Boris Pasternak

Both the above sayings seem to find a staunch and adherent practitioner in Mr Niketu Iralu, a Naga social worker and human resource development practitioner. He believes in letting his actions speak for themselves, giving off of himself all the time. His life is as transparent as anyone’s could be expected to be. “Nothing to prove, nothing to gain and nothing to justify” is his tenet. Soft-spoken, full of humour and mild mannered, he is fearless when it comes to speaking out the truth as he sees it. Sometimes called naïve by his critics, because he has been away from Nagaland and the region for so long, even these same people can find no fault with his methods of means and ends. And they do reserve a healthy respect for him as a person.

Dr Homen Borgohain, intellectual giant of Assam, often also referred to as the “conscience of Assam”, wrote in a two-piece article in “Amar Asom”, the Guwahati based Assamese language newspaper (January 8 and January 10, 2008). “He (Niketu Iralu) is an exceptional man… many such exceptional persons in this world lead a life of absolute silence and hardly seek any publicity. Niketu actually reminds me of Lerie, the main character in Somerset Maugham’s novel, The Razor’s Edge…whoever comes into close contact with him would be amazed by his greatness and each one would be blessed with Lerie’s magnetic influence”.

Assessing Niketu’s works, Dr Borgohain continued, “Overcoming all barriers of nationalities, religions, languages and geo-political divides, he spread messages of truth and triumphs of humanism. At the same time he has embarked on a journey to usher in hope and moral strength among his own people when the Nagas are experiencing grave political and moral crises. At this critical juncture, he is endeavouring to spread the message of hope and to rebuild trust among them. In a sense… he is extending moral leadership to the Nagas”.

Born to Dr Sevilie Iralu, the 3rd Naga to become a doctor, and Mrs Vituno Iralu, elder sister of Mr A Z Phizo, Niketu was one of 13 children. As Dr Sevilie was posted to all manner of places in Nagaland, the family too moved with him and, in the process got first hand experience with different Naga tribes. The family also faced grave hardships because Indian Government officials were suspicious of the family due to their relationship with Phizo. Dr Sevilie, a totally apolitical person, was even imprisoned in Tezpur for a year. A humorous person, Dr Sevilie, who suffered from a permanent limp due to childhood polio, joked, “What kind of a threat am I to India?!” Today, their family is one of the most illustrious ones in Nagaland.

Meanwhile, after completing his Pre-University in Shillong, Niketu went to study in Madras Christian College. It was while he was here that he came across people from Moral Re-Armament (MRA – now re-christened Initiatives of Change or IoC). For the uninitiated, the forte of MRA/ IoC’s work seems to be the awakening of the moral and spiritual urges in people and they seem to be specialists in the areas of reconciliation and conflict resolution. Like Mahatma Gandhi, they have a deep belief in the Inner Voice.

Niketu Iralu was told by his new MRA friends that if he wanted change in society, it should start with him. He decided to experiment with the idea. Painful restitutions followed. But he found the concept so ‘revolutionary’ that he decided to join the group in 1957, abandoning his college studies. A long and torturous pilgrimage “in search of doing the will of God” followed across five continents and many, many countries. It also brought him in contact with his wife, Christine Iralu, an Anglo-Indian lady from then Bombay.

After 40 years of working abroad and in India, Niketu and his family decided to come back to North East India in 1995. At this time, the family of late Stanley Nichols-Roy, former Meghalaya Minister for Industries and one of the key players in the non-violent creation of the hill State, was planning to move to the USA. They generously offered the use of their beautiful home, in Shillong, to the Iralus. From this place, “Whispering Pines”, the Iralus launched out to not only the entire region but to various parts of India and the world as well – Niketu was director of MRA in India and is still a Holding Trustee and until recently a member of the Switzerland-based International Council.

After his return to North East India, while Niketu made himself available to anyone from anywhere, he also concentrated in doing something for his Naga people. This is a dicey area because in social work there is always team and cooperative efforts of several/many people. But the following areas may be safely attributed to him as having made significant contributions.

1. One of the things that Niketu found very painful in Naga society was the problem of widespread drug and alcohol addiction. He saw what usually happened to the family. And he became convinced that something had to be done. He got in touch with the Bombay based Kripa Foundation and linked the organization with the Naga Mothers’ Association (NMA) which was very concerned about the problem of addiction. The result was that a rehabilitation center was set up at Zubza (Secü) and Niketu found himself as its first director while his family was still based in Maharashtra. He stayed there for about six months till more urgent considerations, and repeated requests from friends, forced him to leave. The addiction problem has not stopped but awareness and education, the first steps in tackling a problem, have been launched.

2. The entrenched Naga Issue – often referred to as the longest remaining unsolved armed conflict situation in the world – and continuous killings in Naga Society, has always people who want and are willing to do something about it. Given his background, and the trust that most Nagas who know him as a person have in him, it was not surprising that Niketu found himself in the thick of things. He says that “fears and hopes for tomorrow” moved him to action. Let me categorize these under sub-heads for readers’ clarity.

a) Khonoma Village, from where Niketu comes, has been instrumental in launching ‘anti-imperialist’ movements and also for spearheading the Naga Struggle for Independence. Niketu’s own maternal uncle, A Z Phizo, has been recognized as “the father of the Naga Nation” by the Nagas. What was less known was that due to internal differences, the fabric of village society was torn asunder. Recognizing this, Niketu consulted with the elders of the village and initiated a reconciliation process. The younger generations told their elders, “We want to be fellow villagers again. So, ‘give us our future’ and do not continue to keep the hurdles of the past going” 23 cases of intra-village wounded/killings have already been reconciled.

b) Following the 1997 Ceasefire Agreement between the Government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim – IM (NSCN-IM), and, later, in 2001, when the Ceasefire was extended to Naga inhabited areas, perhaps in keeping with the Ceasefire of 1964, Manipur literally went up in flames, protesting the extension. Other neighbouring communities were troubled and the Nagas, especially those in Manipur, felt a sense of apprehension. The Naga Hoho, the highest Naga Body, called consultative meetings of all the tribe hohosand other frontal organizations like the Naga Mothers Association, Naga Students Federation, etc in Kohima, in July and August 2001. The different church organizations were also invited. In the meeting, it was decided to set up a Committee with the following mandates:-

i) To carry forward internal reconciliation among Nagas
ii) To reach out to neighbouring States/communities and renew friendships.
Niketu was unanimously nominated Convener of this Committee consisting of 21 members representing different tribes. A plan of action was drawn up for intra-Naga reconciliation as well as to reach out to neighbouring communities.

i.) Considering the immediacy of the problem at the time, the Committee decided that reaching out to neighbours was the immediate need. The Committee felt that given the charged situation in Manipur, and also the history of Naga-Assamese relationship, they should first go to Assam. Hosted by the Assam Sahitya Sabha, the Naga Goodwill Visit to Assam took place from 6-8 of September, 2001, under the leadership of the Naga Hoho President, M. Vero, and Niketu Iralu, as convener of the Naga Reconciliation Committee. All political parties of Assam, including the proscribed United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) welcomed the visit. The Chief Minister of Assam, Mr. Tarun Gogoi, cancelled his own election programme to stay back in Guwahati to receive the Naga delegation. The spontaneity, goodwill and warm-heartedness from all sections of Assam society simply stunned the Naga delegation.

Efforts were made to reach out to the Meitei Community in Manipur and others, but it was unfortunate that these did not materialize at the time.

ii) In keeping with the “internal reconciliation” mandate, the Reconciliation Committee organized a Combined Naga National Reconciliation Function at the Kohima Football Ground, on December 20, 2001. Over 35 Naga tribe and sub-tribe representatives, the biggest ever Naga representation at one event, besides different Church bodies and mass-based Naga organizations, and representatives of the Naga factions took part. 132 Naga leaders signed a Pledge to bring the needed changes through practical steps of restitution “to make healing lasting”. The event was widely covered in the national media and discussions were held by NE experts, including on BBC TV and Radio.

iii) Things were set in motion to bring the different factions to sit across the table. Alas, this could not take place as scheduled because one of the factions killed the leader of another faction, within the ‘perimeter’ of the proposed venue. A later effort did not yield the desired result because the earlier momentum could not be recaptured.
3. Later, in 2004, the Naga Hoho and the Nagaland Christian Forum, representing the different denominations, once again appointed a seven member Naga National Reconciliation Commission with Niketu as chairman to carry forward the reconciliation work. The Commission however was compelled to resign en mass due to certain objections from a particular faction.

Even after all these, Niketu continues, in his own capacity, to make efforts to bring understanding between people and to heal their relationships. Always traveling by public transport although in his 70s he keeps reaching out to different communities in the region. For instance, a dialogue-conference he organized not so long ago in Guwahati was titled “Beyond Blame to Responsibility” which pooled together people from most states in the region. Many also came from the mainland and from as far away as the west coast of India. He also keeps reaching out to the world. For instance, he has just returned from the UK after giving an address at the University of Liverpool Hope University.

About a year ago, Niketu and his family decided to return to Nagaland. In a spontaneous effort, recognizing his services to the community and society, some Angami (the tribe to which Niketu belongs) elders spontaneously raised a sizeable initial amount to help him in the construction of his home.

The role and contributions of people like Niketu ought to be seen in the backdrop of the North East, a region full of wounded and hurting communities. At the same time world events are moving at an ever accelerating pace, and fast-forwarding the “needs” of the region, giving no time for anyone to nurse their wounds or ‘digest’ the events. The combination – even without adding the “insurgency ingredient” which is literally life-threatening at all times – is lethal because it adds to all the confusion that is going on all the time.

According to some anthropologists, North East India has over 400 ethnic groups with all kinds of races, religions etc – it is a real biodiversity hotspot, it seems, both for the animal and plant kingdoms as well as in regard to Homo sapiens.
How will the peoples of the North East prepare their communities and the region to adequately face and respond to the challenges before them and those that are surely in the pipeline? The question may either end in the despair of the peoples of the region or it could give hope to humanity.