EMN
DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 19
Lok Sabha MP, and former Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio on Monday issued a clarification to the controversies surrounding Rani Gaidinliu and the Heraka religious movement in Nagaland while reasoning that misconceptions should not be created and names unnecessarily dragged for mere political gains.
“My attention has been drawn to the issue regarding Heraka religious movement in Nagaland and the controversies surrounding Gaidinliu over the past months wherein my name has also been mentioned and dragged in from time to time and therefore I felt it pertinent to issue a communiqué to express my position,” stated a press release.
“India is a secular country and we are all duty bound to protect the secular principles of the country. As Chief Minister of the State, though I am a Christian and a believer of Jesus Christ, it was my bounded duty to uphold the Constitution of India and to reach out to all sections of society.
“I have attended various programmes and visited several institutions of various religions and faith including Hinduism, Jainism, Christianity, Islam, indigenous beliefs etc in the past several years during my tenure as Chief Minister and also in my present capacity as a Member of Parliament, but this does not mean that I have compromised my faith whatsoever.” According to Rio, in 2009, at the request of the then Planning Minister, TR Zeliang and other public leaders of Peren district, he attended the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Zeliangrong Heraka School Tening, as the chief guest with Zeliang was the guest of honor.
“The program held on 12th October, 2009, was purely a school function and had nothing to do with religion and likewise assistance to the educational institution was also considered. I was told that the school had students from all communities and faiths enrolled in it. In my address during the function, I appreciated the school for its contributions towards the field of education and assured the government’s assistance for support towards its upgradation proposal.
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“I acknowledged the fact that the school was doing commendable work in the field of education especially in a very backward and difficult area. My colleague, Shri TR Zeliang, as the guest of honor also highlighted that the three main aims of Rani Gaidinliu were social reformation and unity of Zeliangrongs, self protection and defense from outsiders which led to formation of her own military organization and upholding of Heraka religion.”
A memorandum requesting the construction of a Gaidinliu Memorial Museum and library was submitted during the function, he informed. “My response was that the state government has no funds and resources but the project needs to be taken up with the Centre. Therefore it was conceptualized by the Art & Culture department and processed and pursued by the Planning Department with the Central Ministry and Government of India.”
On the National Committee for Birth Centenary Celebrations of Rani Ma Gaidinliu’s demand to the Prime Minister to rename the Dimapur Airport after Rani Gaidinliu, Rio said that the same organization had written letters to the Prime Minister and also the Chief Minister of Manipur saying that Rani Gaidinliu was born in Lungkao Village in Manipur on January 26, 1915.
In its letter to the Manipur Chief Minister, it was stated that “Rani Gaidinliu took up arms and adopted the jungle path for six years from 1960 to 1966 and fought against the Naga National Council to protect her religion, Sanatan Dharm and Sanatan Sanskriti which was being threatened by NNC. Thus she was a freedom fighter, a social reformer and an epoch maker”, Rio said.
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“The letter demanded installation of her portrait in the Manipur Legislative Assembly, installing her statues in Imphal and other districts of Manipur, preserving her house in Lungkao as a museum and to support her establishment of Rani Gaidinliu Central University. Until then I was not aware that Gaidinliu had fought against the NNC, the then undivided Naga nationalist group though I am aware that she fought against the British and was imprisoned.”
He informed that the National Committee for Birth Centenary Celebration for Rani Ma Gaidinliu includes Chief Minister, TR Zeliang as Patron and many other luminaries and distinguished personalities. In its letter to the honorable Prime Minister the committee demanded establishment of Rani Gaidinliu Museum at Kohima, installation of her portrait in Parliament and statues in Delhi and other cities of the country, renaming of Shillong Jail after her and conferring the highest civilian award the Bharat Ratna on her posthumously apart from renaming of Dimapur Airport after Gaidinliu, he added.
“My attention was further drawn to a news item that appeared in the local media on 23rd August, 2015 under the heading ‘NBCC breaks silence on Gaidinliu issue’. The NBCC cautioned those Naga politicians who had gone to Delhi to participate in the centenary celebrations of Rani Gaidinliu that “Naga politicians would be answerable to their constituents”. The NBCC clearly stated that “at no point of time Nagas ever acknowledged or attributed Gaidinliu as their spiritual leader”. It stated that Heraka was not the traditional religion of the Nagas and we have never personified any person, dead or alive, as being God.”
Though the Culture Ministry had nominated me to be in the centenary celebration of Gaidinliu committee, which includes other prominent personalities including the Chief Minister and Governor of Nagaland, I was not invited to the celebration function at Vigyan Bhavan on 24th August, 2015, Rio informed.
“However I came to know of the statements of various leaders through the media. As per the media reports, the Honorable Prime Minister stated that “Gaidinliu’s thoughts on living in harmony with nature could provide an answer to the problem of climate change being faced by the world today”. The Chief Minister of Nagaland in his speech stated that “the contributions of Gaidinliu have been ignored by writers and she remains largely absent from school and college textbooks and we hope that the records will be rectified.”
“On 11th October, 2015 I came across a news item issued by the Zeliangrong Baudi (Assam, Manipur Nagaland) thanking me for my role and contribution. While their gesture of appreciation and acknowledgement, which has come after six years, is well taken, the fact of the matter is that my role was very negligible, apart from the fact that the proposal was moved and the project initiated during my time as Chief Minister. In fact, they should give due credit to those who have run from pillar to post for the project.”
Rio further reasoned that he had shared those views and observations so that the leaders and intellectuals of Naga society can come forward and express their views and concerns in the right perspective. “The real truth needs to unfold in the greater interest of our society,” he asserted.
