The year 2016 ended with the culmination of some few revolutionaries stepping out for change and transformation.Towards the close of the year, we have witnessed the episode of the use of water cannon against the peaceful protest of the teachers in regard to the non-payment of salaries. Subsequently, the ACAUT members were caught in between with water cannon and tear gas in protest against the rice scam and fuel adulteration. The peaceful demeanour of the public in the face of punitive resistance was a sign of true non-violent movement. So to speak, it was a form of Civil Disobedient Movement as was in the days of Gandhi and Luther, Jr.
Now the reasoning is this: Would the Nagas witness a form of insurgency that will result in purging the society of its evil? Or that we would see the awakening of the publics in regard to our “created problems and disorders”! Or that this movement would digress into another body of local organization with no significant vision in sight! The silent lions have been complacent and unconcerned while the wolves are ruining our whole fields of grain. But it seems there are a few lions that are still awake and the time has come for the wolves to go into hiding. The year 2016 gave us a ray of hope that there are still people who are willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of posterity. This small spark of flame should be rekindled into a huge flame of fire so that the revolution will penetrate into every town and village of Nagaland. If we were to garner this revolution judiciously, a high chance of social and political shift is waiting to be inaugurated. Nagaland, we are on the threshold of a new revolution. We are living in a time when history will mark us for making a decisive change. It’s up to us now whether to take this chance or to lose it for decades to arrive.
As we see it, the problems of today cannot be solved through violent means of arms and conflicts. It should be done in an amicable way. The peaceful protest of the public in great numbers will prove that we stand for what we believe to be true. In the twentieth-century America, the great example of non-retaliation is Martin Luther King, Jr. Nonetheless, his nonviolence was not non-resistance. He opted for peaceful settlement between the white and black Americans through his peaceful protests and speeches. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that” said he. By killing or using violent means, justice is not possible. Revenge is not the option for achieving justice. Only the way of love can do so. Nonviolence and civil disobedience--as opposed to violence and conflict--can still be a feasible way toward gaining political, social and civil freedom in any part of the globe. And this is the way to achieve justice and expose the lies of phonies and it is time that the general public lend their full support to this kind of peaceful protest for the good of the society. Happy New Year 2017!
