One of the things I’ve noticed over the course of my life, whether it be through personal experience or through reading, is that discrimination is practised by people who have no self-confidence, people who fear to compete with others on a level playing field. Sexism, Racism, Tribalism, Casteism and Xenophobia are the result of subconscious fears, the fear of THE OTHER/OTHERS. Over the course of Human History, this fear has been used by many for their own personal advantage. The classic case is Hitler, a wannabe artist and jumped up corporal, who used the fear of the German people after their defeat in the First World War and directed their fears, frustrations, anger and blame at the innocent Jewish people of Europe. Who profited by it? Only Hitler and his Cohorts, and only for a few short years? And what was the result of this xenophobia and genocide? The physical ruin of Germany and the eternal guilt of the German people.
Successive Naga leaders have played on the issue of Tribalism, and the sentiment it engenders, in Nagaland, during our short history as a state. This has led to the lack of accountability, which is the root of the all pervasive corruption that is destroying Nagaland. Every time an instance of corruption or misrule appears, we Nagas are quick to defend the accused on nothing more than the fact that he belongs to our village, clan or tribe and under the mistaken impression that if he is penalised, the whole tribe will suffer and be shamed. But know that every time we do so, we shame ourselves in the eyes of other tribes, and leave the others longing for the day their turn will come, so that they may do the same,or worse, and walk away Scot free.
We Nagas do not know enough to separate the Man, from the Office. A person may be from any tribe, but when he takes office, whether appointed or elected, he no longer represents his tribe alone, but all tribes of Nagaland, and that his tribal identity MUST take second place to his primary purpose as a constitutional representative of NAGALAND and ALL NAGA TRIBES.
During the ULB imbroglio, I opposed THE GOVERNMENT of NAGALAND, not the N.P.F.Party and certainly not Mr. T.R.Zeliang. The issues drove me to speak out, not tribe, party or the individual. But many people did not understand or chose to believe otherwise. Some women accused me of male chauvinism and some of my Zeliangrong brothers accused me of tribalism. I supported the Tribal Organisations, the N.T.A.C. and the J.C.C. because they objected to the polls; but not because I was a Sumi whose tribal bodies, the Sumi Hoho and Western Sümi Hoho, opposed the polls, but because I believed that the Municipal Act itself was flawed and that the act needed to be reexamined in the context of Nagaland.
Now that our filthy politicians are up to their usual nefarious deeds, the specter of Tribalism has raised its ugly head again. We have elected pigs, so they will behave like pigs; and you cannot expect a pig not to wallow in mud. So, where does the question of Tribalism arise? No person or organisation should take the name of an entire tribe to try to take down an individual or government.
Mr. T.R.Zeliang is the face of his supporters, without who, he cannot stand. The legislators from my tribe and those from other tribes knew exactly why he had to relinquish the office of the Chief Minister of Nagaland. That they knowingly and willingly chose him to take up the same office which he had to demit under public pressure is what intrigues me. There is a deeper game being played here and I will not choose sides when no issues are apparent.
If Mr. Supu Jamir wishes to object to Mr. T.R. Zeliang’s occupation of the Chief Minister’s Office, it would be better for him to question the Legislators from his tribe, who choose to support Mr. Zeliang, before dragging the A.S.T.D, and by default, the Ao Tribe into a matter in which, I believe, the issues are yet to surface.
I, on my part, will wait and watch, there are too many cat and mouse games being played in Nagaland by too many people. The day of reckoning is fast approaching, whether it be the coming elections or an “Interim Government” under the “Framework Agreement”. When the day arrives, I will not have the time to point fingers at others, I’ll be looking into MY TRIBE and MY PEOPLE for the saviours or traitors of Nagaland and the Nagas. May God grant all Nagas the wisdom to do likewise. Our enemies lie within, not without.
