By Matters India Reporter
Dimapur: Bishop James Thoppil of Kohima has appealed for restrain and calm in the trouble-torn northeastern Indian state of Nagaland.
In a statement from the Bishop’s House on February 3, the prelate said the Church is pained to hear the events happening in Nagaland, particularly in Kohima, the state capital.
The prelate’s appeal came a day after mobs torched more than 50-year old complex that housed the office of the Kohima Municipal Council. They also torched the office of the Directorate of Transport, ransacked other government buildings and burned cars. The government has imposed curfew in many places in the state.
What triggered the protest was the decision of Nagaland’s Democratic Alliance government to go ahead with the municipal elections, reserving 33 percent seats for women.
The tribal people claim the move violates their constitutional rights. The Article 371(A) of the Indian Constitution allows them to follow their traditional laws, which do not give women any political right. The groups say that women are free to contest elections, but should not be given any quota.
The protestors have demanded Chief Minister T R Zeliang and his cabinet to resign and action against policemen involved in the firing that killed two persons in Dimapur, the state’s commercial capital.
Bishop Thoppil is away in Bhopal, capital of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, attending the 29th plenary assembly of the Conference of Catholic Bishops’ India, the national body of the country’s Latin rite bishops.
Kohima diocese covers entire Nagaland, one of the three Christian-majority states in northeastern India.
The bishop’s appeal notes that things in the state seem to grow out of control despite “the best efforts of the leadership at the various levels.”
Bishop Thoppil further stated: “In most difficult and problematic situation we need the grace and power of God to discern and decide what is best for our people. There are no problems which cannot find solutions and no solutions beyond human effort, if only every stake holder sits down in calmness desiring to find the best solution with the discerning power of the Holy Spirit. As Christians we all know that violence breeds violence.”
“Unless the Lord builds the house do the laborer labors in vain” (Ps 127:1). As Christians we must subject ourselves to the rule and reign of God, who wants peace and prosperity for His people, which comes only when we follow God and his precepts, he added.
The Bishop further asked all people to abjure all forms of violence in the name of God.
“Let not emotions, very natural and legitimate, take control over our reasons. St. Paul tells us clearly, “many things are lawful and not all things helpful (I Cor 10:29). Let us at the moment cultivate and cherish an atmosphere of calmness and patience, discussion and dialogue, sharing and caring, give and take always keeping mind the common goal of progress that benefit the future of our people. Let us remain united and resolve our difference in true Christian spirit of love and reconciliation,” he added.
Although more than 90 percent of Nagaland’s 2.25 million people are Christians, Catholics are only around 60,000. However, the Catholic bishop wields great influence in the state.
Violence erupted in Nagaland after the government on January 28 decided to push ahead with the elections after an order from the Guwahati High Court turned down the tribal groups’ demand to defer them. The elections, the government announced, would be held in 12 of the state’s 32 municipal bodies.
However, on February 2 the government decided to cancel elections held so far and transfer police officers responsible for Dimapur.
Agreeing partially to the demands, Zeliang informed Neinguvoto Krose, president of the Angami Youth Organization, the chief minister said his government had decided to declare the elections currently underway as null and void and transfer two top police officers of Dimapur. He said this was done to facilitate an impartial judicial inquiry he had ordered into the firing.
The chief minister also appealed the protesters to complete the funeral rites of “the dear departed souls.”
However, he ignored the protesters’ demand for the resignation of his cabinet. His refusal had earlier provoked the protesters, who then demanded state Governor P B Arya to talk to them. However, the governor was in Itanagar, capital of neighboring Arunachal Pradesh.
On February 1, elections to 15 of the 32 civic bodies in Nagaland were conducted amid curfew and protests. The state election commission postponed elections in eight towns owing to the trouble.
The Nagaland cabinet has decided to set up a judicial inquiry commission to probe the incidents in Dimapur and Longleng and to pay immediate relief to the victims, the chief minister’s office said.
Federal Home Minister Rajnath Singh telephones Zeliang to enquire about the law-and-order situation and backed him for holding the polls.
Altogether 36 women’s rights activists representing Northeast NGOs have called for public support to allow 33 percent reservation in urban local bodies to increase women’s participation in the decision-making process.
“The step taken by the Nagaland government would go a long way in empowering women and increasing their participation in the decision-making process,” Binalakshmi Nepram, founder of Manipur Women Gun Survivor Network and secretary-general of Control Arms Foundation of India, said. They expressed concern that there were a negligible number of women MLAs in the northeastern states.