Dr. Asangba Tzüdir
The ‘modern Naga society’ is a witness to an unperturbed culture of silence and nonchalantly surrendering (or forced surrender) to the realities and issues at hand. Where, the very freedom to live a free life without any fear, where free expression of thoughts and ideas and opinions, of critical expression that is integral to the promotion of a democratically ideal communitarian society, finds hijacked. The people are simply made to bow to the machineries of the 'powers that be' and thereby perpetuate the silencing of the voice of dissent. They are also egoistically crippled by a nonchalant atmosphere that responds to the ‘wills’ of those who govern. Thus, their very existence becomes just another channel to legitimate the unprecedented power of those who ‘govern’ or rather control. Thus, there is also a self victimized ‘subaltern’ that refuses to speak.
Though, of late, a form of resurgence is being felt and witnessed about the need for building a society where one can express freely and which has created a certain form of ripples towards a critical assessment of our society. However, such effort that comes together as a ‘body of resistance’ continues to be defeated. In such forms of struggle, this excruciating pain is felt mostly by the younger generation, especially the ‘conscious minds’ that has started to encounter the truth about history, culture, religion, identity etc. and where the various forms of ‘truth’ within are not allowed to go through the test of debates and critical enquiry.
How long will the culture of control and forced silencing go on? The culture of ‘banning’ and imposing a penalty on someone for speaking against the ‘established norm’ or against ‘reconstructed history.’ More piercingly painful is when written documents or books are banned. Banning a book, say a book related to history, for the sake of an issue, means not just banning the book but in actuality is the condemnation of the history itself. Various forms of history – of language, culture, politics and identity and its associated processes have taken up different forms and versions and these contesting versions have only caused confusion among the youngsters. Knowing that we live in a democratic society, there is a need to shift from the culture of control and ‘banning’ to a more democratic form of corrective measures so that the ‘ideas’ that give rise to a ‘peoples’ and also its ‘consciousness’ are not erased through condemnation.
On the whole, today, the elder generation sensing that the old ways and the past ‘life world’ are dying, have also realised that the ‘new narratives’ of truth are not allowed to be born, thereby, leaving the onus of resurgence and revival on the younger generation saying that ‘the time is now yours.’ For this to happen, the younger generation should be allowed the space in expressing his right to free expression. But most importantly, the elder generation should open the way by ‘speaking the truth’ and at the same time teaching the younger folks to ‘speak the truth.’ This also requires the ‘will’ to speak the ‘truth’ because it includes acknowledging the past mistakes, and ‘lies’ to uncover the ‘uncomfortable truths.’ Of course, there are risks in speaking the truth within the existing realities making it more difficult for many painful souls to tread the path of truth.
Only when a democratic space is created to speak freely, the articulation of free thought will then find a place in Naga society. While “no power can stop the freedom of Imagination and expression,” and where there is voice of hope, justice, truth, liberation and freedom from fear, the ripple effect is slowly taking place where the new ‘Naga thinking selves’ finds it uncomfortable to stay encoded in silence to the present ‘Naga condition.’
(Dr. Asangba Tzudir is a Freelance Editing and Research Consultant. He contributes a weekly guest editorial to The Morung Express. Comments can be mailed to asangtz@gmail.com)
