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Members of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation after the open interactive session in Dimapur on April 25[/caption]
Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, April 25: The Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) on Wednesday made known its future course of action. It also posed a number of serious queries to the Naga people in the organisation's continued efforts to reconcile the Naga political groups, and its mission to act as a forum of dialogue for the people.
A public interaction was held in Dimapur in the FNR's effort to take the process of reconciliation a step farther toward dialogue on the shared future of all the 'Nagas irrespective of borders.' The FNR had made its intention clear during the commemoration of Naga Day earlier in January on the theme ‘Nagas without borders.’ Wednesday’s interactive session was part of its ‘walking the Naga Day’ series of programmes that aim to achieve the three Cs—‘confidence, competence and community.’
Aküm Longchari, a member of the FNR, accepted the changed scenario in the past 10 years since the forum was formed. He said that the fighting had stopped but the reconciliation process was not over as there cannot be a shared future without forgiveness.
Longchari said: “Can there be a shared Naga future without forgiveness? I think that is the question that we need to ask ourselves. Is there a future without forgiveness? If we believe and agree that there is no future without forgiveness then what is the value of our forgiveness. What are the values that we need to nurture and cultivate? What are the values that we need to nourish for the realisation of forgiveness and healing in the Naga context. And perhaps it is there that the future lies.”
Longchari recounted that the FNR was formed when violence was widespread but through the reconciliation process and the commitment of the Naga political groups, the fighting declined. He said that the public's participation, however, had declined over the years too although the issue of reconciliation was still not yet over. This was the essential idea of his message: The Naga people are now struggling against fear and have become complacent with the current scenario. This has resulted in losing the struggle with fear, he said. Therefore, Longchari said, Walking the Naga Day is about building and recovering confidence, nurturing competence, and building communities without borders.
Another leader of the forum, Dr. Wati Aier also recounted the formation of the FNR. He said that it was formed out of exigency with a particular objective: to bring an end to the factional killings. It was formed in Feb. 2008 which led to the signing of the Covenant of Reconciliation in June 13 2009.
In order to sign the Covenant of Reconciliation he said that the FNR had to go around many times to different places even spending nights in the jungles to get the signatures done. “At one point I was somewhere in the border for forty nights and forty days. I was there waiting for the signatures to take place, ” he said.
Along with the groups that signed the CoR they toured together the Naga inhabited areas ‘taking the message of reconciliation to the Naga people.’ “That‘s how slow but steady the factional feuds, the killing stopped. You can say totally ceased.” As a result, he said, business flourished, and buildings started coming up.
Initially it was a hard task to bring the groups together across the table and to make them participate in the various symbolic activities that were collectively performed. He said that if there was any kind of success, it was not the FNR's but the public's who gave support to the process of reconciliation wherever they toured.
Describing the Naga political issue, social activist Niketu Iralu said that the Nagas have been on a ‘very important [and a] very difficult journey.’ The Nagas had ‘believed in the journey and the journey is so important for us. That is what is being reflected by all at present... yet the Nagas have reached a point where they are asking if something has gone wrong.'
Iralu termed a very important step the current process of the FNR to initiate dialogue with all sections of the society. He recounted the ancient Greek dictum ‘know yourself’ and Socrates’ exposition of it—‘A life not examined is not worth living.’ He underscored that the maxim was very true even for the Nagas as a people who have struggled for an objective that was conceived together. He articulated that as in life a struggle ‘not examined will also go hopelessly wrong.’
The intention of the FNR with the current process was to examine the Naga people’s ‘thinking and living,’ he claimed and that all were responsible for 'producing the present Naga society with lot of things in a ruinous state’ presently. He advised that everyone should accept the common responsibility instead of blaming each other. “We must restore the health of the processes of our struggle,” he said.
The social activist said further that the Naga people had a ‘moral holiday from responsibility’ and that unless they claim responsibility for the current situation the future will not be better. Unless the practice of claiming that somebody else is more responsible ends, he said, ‘there is not going to be anything new in the Naga struggle.’
The FNR will be holding another interactive session in Kohima on April 28 as part of its Walking the Naga Day series.
