This book is written for future generations to know their story, and the story of their ancestors so that they may have answers to the many questions that lie unanswered in the pages of Naga history.
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Easterine Kire
By far, this has to be called Charles Chasie’s magnum opus. I don’t hesitate to define it as such. Without exaggeration, this will be the ultimate go-to book on Naga History encompassing as it does our written history in the 1800s and making a grand sweep of the events that flow from it, determining the paths the Naga people would follow. In private conversations, the author confessed that he had never felt equal to the task set before him – writing a comprehensive volume on Naga history with focus on the most dramatic and challenging predicament of Naga life – the Naga political question. He had completed two chapters when serious illness threatened to terminate the whole project. Charles credits the recovery of his health to both medical care and the loving ministrations of his family.
This book, Nagaland: State in Waiting takes its title from a term, ‘states in waiting’ used by Prof. Lydia Walker in ‘Decolonisation and Untold Stories’ where she mentions the African and Asian states that became independent in the sixties.
This book contains the author’s vast accumulated knowledge on the historical and cultural life of the Naga people. It is knowledge accumulated for a lifetime, and by putting it down in a book, the author is handing a great treasure to future generations of Nagas, especially young scholars.
For the Nagas, village history begins with battles. Village battles are used as history markers and are widely used to tell the story of the village. British documentation of Naga village life is replete with accounts of conflict with villages and the settling of those conflicts. After the last battle of resistance by Nagas against the colonial powers of the British in 1879-80, two other battles left their mark on the Naga tribes in a major way. The first was the First World War where more than 2000 Nagas were conscripted to fight in Europe. It was followed by the Second World War in 1944 when the 3ist Division of the Imperial Japanese Army invaded India via the Naga Hills. Of the two, the Second World War changed the landscape of the Naga Hills forever. After the war, there was no question of returning to the old way of life. The Nagas were catapulted into modern life as schools, and office jobs replaced agricultural life for many. The war made communication easier with the many roads built as part of war efforts. Kohima played a pivotal part in stopping the Japanese advance, and the quiet hamlet was radically altered. Chasie shows the impact each of the past battles and wars made on the Nagas.
The Nagas are still living out history at the present time. Naga nationhood still begs a solution and will not be put to rest until a solution is arrived at. The earlier battles and their documentation provided a single narrative to Naga history. But after 1947, the Naga story has divided into several narratives. It is a glaring problem that the Naga story now has too many narratives, too many ‘truths’. Chasie’s book meticulously begins from the beginning, and carefully gives the background of the Naga fight for freedom. It is so important for youngsters to understand this because what they see today is so far removed from what was a noble beginning. The Indo-Naga story is full of questions. There are gaps in the narrative throughout the long conflict, often referred to as one of the longest conflicts. In this book, Chasie bridges the gaps, answering the questions using revelation of events and decisions taken at those very points in history. This attempt to answer questions makes the book valuable and worth reading. Chasie gives an objective presentation of these narratives and presents facts that have not been revealed before. They add depth and clarity to the ever unfolding Naga story.
This book is written for future generations to know their story, and the story of their ancestors so that they may have answers to the many questions that lie unanswered in the pages of Naga history. It exposes the lies and misunderstandings that have divided groups for generations. With the evidence provided by careful research, and intimate detailed information from new sources, Chasie provides a much clearer chronicled study of our history, making it a valuable gift to the future.