Tuisem A. Shishak
“The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we (the Nagas) are not saved. Since my people are crushed, I (Tuisem Shishak) am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me. Is there no balm in Gilead (Nagaland)? Is there no physician there (in Nagaland)? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people (the Nagas)?” (Jer. 8: 20-22).Fellow Nagas, well-wishers and visitors gathered here today, I stand trembling with shame and fear before you and before God, wondering what is the reason for this another gathering? Haven’t we had enough already? Or is today’s meeting going to be a new chapter in the political, social, and even spiritual history of the Nagas? If so, we need to take seriously the words of the Psalmist: “How good and pleasant it is when brothers (and sisters) live together in unity” (Ps. 133:1). Nagas learning to live together in unity should be a special concern even in today’s meeting. At the time when the Nagas are demanding their God-given right for sovereignty as well as the physical integration of the forcibly-separated contiguous Naga territories in India’s North-East, we see the Nagas internally divided and split into various opposing political groups, sapping their energy and resources in their power struggle with each other instead of forming a united national government to achieve Naga sovereignty. In addition, I also sense that the professing Naga Christians (the church, the civil society, and the ‘national workers’) have not been faithful to the God of the Bible who has called the Nagas out of spiritual darkness into His marvelous light of salvation. The Bible tells me that there can be no peace where God is not in the hearts of men. And there will be no peace as long as Christ, the Prince of Peace, remains unseated at the conference table.
As saved sinners, Christians should be confessing their sins. And it is in the spirit of confession that we should participate in today’s deliberations. I have no problem with ACAUT’s theme: Nagas’ Opinions on Peaceful Settlement. I believe this theme has a direct reference to the NAGA PEACE ACCORD signed on August 3, 2015 between the National Socialist Council of
Nagaland (NSCN-IM) and the Government of India (GoI). We are told it is only a ‘Framework Agreement’, with the details yet to be worked out. The Naga public are to be participants in the detailed discussions, directly or indirectly. Based on partial and conflicting information, some individuals and groups have already endorsed the Accord while others remain critical and skeptical. And others remain noncommittal until they see the full text of the Accord. That’s understandable. I think now that the genie is out of the bottle, the whole text of the original Peace Accord should be printed for the widest circulation possible so that the Naga public can study and react objectively for the purpose of formulating a common consensus on the final Accord with the GoI. Delaying the publication of the full Accord contents can only make matters worse, creating suspicion, confusion and further division among the Nagas.
In addition to whatever has come out in the local papers (including those negative and contradictory statements about the Accord from Nagaland Governor P. B. Acharya and the Indian Government’s interlocutor, Mr. R. N. Ravi), I heard Mr. Thuingaleng Muivah speak at the 8th Consultation on the Indo-Naga Political Talks on August 25, 2015 at the Niathu Resort, Dimapur. At the lunch table I asked Mr. Muivah to clarify something, and I came away with the feeling that there is perhaps something new and good in the current Accord package, the result of eighteen years of negotiation by the I-M group. We have nothing to lose by welcoming the Peace Accord (for that matter any accord by any Naga group) while closely examining its contents in order that all the national groups and the Naga public together will have a role in deciding what’s best for the Nagas as a whole. I do urge my fellow Nagas to give the NSCM-IM the benefit of the doubt. I plead with you who are critical of the I-M (I also have my own disagreements with them) in the name of Christ to treat the Peace Accord not as NSCM-IM’s private accord, but rather that it is for all. Let us consider Isak and Muivah as Nagas, not as Sumi and Tangkhul respectively. Of course, the GoI cannot be trusted until the final Accord is signed at the highest level. In the meantime, let us show willingness to examine the Accord contents on their own merits. Acceptance, rejection, modification, must come only after thorough examination and deliberation.
The Nagas have suffered enough; they want peaceful solution at the earliest. We can no longer afford to ignore any accord negotiated by any Naga group. Time is of the essence. In the words of Dr. Dietho-o, “Let us make our national stand more important, more urgent and far greater than tribal or factional interest.” While praying for the speedy recovery of Mr. Isak Swu, I would personally urge him, and Mr. Muivah, and their colleagues to make every effort to reach out to the leaders of other groups for rapprochement. Remember, “It is harder to win an offended brother than a strong city; their disputes are like the barred gates of a fortress” (Prov. 18:19). We recognize the untiring efforts of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) to unite the various Naga national groups. Let us now make peace with those who oppose or even hate us. “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Prov. 15:1). Many Nagas (the educated included) need a crash course in Diplomacy. Yes, we must speak the truth, and many do; but now we must speak the truth in love.
IT’S TIME TO MAKE FRIENDS, NOT ENEMIES; IT’S TIME TO REBUILD NAGA SOCIETY, WHICH LIES IN RUINS.
I am first and foremost a believer in Jesus Christ, but as regards national identity, I am a Naga first, and then a Tangkhul. My hope and prayer is that all the Naga tribes, forcibly separated and put into different States by the Governments of Britain, India, and Burma, will yet together form One Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
God bless Nagaland! KUKNALIM!
