, The Naga Society written by Chandrika Singh in 2008, the Nagas are chauvinistic race. Every Naga believes that his own country, race, sex or group is better than the other race. He wants to be called a Naga and not Indian as late A Z Phizo asserted, “Nagas are not Indians”. No doubt, commonly speaking Nagas are hill tribes of Mongoloid origin. Nagas prefer to maintain this identity despite all odds as reflected in the state of affairs during the last sixty years of independent movement.
When the Nagas are in crucial stage of their freedom struggle, it is quite discouraging to observe the doctrine of complementarily enshrined in the Bible which they have been propagating for more than one hundred and forty years. That is the main reason why Naga women today are constantly deprived of in all the process of decision making influencing public opinion, in taking up roles and leadership that has social and political significance, in enjoying their cultural and customary rights and in finding mechanisms for righting the wrongs and violence committed against them in all walks of life.
Such constant denial of their holistic rights has constrained the Naga womenfolk in the State culminating them to move a petition on the issue of 33 percent reservation of women seats in Municipal Bodies to the Supreme Court of India. The Morung Express on 26/09/2012 therefore reported that “they condemned the fact that the State Government sought the opinion of only men folk and ignored 50 percent of the population – women’s voices as well as numerous representations from apex Tribe Women’s organization in the State even the long drawn issue”.
Dear fellow citizens, before we come to the consensus opinion of Naga political settlement, let us organize our Naga broken family of men and women in order. Why because divided house cannot stand as the Bible warn us. Let us keep in mind unity of men and women are equal to strength of the Naga nation based in our firm faith in God.
Dr E Renphamo Lotha
Research Scholar, GSM
