Chümoukedima | February 24 — Veteran Naga leader and peace advocate Niketu Iralu on Tuesday urged young people to take personal responsibility for building a peaceful and just society, warning that leaving everything to others risks pushing communities “into a black hole of our own creation.” Speaking at an interactive dialogue at Lorin Hall, Tetso College after a screening of a documentary on his life organised by TakeOne production house, Iralu said the future does not rest with elected representatives alone but with ordinary citizens willing to live ethically and courageously.
Rejecting a tendency to shift blame to lawmakers, he said, “We cannot say the 60 MLAs will solve our problems. If we leave everything to others and live irresponsibly, society becomes impossible. That is bankruptcy of thought and mind.” He added that without each person claiming responsibility “the burdens we are creating become too dangerous. We are sliding down the black hole of our own making.”
The discussion turned introspective when a participant cited Paul Hathaway’s From Headhunters to Church Blunders and asked how oppressed societies can avoid becoming oppressors. Acknowledging the painful history of the Nagas, Iralu said transformation must begin within. “Pray about your worries, anger, hopes and dreams,” he advised. “But then go further and ask — is there anything you expect me to do? And then dare to obey it.” Quoting Richard Rohr, he warned that “hurts not transformed are always transferred,” and said unaddressed cruelty and selfishness can make victims into worse oppressors.
On faith and dialogue, Iralu responded to concerns that Biblical framing by elders might overshadow indigenous Naga values. Drawing on decades of engagement across India, including work with Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis in cities such as Mumbai and Kolkata, he said trust — not theological superiority — is the foundation of meaningful conversation. “When I am really honest about where I was wrong, where I was selfish… they immediately understand. They can trust me,” he said, adding that honest admissions by others build the same trust.
Asked what viewers should take from the documentary, Iralu described it as a continuing journey shaped by “the still small voice,” not a claim to moral superiority. He urged harmony between logic and conscience, with mind, heart, conscience and soul all functioning together.
Expressing his chief worry for Naga society, Iralu pointed to complacency. “We have allowed a smug complacency. Beyond Dimapur, the rest of the world starts. That holiday is over,” he said, warning of bigger challenges ahead. In a digital age dominated by smartphones and constant noise, he called on young people to hear their inner voice and “make these tools our servant, not our master.”
On education, he emphasised historical consciousness, quoting George Orwell: “the most effective way to destroy people is to obliterate their understanding of their own history.” “No people should underestimate their story. Though small we are, we have our story,” he said, adding that concerns about resources, climate change, inequality and artificial intelligence should drive responsibility-focused reform. When asked the one lesson he wished young people to take, he replied simply: “Put things right.” Evoking Mahatma Gandhi, he urged: “Be the change you want to see in the world,” and distinguished moral courage from reckless bravado as the strength to follow what is right even without institutional backing.
Original Source: https://www.morungexpress.com/nagaland-the-burdens-we-are-creating-are-too-dangerous
Category: Nagaland
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Publish Date: 2026-02-24 23:31:00
