indigenousnagaland #8 - India's State-sponsored Terrorism
[Nagas - religion - form of government - Naga ethos Vs. Indian ethos - Naga contribution to the wider international community - the insights of India's leadership - what is India — India's invasion of Nagaland - India's propaganda machinery at work - COMBATING STATE SPONSORED TERRORISM WITH THE PEN]

[Map of Indigenous Nagaland]
Nagas
When one looks at the map of Asia one will find China, India and Myanmar/Burma. The Tri-junction is the homeland of the indigenous called Nagas.
The Nagas are an ancient people whose forefathers migrated into their present habitat from Central Asia. Their forefathers migrated from Mongolia in 2617 B.C. and after migrating across Turkistan, Tibet and Mongolia, they finally arrived in Eastern Yunan Province of China in 1385 B.C. Many of them again migrated from China and entered Southeast Asia and on to their present habitat in 1225 B.C. Whether in historical records or oral traditions passed from one generation to the other through word of mouth, there is no mention whatsoever of the Nagas driving away some former inhabitants of the land to make the lands their own. The fact is one where their forefathers, like any other nations in the world, at some specific time in history migrated from more populated regions of the Asian continent and settled down in their present lands and made it their land. Their continuity as a people inhabiting their present lands is an established historical fact. In historical records, the first mention of the Nagas as a people inhabiting their present lands was made by Claudius Ptolemy, the Greek historian and geographer in AD 150. In his records Ptolemy mentions the Nagas as Nagaloi (Claudius Ptolemy, Geographia, Vol V11, (ii) p.18). They were again mentioned by Hiuen Tsang, the Chinese traveller who spent 15 years in India between AD 629-645. Hiuen Tsang visited Kamrup the capital of the Varman King, Bhaskar Varman in AD 643. From Kamrup in Assam, in his accounts “Si-Yu-Ki” he writes about the Nagas saying: The east of this country is bounded by a line of hills so that there is no great city to the kingdom. The frontiers are contiguous to the barbarians of Southwest China. These tribes are in fact akin to those of the Man people in their customs. (Thomas Watters, On Yuan Chwang’s travel in India, Vol.III, Part II, Varanasi, 1903, p.11) Quoted in Visier Sanyü, A History of Nagas and Nagaland, p.7
“Naga” is the name given to the indigenous of more than 40 different tribes, each with its own language and tradition.
Religion
[Baptist Church, Nagaland]
[Catholic Church, Nagaland]
Almost every researcher writes of the Naga religion as "animism", which is partly true; the vast majority of Nagas indeed practice animism; however, the Zeliangrong Naga religion is a primal religion - not animism - which in many respects resembles the Old Testament practices; they have a creation myth that is strikingly similar to the Christian rendition; other attributes include a day of rest (similar to Sabbath keeping), first-fruit offering to God, marriage system, forgiveness of sin, the story of the Tower of Babel and many more. (Today, the overwhelming majority of Nagas are Christian).
W.C. Smith writes, "The religion of the Naga is intensely practical. He performs his rites lest the mysterious powers about him brings calamities to his door; he refrains from work on certain days that he may have good crops; he goes through the appropriate ceremonies that he may have water in the spring; and he sacrifices at the village gate lest the dread pestilence comes stalking boldly in and ruthlessly claim both hoary age and stalwart youth as his victims."
Form of government
“We want to preserve our heritage forever to come. Apart from pure democracy as a way of life, the Nagas have another great heritage, and that is, land belongs to the people as private and personal property, individually as well as collectively. And such, every Naga is a sovereign in his own and her own right. That is a very rare heritage indeed. And this is our birthright. And we must nurture it and zealously uphold it forever to come so that no wicket upstart will ever attempt to usurp our individual sovereignty which is our birthright.” — A. Z. Phizo (Naga nationalist leader whose unsurpassed leadership has consolidated the foundation of the Naga nationhood without bloodshed)
The Nagas — with the exception of some Chieftain systems like the Konyaks and the Semas — never had any King to whom they bowed. When the British first encountered them and asked them about their King, they thrust their spears into the ground and said: That is our King. The British entered the Naga territory in 1832, they discovered to their amazement that the Nagas were practicing a democracy which was far superior to their own form of democracy. Read Captain Butler, the British anthropologist, in this regard. James Jonestone also affirmed of this in his journal.
Democracy - their traditional form of government - is the most popular form of government in the world today; democracy, according to Noam Chomsky, is a threat to any power system. The Naga democracy was in contrast to the monarchies which surrounded them.
(Interestingly, the number of frontier battles that the British fought with the Nagas outstripped the number of battles - at the great Indian plain - that occured between the British and the Indians.)
The horn-like structure at the rooftop, below, is to indicate that the family lineage of the house-owner has never been a political slave of anyone.
Naga ethos Vs. Indian ethos
[Naga army in church]
The Naga culture is theonomous whereas the Indian culture is heteronomous. The Naga mind has been disciplined by “rule of law” which is in polar opposite to India’s “law of the ruler”.
James Johnstone, the colonial British political agent, writes on the Angami Nagas:
“A strong built, hardy, active race, the men averaging 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet in height, and the women tall in proportion. In colour they vary from a rich brown to a yellowish or light brown. They have a manly independent bearing, and are bred up to war from their earliest years. While the Kukis are monarchists, the Nagas are republicans, and their Peumahs, or chiefs, are elected, and though they often have great influence, they are in theory, only primus inter pares, and are liable at any time to be displaced. Practically they often remain in office for years, and are greatly respected.
...The Angamis when on friendly terms are an agreeable people to deal with, polite, courteous, and hospitable. I never knew any one take more pains or more successfully not to hurt the susceptibilities of those they are talking to, indeed they show a tact and good feeling worthy of imitation.”
He further writes,
“I predicted that, following the example of other hill-tribes, they would sooner or later become debased Hindoos or Mussulmans, and in the latter case, as we knew by experience, be a constant source of trouble and annoyance, Mussulman converts in Assam and Eastern Bengal, being a particularly disagreeable and bigoted set. My suggestion did not find favour with the authorities, and I deeply regret it. A fine, interesting race like the Angamis, might, as a Christian tribe, occupy a most useful position on our Eastern Frontier, and I feel strongly that we are not justified in allowing them to be corrupted and gradually “converted” by the miserable, bigoted, caste-observing Mussulman of Bengal, men who have not one single good quality in common with the manly Afghans, and other real Mussulman tribes. I do not like to think it, but, unless we give the Nagas a helping hand in time, such is sure to be their fate, and we shall have ourselves to thank when they are utterly corrupted.
...Properly taught and judiciously handled, the Angamis would have made a fine manly set of Christians, of a type superior to most Indian native converts, and probably devoted to our rule. As things stand at present, I fear they will be gradually corrupted and lose the good qualities, which have made them attractive in the past, and that, as time goes on, unless some powerful counter influence is brought to bear on them, they will adopt the vile, bigoted type of Mahommedanism prevalent in Assam and Cachar, and instead of becoming a tower of strength to us, be a perpetual weakness and source of annoyance. I earnestly hope that I may be wrong, and that their future may be as bright a one as I could wish for them.” [My Experiences In Manipur And The Naga Hills — James Jonestone]
On the Indian psyche, the noted Indian jurist, Nani Palkhivala writes,
"Let us not pretend that the rule of law is a concept which can be regarded as a part of the Indian psyche [We The People, p.212]. The fact is, no such concept of the rule of law exists anywhere in the Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabrata, the Bhagwat Gita or the Puranas."
On racism and violence against women, the evidence (statistical and anecdotal) showed that the Naga majority areas are the safest, when compared to the Indian majority areas; this is largely due to the contrast in cultural ethos between the two peoples.
Naga contribution to the wider international community
[Grave of Akhill Pukhini in France. Photo - Rajeshwor Yumnam]
[Grave of Late Putanleng in France. Photo - Rajeshwor Yumnam]
Around 4000 Nagas participated in the First World War in Europe and many of them didn't return home, while the Second World War was fought at Kohima, Nagaland, between the British and the Japanese. The British said that, “had the attitude of the Nagas been different the battle might have prolonged, the defeat of the Japanese might have been delayed and the casualties of the British might have been higher or the battle might have taken a different turn”.
[View of Kohima Town in 1944 right after the Japanese were defeated in “the Kohima battle”]
The Insights Of India's Leadership
On August 19, 1946, India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, said: "The tribal areas are defined as those long frontiers of India which are neither part of India nor Burma, nor of Indian states nor of any foreign power". [It is crystal clear that Naga territories are not Indian territories and that India is the aggressor in the Indo-Naga war]
On 19th July 1947, Mahatma Gandhi said, “Nagas have every right to be independent. I believe in the brotherhood of man but I do not believe in forced unions. If you do not wish to join the Union of India, nobody will force you to do that. Sir, Akbar is wrong. He cannot do that. I will come to the Naga Hills; I will ask them to shoot me first before one Naga is shot".
To quote the former Chief of the Indian Intelligence B. N. Mullik, who clearly stated the facts in the following words:
"Troops moved into Tuensang by October 1955, and the war with the Nagas started from then". (B. N. Mullik, My Years With Nehru, p.308)
Gen F. A. Vyas of the Indian army said, "Naga insurgents never adopted terror tactics" (Manipuronline 2006).
Murkot Ramuny, the notorious Indian Security Commissioner who created a reign of terror in Naga areas for many years, stated in his writing, "The Nagas do not kill civilians" (ibid.).
[A picture of the Plebiscite of May 16, 1951, where an old man is seen putting his thumb print on the Plebiscite Papers]
Such phrases "Naga insurgents never adopted terror tactics" and "The Nagas do not kill civilians" are an understatement, partly because:
Nagas take care of their enemy's orphans (Indian orphans),
Nagas are higher on conscientiousness (British and Indian sources supported this fact, consistently) such that women (of mainland India) felt a greater sense of safety in Naga society than in their own land,
Nagas don't retaliate against Indian military's and Meitei insurgent's RACIAL PROFILING (standard practice of men of low character),
Racism is real in India (worst in the world, according to global surveys) but not in the Naga society (not even a single instance of violence of racial intolerance),
"Kuki-Naga conflict": Kukis, according to British sources, came from Myanmar in the 1800s; Kuki’s autochthon status ("The Kukis in Manipur or the Luseis of Mizoram have migrated to their present areas of dominance from South China and Chin Hills only a couple of centuries back" -- Bijoy, 2003) can easily be contested; British sources are clear that Kukis were transplanted into Naga areas as buffer and then after the British departure, Indian govt. used the Kukis all over again (Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) of India and Meitei politicians funded the so-called "Kuki-Naga conflict") to distract attention away from their own activities of “ethnocide”; three things: (a) Kuki historians acknowledged (conceded) that Nagas gave them lands -- contra allegation of land theft; (b) in Naga tradition, land is not sold; only given to anyone that they deem as brother, (c) because of these established facts, Kukis directed all their allegations (if or when they have one) at Th. Muivah (head of a break-away armed faction from the Naga National Council (NNC)) and not at Nagas or their forefathers.
Indian historians, British historians, Greek and Chinese travelers, when their texts are put together, you get a coherent picture of the truth and history, age to age.
What is India?
Sir John Strachey had spent many years in the British India, ultimately becoming a member of the Governor General’s Council. He says, ‘India’ was merely a label of convenience, a name which we give to a great region including a multitude of different countries. He further adds, the differences between the countries of Europe were much smaller than those between the ‘countries’ of India.
India's invasion of Nagaland
Indian troops moved into Nagaland by October 1955, and the Indo-Naga war started from then [B.N. Mullik, Chief of the Indian Intelligence]
India's propaganda machinery at work
The Indian propaganda machinery described the Naga soldiers as “terrorists”, “gangsters”, “dacoits”, “hostiles”, “ruthlessly bloodthirsty”, “misguided perpetrators of law”, etc. Whereas, according to Gen F. A. Vyas of the Indian army, Naga insurgents never adopted terror tactics; and according to Murkot Ramuny (Indian security commissioner), the Nagas do not kill civilians.
COMBATING STATE SPONSORED TERRORISM WITH THE PEN
[Paper written by Kaka D. Iralu for the Conference on Non-violent Strategies For Confronting Global Terrorism and For Promoting Peaceful Social Change. Tromso, Norway, September 7-9, 2005]
The Indo-Naga political conflict is a case where India a giant nation of one billion people has invaded Nagaland a small nation of four million people. India carried out this invasion with its military might under the sanction and protection of its state laws. This naked aggressions and invasions of our lands took place in 1954, when over 53,000 Indian troops assisted by light armoured tanks; heavy artillery and aerial cover moved in and occupied our country. (By 1964 it was alleged that over 200,000 Indian soldiers were stationed in Nagaland). Naga resistance to this modern army invasion was a spirited defence with derelict Second World War rifles, Muzzle Loading guns and machetes, spears and arrows. But though the mountainous terrain of our lands came to our rescue at the initial stages, slowly, as more and more Indian troops moved in; our country was razed to the ground. Within a span of two years of heavy fighting, nearly a thousand Naga villages were burned to ashes along with all their rice granaries. Most of these villages with houses numbering 100 to 1000 were burned in the middle of the night or at the crack of dawn. As a result, with all their earthly possession burned to ashes, a whole nation fled into the mountainous jungles of Nagaland with only the cloths on their bodies. As these villagers fled the Indian army pursuits and went deeper and deeper into the jungle, over one hundred thousand souls perished within a year. They died from starvation, disease, as well as ground and aerial bombardment and bullets. Within two years, the Naga landscape was a wasteland of burned villages, broken lives and shattered families. A proud and valiant people who had defended their territories against all foreign invasions for over two thousand years was desecrated beneath the rifle butts and boots of India’s mighty army. However, despite the setbacks and sufferings, the Nagas fought back from their jungle hideouts. During this period, B.N. Mullick who was the then Personal Secretary of Jawaharlal Nehru wrote thus:
“…and though there was nearly one security troop for every adult male in the Naga Hills, Tuensang Area, there never was a time when it could be claimed that the Naga guerrillas had been broken into submission. The Naga rebels till then had little training. They had a few arms of odd varieties often taken from the dumped stock of the Second World War. Often their snipping was done with the help of muzzle loaders…And yet the Naga guerrillas carried on the fight relentlessly. They suffered terrible deprivations and casualties but did not give in.”
(B.N. Mullick, “My Years With Nehru”, p. 313).
Mullick’s book was banned by the Indian Government a few days after its release in 1972.
This near genocide of a gentle people was however effectively kept from the knowledge of the world because the Indian Government was able to bring down an iron curtain of news censorship. This was done under the protection of Indian laws through Acts and Regulations like: “The Tuensang Frontier Division [Undesirable Persons] Regulation Act 1955, Assam Disturbed Areas Act 1955, The Inner Line Regulation 1920, etc.” During this period of invasion, with the exception of a few towns where the British had earlier had their administrative centres, the whole rural area of Nagaland which comprises about 93% of the Naga population fled and lived in the ravines, gorges and mountains of Nagaland. During this dispersion there were some villages in the remote areas where hunger drove the villagers back to their villages. But no sooner the villagers rebuild temporary sheds in their former village sites, the Indian army came and burnt them again. In this way Mangmetong village in the Ao region was burned 18 times in one single year. Porba village in Chakhesang region was burned 14 times. The number of villages burned four five times is simply uncountable. As a result, the villagers were again and again forced to flee into the jungles.
During this period when the whole of Nagaland burned like a wild forest fire, the footprints of a proud civilization were also burned to ashes. Ancient log drums carved out of giant trees whose sounds could boom across mountains and valleys were reduced to cinders. Intricately carved village gates measuring 10 x 6 feet that had stood as sentinels at the entrances of every village collapsed into ashes. Giant dormitory wooden beds that could sleep forty to fifty bachelors in Morung (Male dormitories) as well as giant community wine vats that could hold up to five hundred litres also disappeared in flames. All these community beds, wine vats and village gates were laboriously carved out of giant trees. Even towering stones that had been dragged from far distances to honour title holders in the villages, exploded under the intense heat of these burning Morungs and houses. Only someone who knows Naga culture and customs would understand the dimensions of these losses. Thousands of hours of hard labour, sweat and toil over many years had gone into the construction of these cultural monuments.
For the Nagas, the world was not something out there. The world, for the Naga was his village. All his achievements gained outside the village through hard physical labour, courage in war or diplomacy in disputes were all enshrined within his village in symbolic forms. But all these symbols were now destroyed. Therefore, in the wider dimension, the material and physical expressions of a civilisation had been burned to ashes. Now only images of that glory remained in the minds of the Nagas.
The poem “Kelhoukevira” by Easterine Iralu echoes this agony and the utter humiliation of a proud people who had never experienced anything like this in their history. Below are some excerpts from the poem:
They brought in their dead by night
their proud warriors, their mighty warriors
the brave beloved of the gods,
to rest under troubled skies
and battle-scarred lands
that some corner of a vanquished field
may forever remain Nagaland, forever Nagaland.
…The golden fields, they lay unreaped and sere
as blood freely flowed
and mingled with the rains
and stained the virgin soil
like a thousand scarlet sunsets
streaking the evening sky
back of the blue, blue hills
the blue, blue hills.
Their hearts too grieved to heed the harvest
Maidens ceased song and mourned the brave ones
and blindly followed a broken people
who turned their backs
and slowly walked away
from a burning village, a burning village.
…they trampled her silent Hills
and squeezed the life out of her
and washed their guilt in her blood,
washed their guilt in her blood.
(Easterine Iralu, Kelhoukevira, 1982, p.22)
REFERENCES
http://nagas.sytes.net/~kaka/articles/art011.html
http://www.kohimaeducationaltrust.net/PDF%20files/NagasWW2.pdf
http://novelonlinefree.info/chapter/my_experiences_in_manipur_and_the_naga_hills/chapter_2
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Good post. Thank you👌💞