‘God is the only Naga Weapon’

‘They say, there is no bad peace or a good war, but here in Nagaland we are faced with a bad peace. The ceasefire has been in effect for almost a decade but people are still dying. This divide and rule needs to stop.’ I drank water as the passionate Hukheli T. Wotsa, President of the Naga Women’s Hoho a women organisation based in Dimapur, explained her stand to me. ‘Dimapur is a war zone’, she proclaimed, the centre might have signed a ceasefire but factional rivalry between the NSCN (IM) and NSCN (K) has found expression in gun battles around town.

‘Who is effected the most? Who is suffering? Fathers, husbands, brothers, uncles, sons all die for the cause, martyred in factional clashes.’ Widowed, disempowered and alone ‘the Naga women are crying in silence’. They bare the burden of this war.

Sitting in her living room, I took a sip of Frooti and used her pause to throw in a question;

What are the activities taken up by the Naga Women’s Hoho?

‘We fight for the upliftment of the Naga women. We fight for the raped, we fight against domestic violence, extortion and kidnapping. We are trying to create equal opportunities for Naga women, but one of our main goals is to work towards reconciliation of the Naga factions. We are trying to rid Nagaland of rigid tribal identities and foster a larger Naga identity. I have gone to Bangkok to meet Mr. Muivah, to the Burma border to talk to NSCN (K). As long as there is violence the women will suffer. ‘

‘Women walked into the battle fields, we cried and pleaded with them to stop the violence. Women have played a big role in reducing violence in Nagaland. We are working towards Naga reconciliation.’

To stray slightly from the point, I recently learnt that, ‘resolution of the Naga issues’ has two meanings. Namely - resolution in a 'mainland Indian' sense refers to Nagaland and the Indian state and then there is reconciliation of Naga underground factions (NSCN (IM), NSCN (K), NNC, the 3 factions of FGN). It is popularly believed that any solution with the central government is only possible once the warring Naga factions reconcile.

I was confused. I am well aware of how the patriarchal societies of India function. But during my time in Shillong, I saw how empowered the Khasi women are in their matri-lineal society and the North Eastern women I had met in Delhi, including the Naga women, were confident, strong and independent. With a perplexed expression on my face I asked;

Are the women oppressed in Naga society?

‘Yes they are. Girls aren’t given an equal opportunity to education. If there is a brother and sister and the sister gets a first division and her brother only manages a third division, the parents will still push their son. Send him to Delhi to study and not their daughter. We have been using the Church congregations as a platform for preaching equality for women and there has been a distinct improvement in recent years, but there is still a long way to go.’

‘Women are not able to enter politics, they lack the money power needed to fight elections. Husbands and sons, will sell their land, homes, cars, everything to enter politics but women don’t have the right to do so. Reservation for women in politics is a must. Women must be brought into the peace process.’

What role can women play in the peace process?

‘Historically women have always played a big role in peoples movements; we had Annie Besant working for the cause of the Indian people. But I feel women leaders in India do not feel for the Naga people. Ms. Maneka Gandhi is worried about dogs and animals, but does she hear the cries of the Naga women, does she sense our misery? I would request Ms. Sonia Gandhi and Ms. Pratibha Patil to recognise that the Naga women are suffering in silence.’

If the centre takes more interest, will centrally aided development resolve the ‘insurgency’?

‘No, economic packages won’t resolve the situation, it will only cause greater divisions in society. The aid money from the centre doesn’t reach its targets. It disappears.’ She laughs and says, ‘Corruption in Nagaland is like a ghost, no one sees it, no one can catch it, but it haunts everyone. Honesty is needed.’

Will women in politics make a difference when it comes to corruption?

‘I am not saying that women aren’t corrupt. Corruption is natural, it exists every where. It exists in the Indian government systems as well. It is honesty that is rare, but I feel women are less corrupt then men.

Do you think a compromise solution is possible between the Indian government and Nagaland - autonomy?

‘Autonomy is not an option. We must have greater Nagaland, we must be liberated. India can not deny the Naga’s their birth right. Too much blood has been spilt, if the India denies the Naga’s their right, they will suffer the wrath of god.’

‘Our prayers and blood have reached god, god is the only Naga weapon.’

Seeing me raise my eyebrows, she clarified.

‘We feel for India, if India loses to Pakistan in cricket we feel bad. When Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were assassinated I cried. When I saw the coffin of Indian soldier being transported, I felt his mother’s pain, his wife’s pain, I thought of his children waiting for a father, who had gone out to make money, but will never come home’.

‘Gandhi sympathised with the Naga cause, he said he would stand in front of his Naga brothers and take the first bullet. Today India feels no compassion for the Naga's. We weren’t born into Indian, we are adopted (Nagaland was made an Indian state only in 1964), maybe that is why they don’t feel for us. As a man can’t become a woman, a Naga can not become an Indian, we are different.’

As I waited for an auto, many thoughts crossed my mind. Want makes a nation? Territorial continuity, commonality of history, cultural similarity or a blue passport with three lions on it? Can’t I be born an American but choose to be an Indian? It seems strange that in a globalised world, where the significance of borders is said to be shrinking, our sense of identity is still bound to a community, a nation. Am I still Avalok with out being an Indian? Just then a group of girls returning from school crossed the road, there is hope. Educational empowerment is the first step towards economic and social empowerment of women. With time and continued efforts of women like Mrs. Wotsa, soon women will 'share the pants'.