Building a new narrative for Nagaland

April 19, 2022 80 Views No Comment

4th CNSA general conference commences in Dimapur

Morung Express News
Dimapur | April 19

Preservation of culture, unity, and building new narratives within the Naga tribes were the key takeaways drummed out of the introductory session of the two-day 4th General Conference of the Central Nagaland Tribes Association (CNSA) held at Agri Expo Complex, Chümoukedima on April 18.

Temjen Imna Along, Minister of Higher Education and Tribal Affairs, as the special guest remarked that the crux of Nagaland today is the division created among the people. He therefore hoped that, “The CNSA speaks boldly, not just for the three tribes but for all the 17 tribes of the state.”

Besides that, he underscored the need towards drawing ‘a better narrative for our people,’ and to be bold enough in underlying what is best for society. He further went on to regret that, “We organise a lot of conferences and consultative meetings but we do not have conclaves that speak about the new narratives of the state.”

He cautioned young minds not to dwell within ‘echo chambers’ that focus solely on one’s own tribe or interests but to build a common prosperity for the whole state and society. He implored upon the CNSA and the young people to create their own Twitter accounts where their voices can be directly heard by the highest offices of the state. “The greatest treasure that you can take away from this conference is to share and exchange stories amongst yourselves that will build unity and cohesion,” he encouraged.

Earlier, S Zhevihe Sumi, Convenor, Organising Committee gave the opening remark of the programme recognising that the participants have gathered “crossing boundaries and divisions to stand by our theme, ‘Beyond Boundaries.’” He highlighted the objective of the CNSA to have ‘meaningful relationship between the three tribes,’ and also to develop better understanding, building trust amongst each other.

NSN Lotha, former President of the NSF spoke on the formation of the CNSA which was first conceptualised during the platinum jubilee celebration of the Kyong Students’ Union. Originally comprising of the Sumi, Ao, Rengma and Lotha tribes under the nomenclature of ‘SARK,’ he explained that the Rengmas came out of that union due to ‘circumstantial compulsions.’

He said that with their departure, it became necessary to reorganise the three tribes under the new, current nomenclature known as the CNSA. “When this association was formed, there were a lot of people who had been misinformed about our intentions,” he said. He nevertheless hoped that at present, all doubts about the association have been cleared.

Mhondamo Ovung, Chairperson of Lotha Hoho gave greetings for all the invitees and guests of the programme. He also gave words of encouragement and suggestions for the young people gathered at the event, saying that imitating the ways of the West should not be at the consequence of one’s own culture.

Furthermore, he stressed on the need to be practical and forward looking in terms of the education that young people receive today. Moreover, he appraised the students not to be too dependent on government welfare schemes and to make the state self-reliant in terms of the products that can be produced locally.

Source: https://www.morungexpress.com/building-a-new-narrative-for-nagaland