[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he state government and the Naga civil organizations have chosen to remain mute even as spurt of violence in Naga areas is going on. It appears that the Naga society is a great body that digests violence without any effort. In reality, the Naga frontal bodies are finding it hard to respond to the ‘thickening sources of violence,’ in the words of Prof Shiv Visvanathan of Jindal School of Government and Public Policy.
Village cemeteries are fast expanding and the body bag manufacturers are getting richer but we are yet to see visible spade works from the Naga frontal organizations and the state government of Nagaland to arrest the worsening situation. To have peace is not for the sake of peace at this point of time alone. It is for the good of coming generations too.
According to Prof Visvanathan, people who live in the midst of violence or listen to the stories of such gory incidents have the tendency to commit violent acts. It is the spectator of violence who is truly blood thirsty as he tries to rectify history, he said.
“Violence is not merely manufacture but it is a ritual of consumption. It is the spectator and the consumer who thicken the sources of violence. Victims of violence are rarely violent,” the professor added.
Prof Visvanathan beautifully elucidates his observation saying, “As we watch a society being subject to violence, we get inured to it.” He also said that it is as if it is an everyday ritual and somehow you feel people deserve it. “We objectify suffering because they seem to deserve it. For example, one can see it in the way we talk of Kashmir or Manipur. We see casualties there as inevitable, logical, and a punishment these societies deserve for bad behaviour. In fact ours is a society where we have begun taking rape for granted or where we even blame the victim for it,” Prof Shiv Visvanathan expressed.
Now, what will happen to our Naga society? We have consumed enough of violence. Young Nagas have become keen spectators of today’s violence. And we are living with it without any guilt.
