Footfalls in
Nagaland
Dr. Yashesh Anantani
PROLOGUE
Nagaland
borders the states of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, and across an
international frontier, the Union of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is home to
some two million people from some sixteen Tibetan-Mongol-Burmese tribes and
several sub-tribes who have been fighting a remote and rarely reported war for
independence from India, on and off, since early 1950s. What Naga independence
movements and guerilla armies have been fighting for over several decades is
the dream of ‘Nagalim’ or a Greater Nagaland, an independent country that would
unite all the tribes in a land of their own.
Dimapur
is where most travelers to Nagaland enter the state. A question that anyone
arriving at Dimapur may innocently ask is, “Where are the Nagas?” They are
here. They just happen to look more or less like anyone in Dimapur, a town
that, superficially, nods more to the world outside than to the mist enshrouded
hills that rise high and far beyond its municipal borders. Dimapur is not
Nagaland. Nagaland is still some way off, up roads bustling with 4x4s,
minibuses and military convoys lumbering onwards and upwards to ever more
remote villages, most of them out of bounds to foreigners and Indians alike[1].
4-4-44 is an amazing date line for Kohima in the history of Second World War. The Japanese army having crossed the Burma border suddenly appeared at Kohima! Recalls Lhusi Haralu, “The first sudden burst of gunfire at Kohima started around 4pm that evening. One could hear the whine of the shells as they came screaming towards you. We would all crouch down, scared and holding to our heads… One thing strikes me as I recall the war – the absolute loyalty of our people to British administration which tended to make them adopt a hostile attitude towards the invading Japanese in a war that was not ours. Come to think of it, the Japanese were never our enemies”[2]. The battle to recover Kohima and the reopening of the Imphal Road lasted 3 months until June 22, 1944. The War Cemetery in Kohima continues to witness many a tearful reunion, even between the families of ‘enemies’.
Historians
have called the Kohima event as ‘one of the most bitterly fought battles of the
Second World War”. Earl Mountbatten, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces,
described it as ‘one of the greatest battles in history…naked, unparalleled
heroism”. And Field Marshall Wavell called it ‘the turning point of the war
when the Japanese were routed and their downfall really began’.[3]
In
fact, the Japanese had hoped to reach (then) Calcutta and Delhi through the
Naga Hills but were beaten back by Naga warriors loyal to British. Had the
Japanese succeeded, they would have broken the back of colonial India and of
the British Empire itself[4].
And
so the land as in Nagaland has had a bloody history, trampled upon by the
armies of the British and the Japanese, and the Indian army now. Today[5],
the fighting continues sporadically, the skirmishes between rival independence
(politico-tribal) movements and against the Indian armed forces (thus) undermining
fragile treaties.
Amidst all this, and in what
could be a moment of tragic-comic irony, there appeared on a Naga hill, an
oddity from, of all the places, the land of one gentleman who gave his life
preaching non-violence!!
Present
Day, April 2012
“You must be Dr.
Livingstone!” exclaimed the first African native to greet the Englishman when
he discovered the ‘Dark Continent’ ages ago. For this Gujaratibhai hailing from aapnu amdavad however, there were no natives to receive him at
Kohima in Nagaland where he landed, err, drove down actually, to take up a
one-year residency for a project in urban sector. But, I was no less thrilled than
Dr. Livingstone! I must admit that despite being a self-professed
‘international’ traveler, this was one Indian State, tucked into a corner that
I had missed, in fact, never even planned to visit. This attitude in general has
remained the bane of the north-eastern region, and I would unabashedly agree
that I was a part of this attitude-syndicate – until now that is.
And thanks to the
opportunity, the British and Japanese are no longer the only footfalls in
Nagaland!
Delving into the past, and
beginning in the 1840s, the British, while colonizing India, made several
attempts to encroach onto the Naga territory. They were met with stiff resistance
from the Nagas who had never been conquered by any ‘empire’ before. The
stiffness of the resistance can be gauged by the fact that it took nearly four
decades for the British to conquer a territory that is less than 10,000 square kilometres! Kohima was the first
seat of modern administration as the Headquarters of Naga Hills District (then
under Assam) with the appointment of Political Officer in 1879. When Nagaland
became a full-fledged state on 1st December 1963, Kohima was
declared as the state capital.
Sheltered
on the hem of eastern Himalayan range, Kohima is noted for its unhurried pace
of life, calm and serene environs and fresh, unpolluted air. A picturesque township,
it forms a cradle on a high ridge amidst lush green wealth of the nature, with
panoramic views of the rugged Naga Hills. This could be a great marketing
jargon for tourism but to a discerning eye, it could have been much more
breathtaking; for, during the two hour, 75 km drive climbing slowly away from
Dimapur airport on the Assam border to Kohima at appx. 3500 feet above sea
level, I came across rampant destruction of coniferous forests and stark
denuded scenario. Painful it might be but the tradition of jhum cultivation (slash-burn-shift) continues to devour the natural
beauty and biological life of Naga Hills.
 |
| A Monsoon Morning! |
Realization! I have to
remind myself that I am NOT in Bihar or Nepal! Where are the Nagas, the famed
warriors?? Most of them could be working in the government offices 10am to 4pm.;
the rest, Biharis and Nepalis, are businessmen, shop owners or taxi
owner-drivers. And, of course, cooks! Sometimes, a Naga could be seen manning
(or wo-maning) a pan shop. Yes.
Kolkata mithi patti with a sprinkling
of zarda and a small bit of roasted
coconut is a favourite pass time with men and women alike, several times a day.
One sees more of beautiful globalised Naga women and lovely, petite girls on
the roads and in the markets, much more than the men. If the sex ratio in
Kohima is 50:50, then pray, where are the 50% men? Talking of rest of the
species, there are no cows on the roads, no crows, not even pigeons…but lots of
house sparrows!
The biggest shock to
this Gujarati who has come here seeking solace in Bacchus is the fact that
Nagaland has remained a dry state since long. Unlike Gujarat rightly or
wrongly, a visitor fails to understand the logic here. Well, some logic is
discussed in whispers! Whatever may be the case, liquor is available freely in
any corner shop thank you!
Drinking water is
scarce, particularly in winter when the far away river source almost dries up.
Since power is generated from the hydel project on this same river, its supply
is also erratic, particularly in the 2-5 degree cold winter when heating demand
zooms up. And so, it is a double whammy! 70-80% of the piped water supply is in
the hands of unorganized private sector, of those lucky few to have wells or
streams on this rugged terrain; the water however needs boiling to make it safe
for drinking. There are no lakes in Kohima, more because of urbanization
process; in fact, the district was once known as the ‘city of seven lakes!’
 |
| A room with a View |
The angamis and migrant Nepalis constitute
the majority in a population of one lakh in Kohima. ‘Headhunters’ must be a
misnomer as Nagas are polite and humble, not aggressive. They speak English
well. In fact, it is the state language, Nagaland being the largest Baptist
Christian state.
 |
| Downtown in Clouds |
All
of this and yet, Nagaland could be the most exciting discovery of your life
time!
 |
| 2012's largest full moon over nga Hills |
[1]
“Nagaland
- A Journey to India’s Forgotten Frontier” by Jonathan Glancey, Pub. Faber
& Faber, 2011
[2] “Heralding
Hope – 125 Kohima” Pub: Bhabani Offset
& Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, 2004
[3]
“Heralding
Hope – 125 Kohima” Pub: Bhabani Offset
& Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, 2004
[4]
“Nagaland -
A Journey to India’s Forgotten Frontier” by Jonathan Glancey, Pub. Faber &
Faber, 2011
[5] “Nagaland
- A Journey to India’s Forgotten Frontier” by Jonathan Glancey, Pub. Faber
& Faber, 2011
