On the 23rd of September 2024, an online roundtable was held for the state of Nagaland, where eminent scholars, journalists, and activists shared their perspectives on various aspects of social, economic and cultural implications for the region. More than sixty participants contributed to the enriching conversation through their questions and enthusiastic feedback.
Community-led conservation in Nagaland
Bano Haralu, senior journalist and the Project Lead of the Wildlife Conservation Society - India, discussed how environmental issues in Nagaland have been pushed to the sidelines because of political issues at the forefront. She discussed her work with the Amur Falcon conservation in Pangti village, Wokha and her involvement with the community. The importance of conservationists and locals collaborating with each other was highlighted to bring environmental security and biodiversity conservation in the future. Haralu has also been working with communities in the fringe villages of Ntangki National Park, Nagaland’s only national park, and discussed the challenges posed by resource extraction.
Haralu highlighted the fact that the wider perception of Nagaland has been marked by negative stereotypes, especially that of being insurgent-ridden, as if it had little to no life beyond this fact. The mainlanders continue to be unaware of the historical conditions that necessitated violent political struggle in the region. She however did not shy away from highlighting that the traditional Naga reverence for the forests, mountains, land, animals, and air were slowly disappearing under the modern development-led integration approach, and emphasised the need to pause, reflect, and take corrective measures towards biodiversity management and sustainable livelihoods.
Protestant missions and identity formation
Dr. Kanato Chophy, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Dibrugarh University, Assam, has primarily been working on the Protestant missions along the Indo-Myanmar frontier, trying to capture the complex interaction of the Baptist and other Protestant missions with the politics of Naga nationalism and ethnic identity formations in these areas. He also discussed the impact of Christian missions on the Nagas’ understanding of the nation-state, and their relations with other parts of India. He is focussed mostly on the transborder ethnic groups like the Nagas, Kukis, and Kachins.
Dr. Chophy pointed out how with respect to their conversion to Christianity, the agency of the Nagas is always undermined. According to him, there cannot be a monolithic understanding of Christianity, and it is an insult to the Naga people’s collective intelligence when people insinuate that white men taught nationalism or anti-colonial resistance to the Nagas. Moreover, he addressed the common misconception that Christian missions necessarily worked in tandem with the British colonial enterprise, or even that their trajectory among the ethnic tribes had been a linear one. He advocated for a more nuanced understanding of the Protestant missions and conversions in Nagaland by citing two instances: American Baptist missionary Miles Bronson was deeply suspicious of the British and wanted to keep a distance from them Similarly, anthropologists like J H Hutton, J P Mills, and T C Hodson disliked the Baptist Mission for decimating the indigenous Naga cultures.
Early integration efforts and indigenous entrepreneurship
Dr Aotoshi, Managing Trustee at the Nagaland Gandhi Ashram and Pro Vice Chairman of DPS, Dimapur, briefly discussed the history of the Ashram, a grassroots-level voluntary organisation established in 1955 by his father Padma Shri Lt. Natwar Thakkar. The objective was to bring about emotional and national integration through voluntary work and Gandhian teachings. Over the years, they have worked in vocational training for PWDs and starting and running schools for dropouts. When there was a ban on attending schools at a certain point in time, the Ashram started hostel facilities for students. They had also implemented cottage industries around Chuchuyimlang in Mokokchung, done pioneering work in beekeeping, and worked towards improving agricultural production and agri-based livelihoods.
He detailed the process of training villagers in the art of harvesting honey in a non-destructive way, rearing bees and reusing the beehives, thereby increasing productivity. Dr Aotoshi speculated that had the social media boom happened 50 years earlier, Nagaland would have been a hub of learning for sustainable agriculture. He said that Nagaland actually requires small-scale activities and production of commodities that have low volume and high value. Production of “superfoods” and other agri-based entrepreneurship therefore have tremendous potential in the region. Organic farming and agritourism are emerging as viable fields of economic activity.
Naga storytelling and indie publishers
Vishü Rita Krocha is the founder of PenThrill and a long-time journalist. Her love for stories and writing led her to venture into publishing in 2013 because there weren’t many avenues or platforms for aspiring writers like herself when she started. She began her publishing stint with nothing in her pocket and only dreams. Though initially inexperienced, she acquainted herself with the business of a publishing house. In the decade that followed, Krocha published 96 books and worked with over a 100 authors at PenThrill. It gives her immense satisfaction to amplify the voices and stories of the people of Nagaland.
Addressing the widespread ignorance about the state, Krocha narrated an experience with a Sikkimese colleague whose family stopped him from visiting Nagaland because they were afraid of the Nagas being headhunters. However, his experience was totally different from what he had heard about Nagaland. She further related another incident when a publisher of children’s books in Bhopal commented on Nagaland being a “beautiful country”. According to her, it is this lack of engagement and general indifference that contribute to feelings of alienation among the Northeastern people, who feel like “foreigners” in their own country. She talked of one of her recent works, a biographical account of her grandfather, his encounter with the spiritual world through his great-grandmother, and the odd things he witnessed growing up.
Music in contemporary Naga society
Lipokmar Tzüdir, the Chairman of the Nagaland Conservatory of Music, highlighted the importance of music and the crucial role it plays in children's early development. In many other parts of the world, music is introduced at an early age helping nurture the child’s brain and making them more receptive to creativity and organising ideas. Tzüdir lamented the lack of a similar environment in Nagaland and advocated for music training to be imparted among school and college teachers to render effective music leadership in the community. He also briefly talked about the importance that music plays in Naga society and culture.
As an ethnomusicologist, Tzüdir reiterated the embeddedness of music in the lives of Naga people who are often referred to as the “singing tribe” and known for their love of rock music. Music plays a major role in the oral transmission of Naga customs and beliefs, with songs and dance being an integral part of every occasion be it marriage, courtship, death or any other natural phenomena. He spoke of the beat patterns of the log drum that have traditionally been used as a medium of communication during emergencies, and how elders would train young tribesmen in folk songs and local histories in the Morungs (traditional youth dormitories).
Gender and customary laws
Dr. T Longkoi Khiamniungan, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Central University of Haryana, problematised the idea of Naga society being “egalitarian” or “democratic” through the lens of gender and customary practices. These notions have been perpetuated by colonial administrators and anthropologists and continued in post-independent Indian literature and imagination. She highlighted the discriminatory nature of customary laws and the impact it has had on women’s mobility in today’s context. She recognised that it was no different for her own Khiamniungan tribe, where men took on the roles of breadwinners and protectors, while women were expected to remain subordinate to their husbands. Similarly, inheritance rights have traditionally favoured the Khiamniungan men over women.
Pointing to the fact that until March 2023, Naga women were not elected in the Nagaland Legislative Assembly, she contended that the patriarchal nature of the Naga society continues to discourage women participation in decision-making bodies like the Urban Local Bodies. She also discussed the lasting implications of masculine nationalism which refused to acknowledge women’s participation. She described how traditional institutions like the morung were built upon laying the foundation of Naga masculinity. Consequently, she did not see much hope for women in codifying customary laws, which she felt would disproportionately benefit men given these realities.
The Kukis of Nagaland and their participation in the Naga Struggle
Dr. David Hanneng, Assistant Professor at Gushkara College, Burdwan University, talked of how the Kukis are usually at the margins whenever the history of Nagaland is discussed or written about. The horrible incidents in the 1990s brought out a certain narrative of Kukis and Nagas constantly having been at war with each other. Contrary to such perceptions, Dr. Hanneng focussed on how the Kukis played an instrumental role in the construction of the Naga imagined community.
According to this view, the Kukis, Zeliangs, and Angamis have been living together for a long time, and the Kukis of Nagaland have had peace treaties with the Semoma clan of Khonoma village. For instance, Lengjang Kuki was the head Dobashi in Kohima (1930-44) and one of the signatories of the 1929 Naga Club Memorandum to the Simon Commission. The Kukis were also a part of the Naga National Council and the delegation to meet the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He ended his segment reiterating their rightful claim to the land: “Kukis are very much a part of the land, our contribution is second to none.”
Urbanity and tribality in Dimapur
Thejalhoukho Casavi, PhD candidate at the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, emphasised on the need to do away with the conceptual fallacy that the category of “tribe” somehow does not overlap or is antithetical to the notions of “modernity” and “urbanity”. The city of Dimapur is a testimony to the fact that contemporary tribality needs to be understood with a fresh perspective. Some of the most pressing concerns around tribality emerged from their urban contexts. The implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) will have the most drastic consequences for urban spaces.
In fact, as Dimapur urbanised, it also became more tribal. It is after all in the urban areas that the customary laws were challenged and reiterated, as in the controversy surrounding reservations for Naga women in Urban Local Bodies. The dialogical relationship between the “urban” and the “tribal”, according to him, continuously evolves with changing social and political relations. Historical circumstances and fault lines have enabled ethnonationalist forces to set their own regimes of exclusion and violence in Dimapur against the perceived “other”.
Towards the end, the speakers briefly clarified the role that Nagamese and English languages played in facilitating communication and enterprise between different tribes in the Naga society. Addressing audience queries regarding representation in popular media, Dr. Chophy hammered down on the need for filmmakers to be good researchers to be able to portray different cultures in an effective manner rather than caricaturing them. Dr Aotoshi answered several questions related to emerging entrepreneurial opportunities in the state. He underscored the infeasibility of large-scale enterprises in Nagaland given topographical and connectivity factors, and advocated for viable alternatives such as the cluster approach in agriculture.
Rita Krocha talked about how she looked at the heart of the story in publishing. She said that Nagas should look out for innovation, creativity, and new opportunities without forgetting cultural heritage. Adding to the discussions on customary laws, Tzüdir expressed his doubts when it came to codification. According to him, it would prove to be a near-impossible task as every tribe has its own distinctive body of practice and knowledge system that guides its preservation of heritage and development through consecutive generations. Dr. Khiamniungan took this opportunity to relate to the audience the still prevalent racist attitudes towards people of Nagaland in mainland India. Narrating her harrowing personal experiences in North India, she described how her nationality was often put into question and her ethnic identity and food habits were made fun of. Dr. Hanneng added to this by describing how some people at work try to avoid calling him an “ST” or “tribal” for fear of offending him. He reiterated the sentiment that far from being offended, the people of Nagaland are proud tribals and feel no shame about their identity.
Addressing the question about what mainland India wilfully gets wrong about the Nagas, Casavi expressed his misgivings about the assumption that the violent history of the Indo-Naga conflict can be rewritten with economic development and cultural interaction. He believes that the depth of the scars of the Indo-Naga conflict in Nagaland and Manipur run deep and require more thought. Haralu gave the audience an interesting trivia about how the first regional party in the Northeast was formed in Nagaland. But she also questioned whether governance has developed at the same pace as the rapid development of politics. She ended the Roundtable with a powerful and thought-provoking statement, “Forgiveness is something we Nagas will have to learn,” and that transformation is possible if guided by love and goodwill among communities.
You can watch the session here.