Cultivating Fractured Identities and Spaces

(By culture), I mean first of all what the anthropologists mean: the way of life of a particular people living together in one place. That culture is made visible in their arts, in their social system, in their habits and customs; in their religion. But these things added together donot constitute the culture… a culture is more than the assemblage of its arts, customs, and religious beliefs. These things all act upon each other, and fully to understand one you have to understand all.
- T.S. Eliot


To Eliot’s phrase, another element that influences culture can be added: political identity. Identity, especially for an indigenous people, becomes of paramount importance when questions of civilization versus barbarity, globalization versus local polities and self-determination as opposed to being perceived as an inherited property for nation-building, are raised.

In 1993, Samuel Huntington announced in a controversial essay in Foreign Affairs that a new phase of global history had begun. In this, “the fundamental sources of conflict” will not be primarily economic or ideological. “The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural.” Elaborating on this thesis at a later date, he commented that the “major differences in political and economic development among civilizations are clearly rooted in their different cultures,” and “culture and cultural identities are shaping the patterns of cohesion, disintegration, and conflict in the post-Cold War world…In this new world, local politics is the politics of ethnicity; global politics is the politics of civilizations.”

One such case of cultural conflict was observed at a recently concluded cultural event in Kohima, Nagaland. Organised jointly by the Nagaland University (NU) and the Nagaland government, it was a week-long annual convention of the Society for Promotion of Classical Music and Culture Among Youth (SPIC MACAY), under the theme “A celebration of our composite heritage”. The event was marred by controversy from day one with a boycott by the Nagaland University Teachers’ Association (NUTA). The high-profile national convention was reportedly organized with the initiative of K Kannan, the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of NU. The teachers of the University decided not to participate in hosting it as a protest against the autocratic attitude of the VC who did not consult them in the decision-making process. It is alleged that the teachers have had discontent with the VC ever since he took up the job and this boycott is perceived as a culmination of the internal problems in the University.


The teachers felt that the convention did not aptly focus on the cultural and socio-political issues of Nagaland. A member of NUTA said, "If we teachers were part of the SPIC MACAY decision-making process, we would have included more elements of Naga culture in it so that people know about our rich history." He commented that the event was more an imposition of Indian culture rather than a cultural exchange as there were hardly any representation of Naga culture and tradition and such an exchange would not help the visiting delegates in getting a true perspective of Naga society. The University teachers did not want to be individually quoted but were vocal about their sentiments regarding the inappropriate timing of the convention when Nagaland continued to battle a political crisis with incessant clashes among armed opposition groups. Adding a symbolic dimension of alienation, another member of NUTA expressed that customary rituals associated with welcoming an event in Nagaland – such as blowing horns, dancing and offering Naga cuisine – did not happen in this particular cultural event.


Probing further, one realises that the root of the problem is far more complex and deep-reaching. An Indian cultural event with insignificant elements from Nagaland would be seen as an extension of what the Naga peoples would call a part of the “colonial process” that India with all its cultural politics has had to offer in the past six decades. The protest symbolically refers to a whole history of India’s engagement with the Naga peoples where a rich past is often obliterated in the rhetoric of assimilating Nagaland with the Indian mainland. In the inaugural function of the convention, the Chief Guest, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Minister of Development of North Eastern Region and Panchayati Raj, spoke about the state's troubled history and the identities of alienation eloquently, playing straight to the gallery.


Aiyar said that words like ‘alienation’ and ‘neglect’ earlier associated with Nagaland were ‘outdated’ now as Northeastern India has been integrated with the mainland. He spoke of the various tribes in Nagaland and its fascinating geography even as it shared borders with Myanmar (Burma). He made a special mention of Tuensang district and of the houses there where the front gate faced India and the backyard opened to Burma. But nowhere in this rhetoric is mentioned a positive step towards ending the political crisis of Nagaland or the fact that the roads leading to Tuensang and beyond are virtually un-navigable. Travelling a stretch of 85 kilometres from Mokokchung to Tuensang takes nearly six hours on roads that are filled with potholes and signs saying “Roads are a Symbol of National Development”. A visit by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on May 15 to Kohima, during the clashes among the armed opposition groups, can be brought into perspective in this context. Patil conveyed the message in no uncertain terms that law and order is a state subject and that the state government needs to handle the situation with a firm hand. Apart from this, the minister did not deliberate on anything related to the violent events that are a part of the larger political crisis that Nagaland faces.


The peace process with the armed opposition groups and a resolution of the Naga political question face similar ambiguous approaches from the Government of India resulting in a gradual but visible deterioration in the political situation. These are the reasons why after more than five decades of fighting for self-determination, the Nagas still find themselves in a catch-22 situation so far as the Indian State is concerned. Most speakers at the event emphasised on 16 different tribes living in Nagaland ignoring the many more tribes spread over other Naga-inhabited areas who claim a shared political and cultural heritage. These are issues crucial to the political debate associated with Nagaland and policymakers responsible for addressing these conveniently circumvent with rhetoric of development and progress.


For the Nagas, culture is very intricately linked to history, which finds form in their stories, symbols and songs and a mere showcasing of this heritage arguably denies justice to this history and culture. Most people in Nagaland seemed tired of what they call a “repetitive exotification” of their culture. Dolly Kikon, a researcher from Nagaland, has previously commented on this phenomenon where the political culture of indigenous people like the Nagas is criticized as backward-looking and narrow in globalised times. “Culture is being downsized to tourism, Discovery Channel programmes and dance troupes,” she expressed. This misplaced adulation was evident in a colourful showcase of Northeastern ethnic dances that followed the inaugural speeches in the convention: Thangta, Pung Cholam of Manipur, Rikhampada of Arunachal Pradesh, Wangala dance of Meghalaya, a performance by Naga Sumi tribe, Bihu and Conch of Assam, to mention a few. These dances were a riot of colour and intricate jewellery. Each performance was unique in its presentation and form - while a Tripuri dance showcased a balancing act, a Naga war dance reflected the passions of that particular tribe, and the fusion dance of the artists in the end was a vibrant kaleidoscope of Northeastern indigenous cultures. This choreography of cultures, however, was not properly introduced nor was the significance of the war dances established for the understanding of the outsiders.
It is worth mentioning here that some more artists from the region who had come to perform did not get a chance due to the rigid time structure which had slots marked for artists coming from other parts of India.


Despite the NUTA protest, students from other districts of Nagaland came to represent their colleges in the SPIC MACAY convention. Ms Jamir, a student from Mokokchung, said, “We have learnt a lot these few days about different cultures and it has been a good experience. An organisation of international standing like SPIC MACAY coming down to our state is an honour. But the food has not been Naga dishes, which is a disappointment. And there should have been some Naga dances also which I haven’t seen so far.”


Some cultural observers from within the state commenting on the teachers’ protest said that the teachers are trying to ruffle up the University issue and washing their “dirty linen in public”. They welcomed SPIC MACAY’s initiative and hoped that there will be more representation of Northeast culture in SPIC MACAY’s events in other parts of India from now onwards. But one can hardly be optimistic when Naga art and culture isn’t represented adequately in the host state of this year’s convention. The nearly 800 participants from all over India who came for the event left Kohima as ignorant about the culture of Naga peoples as they were when they arrived, let alone politics and history. At the same time, some people expressed the view that six days was too short a time to understand and capture Naga culture and any future cultural event should be conducted for a longer duration of time where participants can learn from Naga artists and craftsmen.


There are arguments and there are arguments. But people feel that it does not undermine the issue of continuous political and cultural alienation and hegemonic approach. One could clearly see the divide here. On the one hand it was the State institutions represented by the organisers, and as a whole representing India and Indian-ness that the Naga peoples have been in conflict with for more than five decades. On the other hand was a protest that symbolically represented resentment against an indifferent attitude of the State with all its agencies and tools towards the aspirations of the peoples of Nagaland. At a time when the desire for peace is evident in the larger voice of Nagaland, this event could have been a symbolic step towards taking cognisance of the political question in Nagaland, if not addressing it directly. Culture can be an essential part of peace-building where cultural exchanges can shape understanding and build tolerance. Being multilayered, culture cannot be classified into a straitjacket of definitions, but by virtue of being inclusive it can be used in various ways to work towards peace.

- Sushmita Kashyap

written sometime in June 2008, after covering an event.
PS- My ideas and thoughts are constantly evolving. I dont agree with certain things I have written here, but I think the essentials are still very relevant.

Postscript.

Between the worlds we straddle, there is always comic relief and some conflict. But what is this peculiar trait of violence seizing everyone's collective imagination at the same time? People hacking each other to death as the psychotic death dance rages through districts, burning houses and scathing deep in collective memories: words cant do much, except perhaps eloquently narrate these gory details. Mostly writing is an elixir, a cognitive process but sometimes it feels like a mockery, of all that still happens in my land and others that you might know of. Sitting on a rooftop in Pondicherry, trying to muse aloud and rephrasing the phrase: "I am not Hamlet, This is not my play anymore", I dont know what triggers mass hysteria and communal hatred like it does right now in a stretch of land that I used to pass everytime I went to see my folks from the mainland.

Even as I write, friends make frenetic phonecalls to friends in Kyrgystan as news of a 6.8 Richter scale earthquake killing 70 people there filter in. And these same friends grapple with the violence unfolding in BTC in Assam, more specifically Udalguri, Darrang and Baksa. A conflict over resources probally and a suspicion of "the other" led to the Bodos and Muslims from Bangladesh hacking ecah other to death. But I did rather not categorise because though identity is very important, peoples lives are so much more that their identities or their mass understandings. A friend deals with the helplessness of his news producer friend being shot dead in the Indian capital with no leads yet to the thrilling "breaking news" story. And he still goes out to the field and reports from Assam, talks to the mob, takes a picture as he witnesses hatreds from totally new angles and dimensions.

And I sit here. I feel helpless and mad in my head. I recite poetries I know, I listen to the muezzin's call, I write post cards and walk all the way down along the canal to my apartment, talking to dogs, children and my alter ego. I try to find some relief in figures and movements and art. But there is no hiding away. One self wants to be back home, to my pa, who spoke to me today saying bittering that his land has no future, the questionmark in his sentence giving away his absolute helpless uncertainity about how his beautiful land and people came to this. Another self wants to go away, as usual, far far away, from this madness and civilisation.

How many madnesses should I deal in one life- within and without? And I aspire to work on areas in Peace and Conflict and another one says, you peaceniks are a bunch of loose jokers. I get angry and I call him arrogant, ignorant even. But I wish I could prove him wrong. I wish I could show him that evil isnt inherent but goodness is. Why does the world prove me wrong everytime?


In solidarity to all the people I know and am yet to know who still havent given up on humanity (sounds like rhetoric to me).