Every nation, race and culture goes through crucial moments, the aftermath of which defines them as a people or nation. The British went through The War of The Roses, The French went through The French Revolution, the U.S.A. with their War of Independence and The Civil War, the Chinese had their Long March and so on. India was defined by Mahatma Gandhi’s Struggle for Independence from the British Crown. We Nagas have been denied this opportunity. Before we became self-aware of ourselves as a people or a race, in the modern context, the British imposed their rule and their laws on us. When the British left, we were absorbed, willy-nilly, into the Indian Federation and made to adopt their laws and customs.
Our first opportunity to define ourselves as a people and nation came with The Plebiscite of 1951. Nagas then, with one voice, demanded to be free of outside rule. But it was not to be. Subsequently, the State of Nagaland was created with Article 371a incorporated into the Indian Constitution to safeguard our Tribal Laws and Customs. Since then, the said article, and its interpretation has been the subject of numerous controversies.
In the context of the scheduled U.L.B. Elections, Article 371a, P.E.S.A.(Panchayat, Extension to Scheduled Areas), M.E.S.A.( Municipality, Extension to Scheduled Areas), and various articles of the said acts have been quoted, both in support of and against the U.L.B. Elections. Being doubly handicapped, by being a layman and not having copies of the last two laws, I, have come to the following conclusions, based on what I have read so far:-
1. P.E.S.A. was passed by both houses of Parliament, the Lok Shabha and Rajya Shabha, and has elements which protect local laws and customs.
2. M.E.S.A. has been passed by the Lok Shabha but is still awaiting approval by the Rajya Shabha. If the memories of my undergraduate years studying Political Science serves me right; doesn’t an act or law of Parliament need approval of both houses of Parliament before it can be enacted? I may be wrong, but be that as it may, M.E.S.A. does not have the safeguards for local laws and customs as P.E.S.A. and the former seem to have been passed to favour Multinational Corporations in getting access to protected lands and resources; and also for the respective State Governments to get more Municipal Funds.
Leaving aside these questions of Women’s Reservation, Articles, P.E.S.A., M.E.S.A. and whether Nagaland falls under the Fifth or Sixth Schedules and all the articles x,y and zs; something which not even our most eminent and prominent lawyers can agree to; the question before a common citizen is,” Who do I believe and trust?” On the one hand I have the State government; an institution whose veniality and corruption has no equal on earth. An institution which will not hesitate to teargas and watercannon simple citizens who demand their salaries and rice; and to who, according to some stupid chamchas, I should be grateful because the peaceful protestors were not lathicharged or fired upon.
Or should I trust the Tribal Organisations? Organisations who, so far, have not lied to or cheated me, have never demanded anything which can be openly attributed to personal gain or interest; and most of all, who, for the first time since 1951, seem to stand for a common cause? A cause spanning Tribal Boundaries?
During my time in a rehabilitation facility, I was taught that the definition of insanity was making the same mistake and expecting different results. Well, I have trusted our political leaders for the 50 odd years of my life, and they have consistently let me down with their lies and corruption. I have made that mistake over and over again, expecting different results. Well, I don’t consider myself insane, and so, for once, I have decided to believe someone else. I choose the side of our Tribal Organisations in all matters now and in the future. For never have the Nagas been so united over one single cause since 1951. And maybe this is the beginning of the era when we Nagas begin to really see ourselves for who and what we are and define who we are and where we stand in the modern world. So, which side do you take?
