When both forget to
do their homework
A recent interview of Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang by
The Telegraph India, dated: Monday, June 15 , 2015, has left me baffled. The
interviewer forgot to do his homework and our respected Chief Minister didn’t
bother to rectify out of sheer ignorance or just being a laid back person going
with the flow. Not only that but he gave
a wrong statement too.
The interview was about the ongoing Naga political talks and
NSCN K’s ending of ceasefire with GOI resulting to June 4 ambush at Chandel
district in Manipur and the counter attack by Indian Army in Myanmar.
After the reading the headline -
“If attack is wrong,
so is counter-attack: Zeliang
I was quite interested since this issue is something that is
affecting every Naga. Let me not go into details of the interview. However the
last question and the answer caught my attention.
“Q: Your take on a
"Nagaland for Christ", as propagated by the NSCN (I-M)?
A:
Almost 95 per cent of the population in the state is Christian. It's a
Christian state. From Christian state, it has come to be "Nagaland for
Christ". So Nagaland is for Christ. In Christian spirit we should stop
killing. If you commit murder, your sins will not be forgive.”
For someone who has no idea about the history of Naga
struggle or Christianity in Nagaland will totally get a different picture. The
interviewer’s query sounds as if the NSCN (IM) is the agent of spreading the
slogan “Nagaland for Christ”. Yes, no doubt they also endorse the slogan but it
is the church who is the agent of propagating the ideology.
This slogan was first coined by the ABAM (Ao Baptists Arogo
Mundang/Ao Baptist Church Council) during the
worst Indo-Naga conflict. It was not just a slogan but an ideology that Nagas
should stop bloodshed and live in God’s will. “Nagaland for Christ” was
officially accepted during the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC)
convention held at Wokha in 1964.
So this slogan has nothing to do with NSCN –IM alone or a termed
coined because Nagaland has high Christian population.
Coming to TR Zeliang’s claim that Nagaland is a Christian
State. Well by stating that he has pulled himself down to the same level as the right-wing
Hindu organisations, who claim that India is a Hindu country. Not only him but many
tend to make this mistake.
For once and for all, let me say this.... Nagaland is a state
under India – a secular country. Period.
As a Naga myself I’m very disappointed that my own leader is
not thorough about the basic history of our state.
