In a bid to solve the impasse over the Rani Gaidinliu museum, Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang has said that the people of the State need not fear as the museum will not be used to promote or propagate any religion that is alien to the Nagas.
Zeliang held a meeting with the elected legislators from Kohima district, Parliamentary Secretaries and the representatives of the Kohima Village Council and Angami Public Organisation and appealed to all concerned to find an amicable solution to the imbroglio.
The construction of the museum named after Rani Gaidinliu came to a halt after several organisations, including the Angami Public Organisation, opposed its construction blaming Rani Gaidinliu for opposed the Naga Nationalist Council (NNC) between 1960 and 1966 and killing several NNC functionaries. The groups said that she had not contributed anything to the Nagas as a whole.
“It (the museum) will be managed by the Department of Arts & Culture. We need not fear that it will be used to promote or propagate any religion that is alien to the Nagas,” the CM said.
“During the reign of my father, every villager was a follower of Heraka and my father was kicked out of the village for deciding to convert to Christianity. We had to leave our ancestral village and live in a Kuki village. But over the years my villagers have slowly adopted Christianity while the last Heraka follower was converted to Christianity last June,” Zeliang said.
Rani Gaidinliu was a Naga spiritual and political leader who led a revolt against British rule in India. She joined the Heraka religious movement of her cousin Haipou Jadonang which later turned into a political movement seeking to drive out the British from Manipur and the surrounding Naga areas. She was arrested in 1932 at the age of 16 and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the British rulers. However, Jawaharlal Nehru met her at Shillong Jail in 1937 and pursued her release and gave her the title of ‘Rani’ and she eventually gained popularity as Rani Gaidinliu. An advocate of the ancestral Naga religious practices, she staunchly resisted the conversion of Nagas to Christianity, which was condemned by many in the predominantly Christian State.
“It may not be wise to dig up the past and say that Heraka followers had killed NNC functionaries because many Heraka followers were also killed by the group’s cadres,” the Chief Minister said.
Zeliang said that Rani Gaidinliu was given the status of a Minister of State and a bungalow was allotted to her by the Government of Nagaland and other facilities. “I wish a compromise
can be worked out in a reasonable manner,” the CM said, adding that he was still keeping room for discussion and expected that the APO too would soften its stand in due course of time.