Thatched House

A local and a tourist may be both interested in a place but it may be for very different reasons. A case in point is a commentary that this newspaper carried ‘Hornbill: The Grand Illusion’ written by a local, and a response called ‘A reader’s response’ by a tourist. One difference between a local and a tourist is that if the later does not like the place, he can pack and leave and never come again. But a local does not have that liberty because the place is his home and that is where he belongs. A tourist does not need to have any connection to the place. But not so for the local, everything that happens in the place affects him.    The tourist here was not interested in the context. He was only interested in what he experienced during the 10 days festival period. It doesn’t concern him what lies behind or beneath the spectacle of Hornbill festival. But for the local, context matters and he spoke in the context of lived reality. He had the ability to connect the dots an...

The title seems like a no-brainer that the existence of gender inequality in Nagaland should be put into question. But surprisingly many males including educated people in leadership positions hold the view that there is no gender discrimination in Nagaland. Therefore, before going into enumerating or highlighting the degree of gender discrimination, it may be worth looking at the debate on the existence of gender inequality itself. We hear it from the pulpit or elsewhere which goes something like this: Once upon a time, there was gender inequality when Nagas practiced headhunting. There were battles between villages/tribes and therefore male warriors and boys were regarded over women and girls. Due to customary practices and the traditional way of life, men occupied all the leadership positions. But with the coming of Christianity and modern education, there is no more gender inequality. Girls are doing really well in studies and are beating boys in exams. Women are becoming ...

The severest criticism of Hornbill Festival is perhaps not in the things which happen during the 10 days festival period but in what ‘does not happen’ during the remaining 355 days of the year. Nagas celebrate many festivals and many of them are related to work. For example, there are sowing and harvest festivals. Sowing festival is celebrated because there is sowing, and harvest festival is celebrated for harvest. But if sowing or harvest festival is celebrated without sowing or harvesting, something is wrong. If the State carries out cosmetic works on the eve of Hornbill Festival, it is unlikely that people who suffer throughout the year for its inactions will suddenly cheer up on December 1, forget everything and join in the festivities. Nagaland needs to work much harder to deserve to celebrate the festival of festivals. We do not want to travel in roads painted black or splashed with water to avoid dust during Hornbill, we want the real stuff and we want it all through the ...