This article aims neither to create any conflicts nor to retaliate to the sharing perspective of the two leaders of the Yhome clan. It is instead, a response to clarify what I feel is the misunderstanding of our neighbors on the incident which took place in Kiphire. Sharing perspective ventilates our grievances that one can hear and understand the feelings of the other person and I acknowledge the feelings of the two representatives of the Yhome clan for the last week article which clarifies the solidarity of the community in general. Such ventilation helps people to convey one’s grievances to the other people, but in what way can we ventilate our grievances to lead us to a sustainable transformation than enmity among ourselves?
Anderson, in Language and power says how language plays a significant role in the context of the society for the younger generation in shaping young national, political, social and cultural consciousness. He sees that new language need to be developed in the modern society where culture, politics, modernization and religion can be incorporated for the communication among the citizens (Anderson, 1990, p.124). One’s language plays a vital role in creating both conflict and peace. The use of language is as sensitive as the flame that catches any gas which provokes the situation into something unhealthy. Having this consciousness in our hearts and minds of intellectual, layperson and activists from any communities, we shall continue to develop a language of construction than destruction among our own people. We are all part of the problem and solution in any social phenomena where every Naga citizen is endeavoring for the better society.
It is regretful of the social violence that took place in Kiphire on April 29, 2013 and the violence is a common violence among the AR, state administration which include Deputy Commissioner as representative of the State and the citizens of the Kiphire town. One needs to understand such violence as violence between the state and the citizens than misinterpreting it into violence among individuals, tribes or clan. The District Deputy Commissioner, who represents the State as the head of every District needs to be understood as State but not as an individual. Our friends, Yhome clan, can avoid the Burning DC’s residence from codifying as an individual’s attacked or enacting the DC into a clan’s representative. Such interpretation will escalate a communal violence among tribes and communities.
When it comes to the implementation of customary laws or State law, the principle is created in a way that whether any violence should be considered as personal, communal or State. If DC’s private residence has been ablaze then such act can be codified as personal attacked, if other people burn down something from the Yhome clan jurisdiction or territory in the name of the clan then such act can be interpreted and portrayed as communal violence. However, in the case of the DC’s residence been ablaze at Kiphire is exclusively violence toward the State’s and the AR but not the attacked on a clan’s representative. As long as the DC represents the State and not represents the clan in the particular violence then it is between the State and the citizens of Kiphrie. The same unhealthy and unexpected can be occurred in other parts of the States. Hence, let us avoid considering the State and citizens violence into a personal violence.
Coming back to the use of language, our expression of emotion and feeling in a written document such as “In our customary practice, to damage and burn down one’s residence and belongings is to mete out the most extreme punishment to a most extreme criminal” and “not to provoke the asleep neighbour when the unruly neighbour pesters” (Nagalandpost-Post-Mortem: 9 May. 2013 1:13 AM IST) can be avoided and choose better alternative ways of expression for our transformative way that would lead both communities to construction of peaceful coexistence than destruction. Using such threatening language by any individual, community or group in our society will neither bring any solution nor will it help any communities in our society. It is regretful that some DC’s personal belongings were ablaze in the burning and such inevitable circumstances are experienced by any fire victims helplessly whose intention was not to feed our belongings to the fire flame.
Media and politics play another important role in creating violence and creating peace as well in the society. One thing we the citizens in general need to do is to analyze the information that media and politics interpret about any social phenomena in the society. Such careful analysis and interpretation will help every single citizen and community in the Naga society to build peace and harmony through language interpretation.
Despite the challenges we are facing in the society, there is always an alternative way out to abrogate from the negative interpretation to a positive interpretation of language of any social phenomena. Such positive attitude in handling language will immensely bring a repercussion to eliminate a gape among communities, tribes, clans and even among individual. We shall all make an effort to respect those who respect one’s own discipline as common citizens in the Naga society. IF LANGUAGE CAN CREATE CONFLICT THEN LANGUAGE CAN ALSO CREATE PEACE. Let us use our languages to create peace than to create conflict. (MExN)
-Lemwang Chuhwanglim
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