In the Nagaland of today, where nothing is working in accordance with what is right and proper; where mandated and un-mandated institutions seek to deprive the common man of his every entitlement, legal and moral; and numerous forces seem to be working in tandem to deprive us of the few rights we have left; out Tribal Organisations are the last bastion and defender of our rights. Our Apex Tribal Organisations, along with their various federating units are the only institutions where every Naga is an equal stakeholder. We are born into them, we know how they function and we are aware of our rights under them. We don’t need lawyers or other mouthpieces to speak to them on our behalf; their laws and customs are not hidden under dense layers of legalese or seemingly esoteric foreign languages like Latin, which other laws and lawyers so love to use.
The Tribal Organisations are thus duty bound to ensure that the opinions and stands taken by its members do not go against the welfare of the tribe as a whole, and the Nagas, in general. So, while every person is entitled to form and espouse his opinion and take his stand on any issue; every person should be aware that the corollary to this right is that once those opinions are expressed in a public forum and a stand is taken on it, it is incumbent upon the holder of the view to support or defend his opinion and give reasons for the stand he takes.
The search for “Elian Z Lotha” by the Lotha Hoho, and the Hoho’s subsequent statements regarding “Elian Z Lotha”, were perfectly correct. But for the Lotha Hoho, Nagaland would not have been aware of the fact that “Elian Z Lotha” was an apparently fictitious identity, assumed by unknown individuals/organisations for the dissemination of propaganda; for, to my knowledge, this was the alias under which a number of letters were published. The search for this fictitious entity by the Lotha Hoho was neither a “Witch Hunt” nor an attempt to suppress a voice of dissent; but an endeavour to establish the identity of someone who they felt was misrepresenting the Lothas as a whole; in the eyes of Nagaland. If this person actually exists, it is incumbent upon him/her to answer the Lotha Hoho and explain his/her position. We cannot have people establishing false identities under various tribal names and spreading propaganda; for, given the volatility of present day Nagaland, chaos would ensue.
The mysterious stand taken by Mr. Chuba Ozukum against the resolution of the Ao Senden is another ambiguity that is puzzling all of Nagaland. I had addressed this issue in an earlier letter titled, ”On Trees and Weeds”(Eastern Mirror 26-11-16), but now that the Ao Senden has ex-communicated him and his village has chosen to disassociate itself from the Ao Senden, a whole new can of worms has been opened.
On the question of ex-communication of a member of a village, clan or tribe by the village, clan or tribe, I believe it is common across all Naga Tribes. I am open to correction, but it is my belief that ex-communication of a member was done by our ancestors on serious grounds which affected society as a whole. It was punishment for the offender/offenders and served as a deterrent for potential offenders. Men are creatures of habit and precedent; we fall into patterns of behaviour and imitate the behaviours of others. Our ancestors ex-communicated members whose behaviour could lead to a deterioration in the values and way of life of the society. Ex-communication can take the form of banishment/exile from the village/clan/tribe and its lands or can be in the form of disqualification from taking part in tribal councils, activities and ceremonies.
The Ao Senden believes that The Naga Hoho is working at cross purposes to the welfare of the Nagas of Nagaland and the Ao Tribe; that the presence of Mr. Chuba Ozukum as its President damages the reputation of the Ao Tribe in the eyes of the Nagas of Nagaland. It is incumbent upon Mr. Ozukumto explain to The Ao Senden the reasons as to why he has taken such a stand. The Ao Senden is not a “Kangaroo Court”, nor is Mr. Ozukum unaware of his rights under Ao Customary Laws. He has to explain how his stand benefits himself and the Ao Tribe as a whole; for the good of the individual can never supersede the good of the society. Failure on his part to do so leaves the AoSenden with no choice other than to ex-communicate him.
I was recently summoned to appear before the Western Sumi Kukami Hoho with reference to my publicly stated opinions on certain matters. The W.S.K.H. had every right to do so, since I am a member and it is their duty to look out for the interests of the Western Sumi Kukamis in particular and the interests of Sumis and Nagas, in general. As I’ve stated above, our Tribal Organisations and Institutions are not “Kangaroo Courts” nor are their Laws and Customs alien to us. I was charged on various counts and given an opportunity to explain my stand on all of them. They deliberated and came to the conclusion that while my opinions were not detrimental to the Sumis or the Nagas, some of my opinions had hurt the sentiments of some sections of my Sumi Tribesmen; therefore an apology to them was in order. I agreed that the judgement was fair and acceded to their demand for a public apology via the newspapers.
That is how our Tribal Organisations and Institutions work. We don’t need high priced lawyers to speak on our behalf on Laws and Customs which still retain the element of Common Sense. It is my belief that the Ao Senden has done what is right and proper under the given circumstances.
The fact that Mr. Ozukum believes that his individual benefits surpasses the common benefit of the Ao Tribe cannot be helped; and whether the belief of Mr. Ozukum’s villagers that his benefits will ultimately benefit them, remains to be seen.For the day is not far off when all the actors who seek to seize Nagaland for themselves will be revealed.For, in the words of The Immortal Bard, “..capital crimes, chew’d, swallow’d and digested” will appear before all Nagas. Then, every Naga can judge for himself on who did what was good for all Nagas and who sought to do good for himself at the expense of his brothers. And may God have mercy on us.
