When we look at what sustains a community, history proves to be an important resource. It plays an essential role in formulating a collective identity which transcends to eventually create a sense of shared reality—tracing continuity with the past, the present and beyond.
For such a subject which dictates how we remember, how we document, predict outcomes, and construct a narrative, to hold the pen from within the community itself is crucial. Working on such efforts to link Naga political history is recent graduate Vinolen John.
John, who was one of the two students in the humanities receiving the National Overseas Scholarship offered by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, completed his MPhil in History, focusing on Naga political history, especially during the period of decolonization and transition to independence, from Cambridge University this July.
He is currently working on a historical biography on the Nagas while simultaneously documenting both oral histories and written work for archival purposes. He has also been offered the opportunity to continue his studies towards a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at Cambridge.
For John, this interest in history began during his time as an executive council member in the Northeast Society of St. Stephen’s College, where it was initially driven by curiosity and efforts to understand the origins and roots of his community. These efforts eventually led him to “blank spaces”, creating an important space for research.
“I have been very interested in reading about how the Nagas came to be where we are today. Naturally, as I went deeper into the subject, I realized a lot of blank spaces and discrepancies, of which there are many, considering the fact that we are a people with a relatively young written history and also because our people do not have the culture of questioning and enquiring about events of the past,” Vinolen recalls.
In the history of the Nagas, what remains pivotal to this day is the Naga National Movement. Yet despite its significance, Vinolen noticed poor documentation of the movement during the period of transition and decolonization.
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“Perhaps it is because the solution to this movement still evades us today and most people are skeptical to ask questions with regard to its origins and evolution, however, that does not take away from its importance,” he suggests.
John considers the prevalence of these blank spaces as a responsibility that each Naga individual ought to consider, “It is our responsibility to pass down truths to generations to come, we cannot be selfish and have the ‘we want nothing to do with it’ attitude.”
He reminds the Nagas that only through reading and understanding the political movement, and the dreams and aspirations of the pioneering leaders, can appreciation and pride arise for the people and the place it holds in history.
As for the documenting and archival process, John says that, considering the limitations, the search for resources itself is half the task. Tracing back to India before independence, where only a handful of educated Nagas existed, he found that even the earliest works of literature produced by Naga pioneers were translations of chapters of the Bible—pages that, as he described it, stand in for an entire missing body of writing the community never got the chance to produce on its own terms.
“Post India’s independence, we were shortly thrust into a war for sovereignty where to expect our forebearers to take the responsibility to be recording history at a time such as that is in itself foolhardy,” John adds.
Proper historical works have only come about in recent times, he says, through retired army generals, journalists, Naga veterans themselves, and professional scholars.
“Historians are expected to objectively record and document the past, but to what extent is this objectivity actually possible?” I asked.
“In the end, one cannot completely control anyone writing history,” he replied. “In a lot of cases, though history is written, the historian themselves leave a bit of themselves in the art they create. It is only human nature to be able to see only a part of the whole, that cannot be changed.”
During his efforts to piece together events of Naga history, John also encountered sketchy bits—conflicting pieces of information that create a divergence between oral traditions and contemporary groups who trace their roots to the very legitimacy of history. During such apparent grey zones, he emphasized, every historian ought to proceed with sensitivity and an open mind.
On being asked how those of us who are not historians can verify what we consume and believe, John said, “It is only through thorough and effective questioning that we can come to conclusive truths. In the Naga context, due to the circumstances I mentioned earlier, opportunities have already been lost. However, the next generation can still come to more concrete truths about our history.”
“Discrepancies will always exist, and in a way they should be allowed to exist—a typical representation of Hegel’s dialectics, where a thesis will be challenged by an antithesis,” John added.
Considering the time and effort research takes, the curiosity to look into one’s history may not always be there. But John highlights a significant point: “There are multiple written resources lying in libraries and archives abroad which are extremely well maintained, organized and curated, with huge databases now being digitized.”
Turning back to his own people, he says, “We have to take the initiative from here and explore stories of our histories that are available to us, to, in a way, reclaim our history.”
As one of the few Naga recipients to receive a scholarship through the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, John encourages the youth to seize such opportunities.
“It is quite nice to see a lot of scholarships, fellowships and other funding opportunities being available nowadays. Our people simply need to explore these possibilities and grasp them.”
“When it comes to academics, the main goal should be the desire to contribute. What elite institutions value is the desire to contribute to advancing that particular field and innovate creativity—however, the goal should be contribution as opposed to gathering flashy credentials.”
John’s efforts to document Naga history ultimately extend beyond the work of an individual historian. Throughout the Naga community’s political history, the presence of contestation and conflicts has always been prevalent—from resistance to colonial powers and armed insurgency against the State to ethnic clashes. Even at present, the community is faced with an ongoing conflict with the Kuki community.
This reiterates John’s cause of documenting, not just as a means to define who we are, but to learn from and accept our mistakes. Differences and conflicting beliefs may arise, but such spaces are where dialogue occurs, influencing social change and efforts to prevent an undesirable future.
