Tell tale signs in list of invitees for Lui-Ngai-Ni Playing politics with festivals
- Sangai Express Editorial :: February 15, 2014 -

The dirty game of politics is clearly manifested in the list of invitees to the Naga seed sowing festival, Lui-Ngai-Ni, scheduled to be held today at Tamenglong district headquarters.

There is nothing wrong in inviting dignitaries from a neighbouring State to attend the festival but when the political leaders and officials of the State are reduced to the status of persona-non-grata at the festival, a festival which has been declared a State festival and a State holiday, then it is dangerously mischievous.

We do not have the invite list with us, but we are given to understand that on top of the invite list is the Chief Minister of Nagaland, Mr Nephiu Rio and a host of other Ministers from the neighbouring State.

It appears that not a single Minister from the State Government has been included in the invite list and this is nothing short of delivering a political statement through the platform of a festival.

This is unacceptable and crosses the mark of decency and goes against the culture of hospitality for which the Naga people are well known.

Fine, Lui-Ngai-Ni is a Naga festival but then so is Kut a festival of a number of communities coming under the Kuki-Chin-Mizo family.

But should this be any reason not to invite dignitaries from the State Government ? The answer lies with the festival organisers, but it is beyond doubt that in drawing up the list of invitees the politics of division or the divide that the Lim demand spawns has gone beyond the political realm and entered other spheres of life.

Unfortunate and at the same time unacceptable.

A festival held in Manipur, a festival for which the Government of Manipur has declared a State holiday but a festival to be held sans the presence of any dignitaries from the side of the State Government would be taking things a little too far.

It would have been magnanimous and a demonstration of maturity that despite the differences in political aspirations, if the Chief Minister of Manipur had been on the invite list as the chief host with the Chief Minister from Nagaland as the chief guest.

It is also important to remember that the Deputy Chief Minister of Manipur is from Tamenglong district, the venue for the Lui-Ngai-Ni festival.

Comes close to a case of casting the long shadow of Nagalim and Alternative Arrangement on a festival which the State Government has declared a State festival and herein lies the tragedy, a tragedy scripted by the spin doctors of the Us and Them doctrine.

A festival should ideally be the time to provide a platform for more people to people contact and sow the seeds of solidarity, a solidarity that the people of the North East region are one and the same.

But then there are bound to be mischief makers at every turn and it is unfortunate to see that the mischief makers seem to have had their way, if the invite list of the festival is anything to go by.

Leaders of the State reduced to the status of persona-non-grata at a festival held in their territory would be taking things a little too far.

The timing too is wrong, extremely wrong.

This is not the time to showcase the internal differences to the outside world when the people of the North East are united against the series of racial attacks, racial taunts and discriminations in the some metros of the country.

It is late but not too late for the festival organisers to have a rethink and review the invite list.

Deliberately ignoring the political leaders and other dignitaries of the State would be a blot on the image of the Naga family, a community which is known for its hospitality.

Let political issues remain within the realm of what is strictly political.

It makes no sense to play politics on the platform of a festival.