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Dimapur VOL. VIII ISSUE 329
The Morung Express “
www.morungexpress.com
If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking
‘Cyber-Hindus’ - India’s new breed of political activists
Thai PM says protesters’ demands unacceptable
By Sandemo Ngullie
Tuesday, December 3, 2013 12 pages Rs. 4 –George S. Patton
Tribute paid to pioneers of statehood [ PAGE 02]
Naga girl wins award at Melbourne University
[ PAGE 11]
[ PAGE 05]
[ PAGE 08]
reflections
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Mourinho digs Chelsea out of a hole [ PAGE 12]
nagaland - laws of convenience, not strictures
50 years down the line, no total independence of judiciary in Nagaland Morung Express News Dimapur | December 2
He is worried coz as the organizing secretary he knows a lot about Hornbill the festival but not a thing about Hornbill the bird!
State govt to provide security to VIPs, tourists
Escorts for passengers flying from and to Dimapur KOHIMA, DECEMBER 2 (MExN): In view of the 12-hour bandh called by the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee on December 3, the Nagaland state government has decided to provide security to VIPs and tourists coming and returning from Kohima to the Hornbill Festival. SP Kohima Rhotihü Tetseo said that the first security escort party would leave from Old DC’s Bungalow, The Heritage, near Raj Bhavan Kohima at 8:30 am. VIPs and tourists have been asked to contact the following number: SP Kohima – 9436001223, Deputy SP Kohima – 9436006060 and Deputy SP (Establishment) at 9346818968. Meanwhile the Dimapur SP has also informed that Dimapur police and district administration will provide armed escorts to all domestic and international tourists arriving or leaving Dimapur at the railway station at 11:00 am and 3:00 pm; airport at 1:45 pm; new field check gate at 10:00 am and 3:00 pm and Dillai check gate at 10:00 am and 3:00 pm. All passengers catching their flight from Dimapur have been asked to report to their respective police stations by 10:00 am for police escorts. For further assistance, passengers have been requested to contact Dimapur Police control room at 03862-228400, 9436824000 or 100.
NSSA agitation resumes
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KOHIMA, DECEMBER 2 (MExN): The first day of the 3-Day Nagaland Secretariat Services Association pen down/cease work agitation was held successfully, with no government business transacted by NSS members during the day, informed a press note from the NSSA. Inspection of work place and member attendance/code of conduct was carried out by the Action Committee members on the first day. On day 2 of the agitation, NSSA informed that the Empowered Action Committee will meet at 1:00 pm in the Association office on completion of the inspection rounds. It further notified that a general body meeting of the NSSA will be held on day three of the agitation at 1:00 pm in the Secretariat Plaza to decide on the next course of action.
The law, wrote Charles Dickens, is an ass. In Nagaland as well, it has remained so. Justice here continues to be administered by a combination of state administration (executive) and courts (judiciary); as a result, justice falls short more often than not. To better control the administration of justice in the Naga Hills, the British had come up with the 1937 Rules for the Administration of Justice and Police in the Naga Hills District (henceforth Rules). Powers, under these Rules, for the administration of justice, fell with the respective Deputy Commissioners (who could try all types of cases) while locally they could be handled by village authorities. Despite a separate State, Nagaland continues to apply these Rules with minimal amendment and makes it difficult for the justice system to effectively apply criminal and civil procedures. With the onset of Indian rule in 1947, state struc-
Seen here is a regular court in Nagaland. The judiciary in Nagaland State remains handcuffed to the executive, leaving Naga society lacking in justice and liberty.
tures were introduced in a more holistic format into the Naga areas. Though the Nagaland State came into existence in 1963, 50 years into statehood, there is large scale “miscarriage of justice” as the judiciary continues to be controlled through the executive (1937 Rules makes DC the head of the judiciary) and is misused by a number of stakeholders in the justice system, including the political class. “The main problem is
that the Rules are still applicable to the State of Nagaland, and though amended in some ways in 1974, 1982, 1984 etc., glaring loopholes remain which dilute the power of the judiciary,” explains a senior judicial officer (identities of all interviewees are protected throughout this article). “People do not feel the need to adhere to any law, customary or through a penal code, as they can use it arbitrarily. Law has become a tool of convenience
here,” says the officer. Much of the problem arises, also, as there is little knowledge of what kind of cases can be tried by which judicial actor. So though the Rules define powers, they are not being followed. Petty crimes like stealing a chicken, for instance, falls under the purview of the village authorities while more sinister crimes like murder and rape fall under the jurisdiction of a regular court. However, the vice versa often happens as the Rules are
not adhered to, leading to the dilution of both customary and codified law—“as a result, laws never get stronger and a justice deficit society takes shape.” “And in many cases there is double jeopardy,” informs another senior judicial officer. “Village courts try heinous crimes, ostracize the accused or seize their property, after which the case is again tried in a regular court of law and the accused is sent to jail again. Even in Kohi-
ma this happens frequently,” the officer reveals. The issues are galore, and they exist alongside a general “lack of effort to learn the rules and procedures.” The separation of the judiciary from the executive depends on legislation. And political power from within the legislature, while creating a “win-win” situation for stakeholders, has failed to progress society by using “holding on to customary practices and laws” as a crutch. As per a UNI report, since 1999, the Nagaland State has “notified” the separation of the judiciary from the executive. In 2006, Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court (GHC), B Sudershan Reddy personally asked Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio to expedite the process. Rio, while expressing apprehensions about “safeguarding” Naga customary laws, promised that this will be done in a “phased manner” starting from the Dimapur Municipal area. The first phase came as late as in 2008. Regular courts in Nagaland are now under the direct control of the GHC. A division bench of the GHC, in September 2013, directed all regular court manned by judicial officers to follow the Criminal Procedure Code and Civil Procedure Code in letter and in spirit. This has not been no-
tified by the Government of Nagaland till date. “Politicians and bureaucrats have a fear psychosis. If the judiciary becomes independent, they feel like they will lose grip over the system but that is a misconception,” explains a judicial officer. “In a democratic setup, all three organs work in a check-andbalance order. Unless the judiciary is strengthened and functions independently, the executive and the legislature will always remain weak.” A lack of political will combined with generic ignorance among decision makers has exacerbated the problem leading to a confused, unjust society in Nagaland. “The village authorities need to be trained on the extent of their powers to try crimes, and there has to be political will to put up strong basic structures,” affirms a judicial officer. “Crimes in Naga society have become very complex over time— procedural laws have to be in place to impart justice so that even the state can progress without the baggage of convenient interpretation. For this, the legislature has to make laws that the judiciary can interpret based on strictures, not convenience.”
‘need to resist unjust systems’ Hornbill Festival: Culturally Yours?
Indigenous peoples call Churches for solidarity and self-determination
KOLKATA, DECEMBER 2 (MExN): The need to address ongoing and historical oppression of indigenous peoples and mobilizing solidarity to resist unjust systems was stressed upon collectively by participants at the WCC preassembly gathering of indigenous peoples. The event was held during October/November in Busan, South Korea. Dr Wati Longchar, Dean, SCEPTRE, Kolkata, who was one of the facilitators, informed that participants of indigenous peoples from 27 countries attended the event. According to a press note from Dr Wati, the participants
noted that “besides spiritual and theological colonialization, indigenous people continue to experience various forms of oppression, exploitation, marginalization and suffering.” The participants recognized that the displacement and dispossession of indigenous peoples is a serious threat. It lamented that “virtually all indigenous communities had stories of intense conflict with the forces of so-called development, especially in mining and other extractive industries.” They stated that ancestral lands and sacred forest, grounds of Indigenous People are being commercialized, desecrated and abused through unmindful extractive developmental activities. Participants further said that indigenous peoples face marginalization, illegal and immoral seizure of their lands,
paramilitary and extrajudicial violence and death. The effect of global climate change on indigenous peoples was also stressed upon, which has resulted in disappearing islands and lands, stress on wildlife and subsistence lifestyles, and an increased dispossession from land. They pointed to the direct link between justice to indigenous people, environmental justice, social justice, and human rights. It was noted that indigenous Christian communities constitute a significant population in World Christianity. The participants however recognized that despite their cultural and ethnic diversity, the indigenous communities uphold a similar earth-centered spirituality and cosmology. It was pointed out that indigenous theologies “continue to provide a new paradigm of a wider
ecumenism by challenging the occidental, anthropocentric, androcentric and white character of ‘normative’ theology, as well as its North-Atlantic point of reference.” As such, participants urged the world Christian community to affirm “a new community and economy of Creation,” and “repudiate” systems that lead to destruction of indigenous peoples and the harmful exploitation of their land. They urged the world Christian community to join them, in promoting a world-wide partnership of indigenous peoples and a church related network of peoples dedicated to the selfdetermination of Indigenous Peoples. “The Church must stand with indigenous peoples and advocate and promote respect for their culture, their land, and their way of life,” they asserted.
Men in traditional attire participate in the stone pulling ritual at Viswema on Monday. (Morung Photo/Chizokho vero)
venient. The cycle would then be repeated, if a couple desired to do so. These stone cenotaphs are thus symbols perpetuating the memory of persons through the feasts given by them and was considered the ultimate benchmark of achievement. Though this ancient custom is no longer practiced, one can still admire the multiple significance of its purpose. It nurtured the culture of sharing and motivated people to put in additional efforts beyond what was required to sustain their lives. Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, Paban Singh Ghatowar, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Chotisuh Sazo, speaker Nagaland Legislative Assembly, council of ministers and parliamentary secretaries were also present at the event.
Hornbill visitors treated to stone pulling ceremony Our Correspondent
Viswema | December 2
Adding flavor to the festivities at Hornbill 2013, the Nagaland state tourism department in collaboration with the people of Viswema, today showcased the popular stone pulling ceremony at the foothill of Mt. Japfu. The event was held in commemoration of 50th anniversary of the statehood of Nagaland and also in commemoration of the 50 years of Viswema Students’ Union (VSU). Thousands of people in traditional attires joined the traditional stone pulling ceremony. Celebratory yells, folk songs and dances surrounded the event, which concluded with a grand feast. Prior to the arrival of Christianity, Viswema villagers would pull stone monuments along roadsides leading to their village.
These stones measured from about two to twelve feet high. They commemorate feasts given by married couples to the entire village. A preparatory feast called ‘Tem-za’ followed by three merit feasts ‘Zhotho’ had to be given by the couple, after which, two pre-selected stones, one for the husband and the other for the wife, were dragged to the vil-
lage by people in full traditional regalia and planted upright at a vantage spot. During the stone pulling process the accompanying women with food and drink in their baskets take care not to touch the rope or cross over it, as that is considered taboo. As per tradition, nine such feasts could be extended in succession, as and when con-
A Naga man in traditional attire waits to perform a warrior dance during the Hornbill festival at Kisama village on the outskirts of Kohima, Nagaland on December 2. (AP Photo)
Morung Express News Dimapur | December 2
In an increasingly globalized world, festivals that showcase and promote cultures act as spaces for indigenous communities to assert and affirm constructive views of identity. They become platforms to initiate a drive for recognition and respect, as distinct cultures in local, national, and international contexts. Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival, as per official rhetoric, is supposed to imbibe this dynamic framework, at least in most parts. However, if the inaugural function of Hornbill 2013 is anything to go by, visitors could leave with much uncertainty about Naga identity and culture. “While not trying negatively to romanticize Naga culture, the traditional attires and songs were ‘exotic’ to me. It was a revealing experience at first,” stated Keith Seymour, a first time visitor and a photographer from the United States. Yet, he followed up, “however, the consumerist facet of the event seemed to be glaringly obvious.” “It was probably an attempt to contemporize Naga culture, which is understandable to a certain level. But where does it end?” he questioned. A researcher, who attended the inaugural event, observed that culture is being used “as a base for commerce,” in the Hornbill Festival. He expressed that more than a showcase of culture, the event acted as an
exposition of the commercial services that Nagaland has to offer. He further pointed out that the inaugural speeches were “layered in various ways.” “We had the Chief Minister speaking for fulfillment of the 16 point agreement, while the President spoke about Nagaland being an integral part of India,” he stated. While terming the speeches “ironic,” he opined that there was much “political muscle flexing, but politely of course.” A visitor who writes for a magazine in New Delhi stated that, while there was “much pomp” in the beginning, “the event trailed off to incoherence.” He opined, “While I enjoyed the show, there is danger that the core values of what the festival is supposed to represent gets lost in an attempt to be inclusive and cross cultural.” Even local visitors had issues with the inaugural event. One noted, “Bridging cultural ties is important, but it was awkward switching the mind and mood from a peppy AR Raman song ‘Jai ho’ to a choral singing of “Halleluyah’.” She added, “By the end of the opening ceremony, everything seemed completely mishmash and totally out of focus from the main theme of the celebration.” “Rather than enabling the people of Nagaland to experience a deep sense of pride and joy, witnessing the colors, talents and promises for greater possibilities, the event made many feel strange and embarrassed,” she stated.
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