EMN
DIMAPUR, DECEMBER 5
Nagaland Tribes Council (NTC) has expressed its strong resentment to the construction of Rani Gaidinliu Memorial Hall in Kohima by Nagaland government saying there was no contribution of the leader to the people of Nagaland. In a statement issued today, the NTC questioned, "What were considered to be the contributions of Gaidinliu to the cause of Naga national movement or the movement of Nagaland Statehood?"
According to the NTC, she became popular in her Rongmei community to succeed Haipou Jadonang as the new cult leader. She resisted the invasion of East India Company of Britain not because of political aspiration but because of her religious assertion, the NTC maintained. She faced challenges from conversion of her followers to Christianity which she found to be a threat to her cult, it added. The kind of culture to her cult is alien to animism not to speak of Christianity, the NTC also said.
It then said the state government of Nagaland with 60 MLAs from Nagaland state has given much priority to keep the memory of Gaidinliu by building a memorial hall in Kohima at the cost of state’s exchequer. “During the last 51 years of Statehood, Nagaland has not honored any son of the soil by installing even a bust of individual not to speak of that magnitude of a memorial building costing more than Rs. 9 crores in the state capital,” it rued. Such tribute to be paid to any leader of the state should be a person of extra ordinary eminence whose sacrifices for fellow Nagas of Nagaland were extraordinary and cannot be matched, the NTC said. It claimed that there are much more deserving indigenous leaders of both Naga national movement and Naga People’s Convention (NPC) whose contributions gave birth to Statehood. "Therefore, there is absolutely no justification for the state government of Nagaland to give such recognition to Gaidinliu over a host of genuine bona-fide pioneers of modern Nagaland. While giving such recognition to a non indigenous person, the State has done injustice to the leaders of the State," the Council added.
The NTC said Heraka followers demanding huge size metal statue of Gaidinliu to be installed at Dimapur Airport naming after her, installation of the same statue in front of the Museum in Kohima, placing the portrait of the ‘cult leader’ inside the Assembly Hall of NLA etc. are disgusting and highly provoking. The Heraka followers are taking all unthinkable advantages now because of the Nagaland government giving recognition to Rongmei as a tribe in Nagaland, the statement of the NTC added.
"Under no circumstances, the Nagaland Tribes Council will allow Nagaland to be converted into a launching pad for such cult as Heraka or alien culture of idol worship," it asserted. The Nagas at no point of time were ruled by any Raja/Rani or idolized any hero and worship, the NTC note further said.
It then said its citizens that a kind of persecution of not physical but of psychological in nature is being intensively inflicted upon ‘our faith’ knowing the greed for power and fragility of ‘our people’ over money.
Meanwhile, the NTC calls upon the people that this is a challenge to the citizens to remain united, resist the temptations and overcome the onslaught through prayers and action.
