Freedom of Speech: Minding the Tongue and Behaviour Away From Home

Freedom of speech" is not just a right but a responsibility and it comes with consequences. Nagas, particularly of Nagaland, should clearly remember that you CANNOT behave and speak as you like in other people’s domains like you do while in your own home. You cannot whine and throw tantrums concerning the inconveniences you face living in “other people’s” land by your own choice, like you do at home.

Giving your opinion from the confines and comfort of your own land and doing so while living and working in the midst of other communities are totally different stories! Over hyped, over reaction, and over-dramatic were some choices of words used by ‘smart Nagas’ online while responding to the events that unfolded at Kaziranga University in Jorhat district of Assam, forgetting that we had dragged a son of theirs out of the "Central Jail" and lynched him at "Clock Tower" in Dimapur.

‘Who the hell is Zubeen Garg,’ said some. ‘Never heard of him until now’; ‘Not everyone listens to Assamese and Hindi songs,’ said others. There is a very old saying that goes: "Ignorance is a fool's paradise" and we have many. How many Nagas in Nagaland can speak in our 18 tribal dialects, let alone sing? He could sing in 40+ dialects spoken across states and political boundaries. There are genuine enquiries that can be sought discreetly in private or openly but with respect. Flaunting our ignorance online about our neighbours and other communities isn't a patch on the shoulder.

And there is this song that goes....

A time to be born, a time to die

A time to kill, a time to heal

A time to laugh, a time to weep

A time to dance, a time to mourn

A time of love, a time of hate

A time of war, a time of peace....

So also there is a time to Keep Our Mouths Shut! A time to Mind Our Own Business! A time to Keep Our Opinion to Ourselves!

Nagas urgently need to get over the notion that only they have sentiments which get hurt; only they are brave; only they are strong and chivalrous. That we are more special than our ethnic neighbours or other races, once and for all.

Peter Rutsa,

Kohima, Nagaland.