Indian army works to befriend Naga Christian village

The Naga Baptist Christians of Oting village in India’s Nagaland state, not far from the international border with Myanmar, are now trying to come out of the worst period of darkness in their life.

Their village had courted ill fate and controversy on Dec. 4, 2021, when a botched-up military operation killed 14 coal mine workers, mistaking them for militants.

Ever since the army paratroopers killed the villagers, the angry villagers declared "non-cooperation" with the federal government and security forces.

However, the call for a "boycott" of Indian security forces by an influential local body, the Public Organisation, was withdrawn in April 2022, four months later, signaling attempts to patch up.

"The anger is still there, but we have decided to move on. I also tell visitors and my villagers, that it's good to forget the bad phase,” says a 68-year-old resident.

The Assam Rifles is a paramilitary force under the federal Home Ministry but its operational works are supervised by top Indian army generals.

"We have heard the night is the darkest before a bright dawn. We have passed through the darkness, and now waiting for the morning... But a lot of things were said and as you know seeing is believing," remarked Nahpo Konyak, a retired schoolmaster.

Konyak’s son Tingshen has been rendered handicapped in the gory incident. However, Indian army officials ensured that Tingshen got quality treatment and recently moved him to nearby Guwahati city in Assam and fitted him with a prosthetic arm.

"The agony is far from over,” says the 37-year-old Tingshen.

"Assam Rifles took corrective steps for the crime done by paratroopers. Nobody in the village was initially willing to talk to any personnel or officers from Indian forces. But life has to move on,” Tingshen said.

“We are on talking terms today. The army has built wells and roads now and even a football stadium. The force is now helping people," said Tingshen.

Soldiers now go around the village. Children greet them affectionately, wave hands, and even crack jokes in Hindi, the national language that the army uses.

A Nagaland government officer said the army and the central government have “done a lot of good work. A good all-season road and effective water supply will help the villagers," he said.

"Now, our focus should be on children's education, life, and career. We have to continue cooperating with the Assam Rifles," said Konyak.

Official sources say the Assam Rifles have taken up various works, including constructing two reinforced concrete cement reservoirs of 150,000 liters. Similar development works were also planned for 2023-24 as well.

Local people say the development projects are probably insufficient to bridge the gap created by 2021's botched operation.

A villager said that the Assam Rifles choir has befriended locals and even performed during a Sunday service. A few Assam Rifles personnel performed at the church and locals congratulated them, he said.

Nevertheless, local Nagas still have their complaints and apprehensions. Several young people said the Armed Forces Special Power Act, which gives excess power to the army, is a draconian law and should be withdrawn from all civilian areas in Nagaland.

"The government and Assam Rifles are investing in building new bonds with the Konyak Naga youth of tomorrow by training selected local boys from Oting and nearby areas for various employment opportunities," one junior government officer said.

Religious polarization or lack of religious freedom are issues being talked about in other parts of India as the parliamentary elections near in the country.

"In our state or our village, there is no immediate threat of Hindu hegemony being imposed on us,” said one social activist, who does not want to publish his name.

However, the government's curbs on foreign funding and donations bother social workers, he added. The federal government has tightened up foreign funding of projects in India purportedly to check and control the terror funding.