Longleng district flourishing on spirit of universal brotherhood: Governor Mukhi

Phom community celebrate 70 years since pledging to end headhunting era

Longleng, June 7 (MExN): The Phom Naga community celebrated ‘Phom Day’ at the Public Ground, Longleng on Monday, marking 70 years since the community pledged to end the headhunting era and begin a new dawn of peace.

On the occasion, Nagaland Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi remarked that the Declaration of June 6, 1952, bears testament that ‘Longleng district is flourishing based on the spirit of universal brotherhood,’ a DIPR report stated.

Governor Mukhi observed that peace was the urgent need of the day as in the present day, with advancement of humanity in money, power and knowledge, the hope of peace becomes dimmer as humans have become victims of their own pride, selfish, opinions and unceasing greed.

The Governor stated that he was deeply inspired to learn that leaders and peace heroes of Longleng persuaded the village elders to shun the evil practice of conflict and took an oath to end the head hunting era with a pledge to be peaceful and loyal to the government.

Asserting that Phom Day should not only be about laying down of arms and spears which now lay buried below the peace monument, he said that it is about ‘laying down of our pride, greed, isms, misunderstandings and prejudice. It is about giving up our superiority over the weak, the poor and the environment at our disposal,’ the DIPR report stated.

The Governor stated that peace cannot be forced but rather understood and accepted by all, and any people having the power to create and destroy should shake off their pride and work for peace. ‘The broken society can only be healed when we stop abusing the power and opportunities we have and start working for sustainable peace alongside sustainable development,’ he added.

Accordingly, he said that India is on a transformational path and that ‘self-reliant India’ is a major initiative taken by the Government of India. India’s quest for self-reliance does not mean isolation but rather it seeks to create capabilities that can help the entire humanity in the true spirit of world as one family, he added.

Stating that he is looking forward to the Platinum Jubilee year which will be held five years from now, Governor Mukhi appealed to the peace loving Phom community to ‘bury their egos, balance of difference and dream a common dream of lasting peace within and with the ecosystem which sustain us.’ He called upon the gathering to join the movement of ushering peace within and beyond with other tribes and states and augment Phom day towards world peace, the DIPR report stated.

Uphold the spirit of oneness
Expressing pride to be a member of the Phom community, Nagaland Minister for Health and Family Welfare S Pangnyu Phom reminded that “every individual is liable to take forward the message of peace and harmony.”

He said that the unanimous decision taken by the Phom forefathers to stop the culture of headhunting, shun violence and proclaim peaceful existence and calm environment came during the darkest period in Phom History. He expressed gratitude to the forefathers “for having a dream for their offspring that is us, the fortunate generation.”

Minister Pangnyu underlined that the “present-day generation and upcoming generation must continue to uphold the spirit of oneness, belongingness and above all the love, among each other in all walks of life,” by using this day as inspiration.

“In today’s scenario, where we see a downfall and divided Naga in many aspects, I call upon the Phom Day Commission to lead the front to formulate and make a holistic strategy to educate the minds of our people for coming to an understanding and finding an amicable solution to the fractured Naga society,” he said. The day has come for our people to play an important role by initiating a Peace Process Mission by citing Phom Day as a living example that has enabled us to see the brighter world and most significantly, emulated unity and victory in our land, he added.

Calling on the Phom community to channel of blessings to all fellow Nagas, he posed a challenge before the young intellectuals and the student community to initiate research on Phom Day and “make our land an institution of ‘Peace Research Centre’ to the state and beyond.”

Earlier, a speech on ‘peace with environment’ was also delivered by Nagaland Principal Chief Conservator of Forest & Head of Forest Force Dharmendra Prakash while MLA and District Planning Development and Planning Board Chairperson BS Nganlang, KTU President, USLP President, and Deputy Commissioner of Sivsagar, Assam also addressed the gathering.

Various activities including a traditional welcome for the Governor and his wife, singing of the national anthem and Phom Day anthem, march-past, peace folk dances, presentation of NI Jamir Accademic Award and Phom Day Award, affirmation and aeaffirmation of Phom Day Pledge, as well as exhibition stalls and peace promoting games were part of the day-long celebration.

Source: https://morungexpress.com/longleng-district-flourishing-on-spirit-of-universal-brotherhood-governor-mukhi