Traditional musings

In a recent incident in Dimapur, a Gaon Burrah (GB) of New Market was rescued by Dimapur police, after he was abducted purportedly by cadre members of NSCN(I-M) for allegedly cheating some Nagas in a land deal at Khatkhati (Karbi Anglong, Assam). While reacting to police reports published in the media, that the GB, Abdul Khayum Taukdar was rescued while being abducted by NSCN(I-M); the latter said it was not a case of abduction but cheating of several Nagas who bought land at Khatkhati by Talukdar, a bona fide resident of Khatkhati. The story was then picked up by the Rising People’s Party (RPP) which questioned the government for appointing a ‘mian’ as GB of New Market Dimapur. For the curious, Mian is a Persian term that literally means ‘Sir’ (by other definitions landlord, master etc). It is believed to be largely used in Bangladesh by the minority Hindus who respectfully address landed muslims with ‘mian’ in the light of the land holdings of the generally landed gentry from the majority community there. The RPP pointed that the a GB is a reputed post as a chief of a village under tribal customary tradition and that appointment of Talukdar as GB was an insult to the Nagas and their customary traditions. The argument made by the RPP is relevant since the very nomenclature of GB is to uphold Naga customary laws and practices. Also GBs were appointed by the British to be their chief agent or village chief from any of the recognised tribes of Nagaland. This issue also opens up a Pandora box with regard to Dimapur district. Since GBs are supposed to be village chiefs of their respective Naga communities within their traditional and ancestral domain to assist the government in carrying out Naga customary laws and practices. Evidently, there are GBs of various tribes, including those who are not indigenous to Nagaland state. With regard to the GB of New Market, besides being a ‘mian’, Talukdar’s area is New Market area, which is not a village. Just because New Market area in Dimapur has a sizeable number of inhabitants, can this alone justify its transformation into a village and with a GB as head? If this is the yardstick, then it makes a mockery of the institution of GB because any person can also become GB even if he is from a colony whose residents belong to different trading communities and to whom, the institution of GB is alien to their cultures. There is also another GB from a non-Naga community in Dimapur. For the sake of argument, if being a Mian disqualifies one from being a GB; then whether being a non-Mian is itself a qualification for appointment as GB? This issue also raises pertinent questions about the functioning of traditional customs and laws in areas beyond the jurisdiction of traditional lands. In other districts, where tribes are indigenous, there is no debate over inhabitants of such traditional lands, practicing customary laws and traditions. Erstwhile Dimapur sub division became a tribal belt through a government notification issued on November 21,1979. In Dimapur Naga tribes have their socio-cultural organizations to preserve customary traditions. There is debate over how the age-old institution of GB has metamorphosed into a platform that is in need of a review.