Newmai News Network
Dimapur: The Rising People’s Party (RPP), a political party based in Nagaland, was irked by certain campaigns against dog meat eating by an organization.
“To eat or not to eat dog meat is a personal choice,” the RPP said in a statement today.
The RPP then said, “When home minister Amit Shah proposed to impose his ideology of a beef ban in India, many communities stridently opposed the move, and it was shelved.”
Also Read | Guahati HC Kohima Bench reserves Nagaland govt’s ban on Dog Meat
Nagas eating dog meat is part of our cultural heritage, and it is nothing to be ashamed of, the Nagaland-based party also said.
JH Hutton, the anthropologist and British Raj Administrator in the then Naga Hills of Assam in his seminal books extensively documented dog eating habits among the Nagas, it pointed out. “The fact of the matter is most Nagas eat dog meat and so if our state has earned the sobriquet, ‘The land of dog meat eaters,’ so be it,” the RPP also stated.
Also Read | Nagaland to host Northeast India Youth Leaders Conclave
The statement of the RPP then said, “Today, many self-styled organisations particularly the Maneka Gandhi-led People for Animals want to stamp their ideology upon the Naga people. The People for Animals, Nagaland Chapter, should realize that whether it’s a beef or dog ban, such agendas are part of the greater ideological battle in India’s political and cultural landscape, and they should stop being pawns and puppets,” the RPP further said.
“Today, gullible Nagas leading People for Animals, Nagaland Chapter, desperately want to ban dog meat in the state not realizing the insidious agenda of their masters in Delhi – people who profess to be ‘clean/unpolluted’ and ‘veg’ with their stated goal of ‘purifying’ or ‘cleansing’ Naga tribals and other minorities of their ‘impurity,” the RPP further added.
Also Read | Ten injured one killed in fresh violence in Manipur; CoTU says 5 of its members missing
The RPP then reminded the Naga people that this issue is not a small matter. “It is part of the larger ‘One Nation, One Culture’ agenda to ‘Sanskritize’ all the minority peoples and cultures within Bharat,” the RPP also said.
“Instead of approaching the courts, the Rising People’s Party dares the People for Animals, Nagaland Chapter, to lobby Maneka Gandhi in passing legislation in the Indian Parliament,” it further said, while adding, “While the RPP is focused on good governance, the bigger picture of ‘identity politics’ is too dangerous to be ignored.”
Also Read | Indigenous Tribal Leaders Accuse Central Government of Inaction in Manipur Ethnic Conflict
This is not a Ukhrul Times publication. UT is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse its content. Any reports or views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of Ukhrul Times.