ABC of Naga Culture & Civilization: A Resource Book

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I have had the privilege of being associated with the Nagas for more than three decades. I did not go to Naga villages as a collector of artifacts, I am not an anthropologist interested in strange customs or rituals. The only aspect of Naga culture I have some serious interest in is Naga cuisine and my happiest memories are of the times I have feasted in Naga homes, sitting around the kitchen fire.

My association with the Naga people has been entirely in my capacity as a human rights lawyer involved in exposing the human rights violations committed by the Indian security forces during counter-insurgency operations. More recently, I have had the privilege of being involved in the Indo-Naga peace process.

In recent years I have become more and more concerned with the effects of globalization on Naga society and culture, and the violation of the cultural rights of the Naga communities. The human rights movement, with its emphasis on violation of individual rights by the State, has failed to address the issues related to the violation of the cultural rights of people by the market.

The liberal human rights discourse based on individual rights has not been able to address the violation of human rights of communities. It has also not been able to develop human rights standards to protect the collective rights of people from violations by either the State or the market. While I stand firmly committed to the idea of universal human rights standards I realize that the present standards are far from being universal.