The following polemic is an expansion of the factors I outlined in my previous article. For the sake of those readers who have not had either the chance or the time to read that paper, I will reproduce the introduction as it is.
One of the greatest threats and/or hurdles to any political movement is internal dissent that is (A) motivated by ignorance, rumors, shortsightedness, and wrong interpretation and misunderstanding of cause and effect (B) funded financially and ideologically by adversary with or without a friendly mask (C) for gaining personal power and other short term benefits. Time and again we have witnessed the crippling of various political movements due to such elements. Our (Naga) movement is no stranger to such phenomenon. Dissent is a necessary and a potent tool for strengthening the overall movement if dealt positively and channelised properly. It is through dissent(s) that a movement will be able to assess its weakness and know what the concerned people need(s). Genuine dissent is needed every now and then and should always be entertained healthily in public sphere without resolving to pervert tactics such as witch-hunts and assassinations etc.
Having said that, as people of a Nation whose sovereignty is “suppressed”, it becomes pertinent to scrutinise ourselves and point out traitors as and when necessary so as to avoid being deceived by such people. It is also necessary to identify malicious dissents that are scripted by none other than our enemy (read India) themselves with the sole intention of undermining and weakening the integrity of our fight for our sovereignty.
100 years on and Naga Nation is still at the conceptual stage. In fact it seems as though it will become a thing of the past given the current apathy of the citizens and the destructive works of overzealous amateur writers dabbling in the issues pertaining to the Indo-Naga Politics. From outright rejection of the leaders to the blatant support for the enemy’s tactics that come in the form of money and official position and/or job in their government, these writers, who are under the illusion of being a Naga intellectual are inevitably becoming a nuisance to the point of being a detriment to the overall Naga Movement. I refer to them as “under the illusion of being an intellectual” because they show symptoms of suffering from the deficiency of literature and moreover they neither possess the skills of writing nor do they have the discipline of a genuine researcher. In short, their work is not fit for academic references and as such is not worthy of attention. However, their activities outside the literary ambit have misled such a disproportionate number of the population that it requires a serious contemplation and deliberation.
At the forefront of these ignominious writers are the retired civil servants of the Indian Government. These Indian servants are leaving no stones unturned in their effort to derail and tarnish the legitimacy of the Naga Government. Every man has to work, as such it is understandable that they choose to work for our enemy for their sustenance, however what is unacceptable and pathetic is the fact that even after the cessation of their service they take it up on themselves to continue the propaganda of their Indian masters. In the mid 20th century the traitors successfully used the ‘Clan’ and ‘Tribe’ as a base for spreading rumors, hatred and discord between the public and the government, today in 21st century we witness this history repeating as they use ‘Tribe’ and ‘Geographical Locations’ to do the same. Today a reader of the local dailies is greeted, once in a while, by such writers, shouting and screaming, trying their best to spread panic among the naïve readers. The majority public that does not have any access to literature often fall victims to such cheap theatrics. We must know that in the mid to late 20th Century when The Naga movement for sovereignty was at its peak it was greatly undermined not by the Indian Army but by few Nagas just for gaining personal wealth and political power.
There is an abundance of literature concerned with our people and our movement and no nation, no matter how big and powerful, can neither suppress indefinitely nor erase our history. What we must know is that 100 years is a lifetime for an individual but for a Nation even 1000 years is negligible. What we Nagas achieved in terms of conceptualizing, mobilising, and asserting our sovereign right to a Nation State is nothing short of a miracle. One cannot begin to talk about the sacrifices and struggles that went into sustaining our nationalist movement in a limited space as this. It is our duty to remember our history and know that no one is entitled to sell the sovereignty of a Nation just to accommodate their personal whims and delusional wishes. Any individual or group that peddles the idea of early settlement at the cost of sovereignty must be ignored. Of course we must be vigilant for such individuals and groups are perfect breeding ground of puppets for the oppressors (read India) in perpetuating the suppression of our Nation’s sovereignty.
The saddest irony is that while selfless Naga patriots work tirelessly in a ruthless jungle environments for most of their lifetime, a few sellouts live luxuriously under the protection and funding of the Indian Government and uses their time and energy in undermining and tarnishing the image and contributions of the Naga patriots. We must be patient and give our leaders all the time they require in securing the legitimacy and the sovereignty of our nation. For we must remember this: that when the British finally left India, the newly formed Indian State and the subsequent Government having underestimated the Nagas decided to swiftly crush the Nagas with their military might, which they thought would serve as a lesson to other dissenting independent princely states as well as their bitter foe Pakistan. However the Indian Government, to their utter shock and disappointment, lost miserably when it came to war. Having realised that they were in no position to engage in a war with the Nagas they changed their tactics and eventually forced Nagas away from the battlefield and into the dialogue. As such today we are in their territory; a political dialogue, a skill which they have mastered for centuries if not for thousands of years. In light of such realisation we must simply observe, learn and always be vigilant, we must persevere and most importantly we must not give in to feverish pressures exerted by traitors. Time and again Nagas have risen up to the challenges and excelled and it is this confidence that should motivate us to persevere in this game/fight with India and know that this is not the time for questioning the legitimacy of our Government that stands for our sovereignty.
Hitoho Sumi
Kushiabill Village, Dimapur