In defense of The Naga Blog - The Dimapur Conundrum
Dimapur
and Nagaland have been in the news for all the wrong reasons in the past two
weeks. I was deeply anguished and hurt when I heard of the brutal lynching of a
rape accused on March 5. The news shook me. The pictures and videos that were
shared by people I know were scary, creepy, dark and macabre. Children in school
uniforms as part of the mob that was parading the accused was horrid. This is a
State that boasts of high literacy levels and Christian values which went to
such ghastly levels of violence. It brought back memories of the head hunting
days of the past.
There
have been various versions of the story. Some called it an expression of people’s
fury against the perpetrators of rape – which is a crime worst than murder.
Many in my friends and family circles outside Nagaland justified the mob action
and felt that this is the way to treat such perverted criminals who indulge in
the most gruesome form of violence against women. In the aftermath of the
incident and the media hue and cry over it, the Government of Nagaland has
rightfully launched an enquiry and taken action against the guilty.
However,
what has come as a shock and surprise to me is the reported move to ban Social
Media forums like The Naga Blog FaceBook (FB) group. The Naga Blog FB group was
started in 2008 and I am proud to be amongst one of the first people to join
the group. Today the group has almost 60,000 members and I have seen the way
the group has evolved and the role it is playing in today’s Naga society. It is
a breath of fresh air in the State and the society which has seen too much of
violence, hatred and killings in the past 60 years. At times, there are posts
and comments on the group which smacks of tribalism and even hatred for
communities but by and large the group admins have regulated the FB group in a
fair manner. I commend Yan Kikon, one of the founders of the group to have
played a key role in helping the group and page evolve to what it is today. The
Naga Blog has also spawned the growth of several similar groups in Kohima,
Dimapur and Mokokchung and all of them have given a forum and platform to
people, specially the youth to express themselves and vent out their anger and
anguish to all that is wrong in the present day Naga society.
The
role played by The Naga Blog in the movement against illegal taxation and
extortion in 2013 was commendable. This forum helped people of Dimapur express
themselves in no unclear terms to the militant organizations that people are
fed up of the illegal taxation. In 2012, The Naga Blog launched one of the most
noble initiatives in the form of a Blood Donors list which has almost 14000
members and I know many a people who have got their lives saved cause someone
from this forum donated blood when it was needed the most. The Naga Blog group
also came forward whenever there was a need to collect donations for national
disasters like Sikkim Earthquake in 2011 and even extended help to the administration
and Government for local relief operations in cases of fire and accidents. The
forum also launched innovative campaigns like Mission Potholes in 2012 which
was directed towards bringing attention of the Government to the poor condition
of roads and highways. The Naga Blog volunteers have over the last few years
become the part and parcel of every noble initiative in the State and
volunteers have been in the forefront of almost every social activity. This
group cuts across the tribal and class boundaries and I was very impressed with
the modern tech savvy outlook of this group. This was in stark contrast of the
existing systems in the State which are divided on tribal lines and perpetuates
parochialism and nepotism. This group and members are like a breath of fresh
air in the otherwise polluted and corrupted systems that plague our society.
Given
this background, it pains me to hear reports that The Naga Blog is being blamed
for whatever went wrong in Dimapur. Instead, I was telling a friend of mine on
March 4, that given the strong views being expressed by people on this forum,
the administration and police had their task cut out. It was clear that people
will come on the streets and the District Administration ought to have taken
preventive measures to ensure the security of the District Jail and ensuring
that law and order remains in control. Thus, it’s not fair to blame a Social
Media group for what has been an institutional and Governance failure.
I
would pray and hope that no such action for banning The Naga Blog is taken. I
am sure that the Admins of The Naga Blog page would also ensure that views and
comments that promote hatred and enmity and violence are edited and blocked
from the page. Let’s hope that all in the State work constructively to ensure
return to normalcy and supremacy of law and order.
Abhishek Singh
(Views are Personal)
