Tezenlo Thong
Once again, four Naga IRB soldiers have been slain in Chhattisgarh. And once again, our daily newspapers are interspersed with words lauding the befallen Nagas – “Nagaland salutes her brave fallen soldiers,” “supreme sacrifices made by our jawans,” “heroic act,” “gallant jawans,” “salute them for their gallant acts,” etc. These words of eulogy are equally matched by words aimed at vilifying the “enemy”, such as “dastardly act,” “unscrupulous elements,” “yet another act of cowardice from the Naxals,” etc. However, do any or all of these amounts to anything for the families left behind in comparison to the loss of lives? Furthermore, it sounds cynical when these eulogies are being bequeathed by those who have in their power either to bring the soldiers home safely or to continue to put them in harm’s way.
We Nagas comprise just 0.18 percent of all Indian population. And so, to make us pay such a high price by deploying our young men to serve in one of the most deadly and sensitive places in India is, to put it mildly, revolting. We need to seriously exam why our young men are in Chhattisgarh. Why were they called to serve in this particular area? And why did the Nagaland government agree to “positively” respond to the central government’s request?
Why did Indian government want the Nagas to involve in this ugly and dangerous situation which is the result of a long history of its oppression, injustice and discrimination against tribal people? One can rightly speculate some undisclosed motives on the part of the Indian government for wanting us to be pitted against another tribal group. However, for the expressed reason for this involvement, let us recall the Kargil war. It was the war in Kargil in 1999 that thrust the Naga regiment to the national limelight. The involvement of some Naga soldiers in the war led to the “realization” that the Nagas are brave people, even more so than others.
I do not, however, believe that the Nagas are genetically conditioned to be more gallant. Among the Nagas, just like among any others, there are some who are fearless and others who are not. There may be a psychological explanation, though, to what makes the Naga more daring under certain circumstances. Those who are oppressed or subjugated and suffer from a lack of self-esteem are predisposed to take daring risks in order to gain approval and recognition. For decades, we have been oppressed, suppressed and stereotyped in an extremely unequal power relationship. We have been treated and discriminated against as second class citizens or subhuman beings with a lesser ability. And in the process, our sense of self-esteem and self-worth has been trampled. The Kargil war provided an opportunity for the “oppressed” child to proof his “manliness” to his abusive and demeaning “father”. Likewise, recklessness or irrational act of bravery also is being cited for the high number of casualty among the Nagas in Chhattisgarh.
The point is this: Let us not be gullible enough to be misled by the dubious theory that Nagas are tougher and more valiant than others. This theory only serves to reinforce the prevalent colonial image that the Nagas were and are wild, barbaric and warlike by nature. The problem in Chhattisgrah, especially in Dandevata where Salwa Judum is being carried out, has a long history of social, economic and political discrimination and injustice as in any tribal areas under India. Therefore, the Nagaland government’s unwise act, in sending young Nagas to exhibit their gallantry, to sacrifice their lives and then eulogize them when their corpses arrive home, is very unlikely to bring any solution to our fellow adivasis. On the contrary, this unwise involvement is unwarranted and, in myriad of ways, it is deeply hurting us, our image, identity, self-respect and our cause. Our government should, therefore, pull out our young people immediately; otherwise, be forced to do so by the public.
Now, what about the alleged abusive behaviors and human rights violations by the Naga IRB personnel stationed in Chhattisgarh? This too should be understood in the light of our long history of suffering from subjugation, oppression and cruelty in the hand of Indian army. Psychologically speaking, those who are oppressed are more likely to become oppressors, because they internalize the spirit of their oppressor. Because of the violence meted out to us by our oppressors, we tend to oppress each other and oppress those who are weak and helpless. We internalize the ferocious violence we suffer and then take it out to those who are weaker than us. This does not however mean to let the guilty get off the hook. Undoubtedly, the action of the IRB personnel is damnable and unacceptable. However, we also must hold those in power responsible for paving the way for the abusive actions to take place. The Nagas, especially those whose loved ones have died and are still in harm’s way, need compelling reasons on why our leaders felt the need to send our youngsters to Chhattisgarh, and why such a high cost of human lives is not enough to persuade them to bring our soldiers home or relocate them. It’s time for the public to stand up and say, “Enough is enough. Bring them home.”
