Last night, I was disturbed and did not sleep by a thought on Nagas’ Dream that came into my mind. I woke up at mid night and took my pen to paint picture of what is Nagas’ dream. This question strikes me on and on as I keep on trying to define the Nagas’ dream in today’s society. Is Nagas’ Dream an economic Freedom or national freedom or something else? What inspires the Nagas to come together for a common struggle?
Every nation of the world is born of a dream. It develop from an individual to a family, community and then to a nation. To become a nation centuries ago was not a struggle. It was just formed, organised and named it. But today it is a hard struggle even with sacrifices of blood and lives. So far many precious lives have been offered on the altar of freedom and still the dream that has meaning for our people is yet to realized? Have we forgotten our dream or we lost sight of our national dream? Unless we cherish our dream nation we can never realize it. Every truth and strong foundation is but first a dream and then actualized it.
I believe there must be a Naga man who dreamt of Naga Nation out of whom the flows of national spirit permeate the people and we are here today. Was it Jadonang who proclaimed Nagas’ Raj (kingdom) during early 1900s that the British took him to be the Naga dreamer? Or was it A.Z. Phizo or someone else who first perceived Naga club since 1918 and then to formation of NNC? We may accept or denied the above personalities justifying that they did not clearly defined their dream and made known to the people. However just as a candle can trim thousands of other candles, one man’s dream can inspire thousands even the world to light. The fact is that the present consciousness of Naga Nationalism must have been a seed of dream, sown or dreamt in the distant past by a man. The search for the dreamer need not count however needful if we know the dream and realize it by our action. Nothing is more important than our right action to realize the Nagas’ Dream. Human history reveals the truth, that dreams are the seedling of reality. We need to lay our firm foundation and stand on it to build our nation. Shifting foundations cannot withstand the test of time. Our Nagas’ dream is our foundational truth that must be clearly defined and strive to realize it. Can we say our struggle or National foundational dream is for a FREEDOM from foreign rule which includes economic, geographical and political freedom? Has it change or time demand the change of our dream Nation into something else? It is the dream desire and struggle of the naga people that, Nagas independent or freedom will be realized.
Concerns that for lack of clear Naga National dream or for defining our dream in different terms, many blunders have been committed which were done to have been or supposed solution or settlement for the Naga people. For instance, 16th point agreement, ceasefire agreements, Shilong accord etc. Views that, we have taken many premature decisions, agreements, or accords etc in the past that have advantaged the Indian for further delaying and protective ruling on the Nagas. Consequently, factional groups turn out to be self destructive forces within the Naga society. Each claiming themselves to be the right or true nationalist government or patriots terming each other factions as betrayers. Spinning in this pool of counter confrontations for long, the Naga nationalist or patriots are desperately hurrying for early settlement of the Naga issues without considering the foundational truth of the Naga Nation as dreamt by the faithful forbearers. Perceives that, Our Naga National dream or goal seems lost, forgotten or stolen. Has our goal or right to self determination tempered, compromised or conformed to Indian political governance?
Though our struggle against foreign invasion and occupational forces of Britishers and now Indian has been tedious and unending till date, the spirit and aspiration of the Naga people must remains persistence and ever strong without losing or compromising the foundational truth of the Nagas. Our foundation has been shaken many times but not shattered totally nor will it be so. Our forbearers, history-makers have forfeited their own gain and good at the expense of losing their bloods, tears and dear lives with the faith that they will gain our freedom by giving theirs all. We can never think of laying down that priceless foundation at the expense of gaining a short or apparent promising solution that India may offer to the Nagas in the pretext of hurrying for lasting settlement of the protracted Naga issues.
Our focused struggle should not just end in petty compromises or give in settling for less. Our long journey has not been and will not be the path for desperate solution at half way or supposed destination. Our destination is National freedom at last. Understands that, we are in the midst of choices and confusions. Our negotiation with India should not be on compromising our national status but on the basis of mutual realization and respect of each other rights. Seeming or apparent truth or thought-to-be-best way that may be offered in the act of resolving the long suffered Naga Issue must not befool the Nagas.
We are conditioned by our focused goal to look beyond the opportunities and strive on for our Homeland Nation. We Nagas should not be absorbed by the attractive and promising offer that may take away our hard earn rights and history. For we are not an opportunist people but a free people. Let us be watchful and stay active lest we fall short of our vision and goal we have been cherishing for long.
Let us march forward in the spirit of collective responsibility and sacrificial commitment to the Nation. We cannot make another mistake or blunder anymore. The past blunders have we suffered enough, delayed us, complicated our journey, derailed our National corporate vision which have left us in great confusion today. Let us shake ourselves off from the burdens borne of past seeming solutions accepted by some of the past leaders. Our time is great and priceless; we must not lose a minute in protecting our narrow interests rather protect our rights and lands from external threats and conquest. Our time of narrowed vision has surely passed. We are now onto new era of understanding and human conscious revolution. The journey we continue today must be a renewed journey and must complete it. This is our task; our mission. We must accomplish our journey at all cost without faltering our courage and hope believing that each steps that we take must lead upward nearer the goal or destination; Naga Nation.
Gwangphun Gangmei
(This art is a reflection of FREETALK. The author personally holds the responsible for the content of the art. Freetalk is a Voluntary Research Initiative team organised to bring about a desire change, progress and prosperity in the society through researching and reasoning. It is an open sharing of Ideas, interest and concern in a friendly manner intending to heighten our thoughts, capacity, relation and responsibility towards building and serving humanity and Nation. It is not a forum to resolve or decides the will of the people but a mean to strengthen the people organisation through feeding reliable information, logistic thinking, a common platform to discuss and technical support. It is a research initiative of likeminded friends whose hearts and hands have been touched by the graces of service to humanity)
