Intro : Nagaland Baptist Council of Churches (NBCC) has come out openly opposing the Rani Gaidinliu Museum cum Library in Kohima.
NBCC has instigated several individual writers, Church sponsored NGOs and Civil Organisations and Church funded top ranking power hungry political leaders restless for snatching political throne, to oppose its construction as a ploy. As a result, Kohima Village Youth Organisation has stopped the construction of the Museum.
On October 12, 2008, Neiphiu Rio, then Chief Minister of Nagaland was Chief Guest in Silver Jubilee Celebration program of Zeliangrong Heraka School Tening. TR Zeliang, then Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Veterinary and Animals Husbandry and Forest and Wild Life (now Chief Minister of Nagaland) was Guest of Honor. While speaking as Chief Guest, Neiphiu Rio announced that Rani Gaidinliu Museum and Library would be established in Kohima with a cost of rupees ten crores. He said that the state Government would contribute rupees one crore as state share while Doner Ministry would be approached to contribute rupees nine crore for completion of work. Accordingly, money was sanctioned and Neiphiu Rio allotted the construction work of this Museum to his man. Today almost 80 per cent construction work has been completed. Only the electric wiring and white washing are left.
From this January onwards and more so after commemoration program of Birth Centenary Celebration of Rani Gaidinliu under the aegis of National Implementation Committee on August 24 in Vigyan Bhawan wherein Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Chief Guest, the NBCC is spearheading the movement opposing Rani Gaidinliu Museum in Kohima. Here, the Nagaland Government has constructed a Phizo Memorial just in front of Nagaland Central Secretariat who was a secessionist leader heading disgraced NNC. There are several statues of Jesus Christ, Marry, Don Bosco, St.Francis, St. Joseph, St. Xavier and Mother Teresa. They all are foreigners and destroyers of cultural identity of Nagas, their eternal religion and traditions. But neither any Naga secessionist organisation nor Church nor their patrons opposed it. Now they are leading resistance movement this time against construction of Rani Gaidinliu Museum because she was a National Freedom Fighter of unique identity and a devout promoter of eternal religion and culture of Nagas. She fought against NNC and other secessionist forces funded by foreign agencies.
Earlier in 1984, then Chief Minister SC Jamir had installed the life size standing marble statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the tri-junction near indoor stadium in Police Reserve area on way to Raj Bhawan but Naga Students Federation (NSF) had beheaded the said statue of Mahatma Gandhi within a fortnight of installation and left a note on a chit that no Bharatiya leader was welcome in Nagaland. No action was taken against the culprit that time. Today, similar movement is being instigated by Church sponsored NGOs and Public Organisations against Rani Gaidinliu Museum and her proposed statue.
For last several months, these hostile forces have been successful in instigating individual writers and shadow Civil Organisations to vomit venom in local media against Padma Bhushan Rani Gaidinliu, her Heraka religion and her Heraka followers. The Herakas are being hunted out by ever gazing Christian missionaries. Some of the virulent propagandists have described her as a witch, cannibal and human blood sucker. They have also described her as Bharatiya Freedom Fighter and not a Naga Freedom Fighter who killed several Naga National Council (NNC) terrorists. They are condemning and cursing Heraka religion and Heraka followers. Today Heraka community is targeted and humiliated. Even a Heraka Mandir was demolished on 1st day of September this year in Mbaupungwa – the village of present Chief Minister. This demolition of Heraka Mandir was intentionally done by a group of villagers opposed to TR Zeliang with a mala fide intention of defaming and maligning him in the eyes of Delhi. Still the reconstruction of Mandir has not yet started and the Heraka leaders are agitated and worried.
Jagdamba Mall (The writer is an expert on North-East
affairs based in Guwahati)
