HT Correspondent
DIMAPUR, March 17: The Naga Students Federation (NSF) organised a mass rally in Kohima on Monday to express its opposition to the singing or playing of Vande Mataram in government functions and educational institutions in ‘Naga homeland’.
Students, church members and civil society representatives came together at Old MLA Junction to express opposition to the MHA notification issued on January 28 for compulsory singing or playing of the national song.
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After the rally, the rallyists marched to Lok Bhavan to submit a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu through Nagaland Governor Nand Kishore Yadav.
The memorandum, signed by NSF, NPMHR and Nagaland Joint Christian Forum leaders, urged the government of India to nullify or withdraw the directive mandating the singing or playing of Vande Mataram during official functions and in educational institutions in the Naga homeland.
According to the signatories, the compulsory observance of the national song raises concerns relating to freedom of conscience and religious sensitivities even as the Naga people hold no hostility toward national symbols or patriotic expressions.
The memo said the revised Vande Mataram contains devotional imagery associated with the worship of a particular deity.
“For communities such as the Nagas, whose cultural and religious traditions are diverse and whose society places immense importance on freedom of conscience, the compulsory singing or observance of such a composition is viewed as an infringement upon deeply held beliefs and cultural sensitivities,” it added.
Addressing the rally, NSF president Mteisuding Heraang said the identity and beliefs of the Naga people cannot be dictated by administrative directives or imposed symbols.
Nagaland Joint Christian Forum vice-president Rev Vevo Phesao said certain elements in the national song are contrary to Christian faith and principles.
Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) secretary general Neingulo Krome called the directive an intrusion into the conscience and identity of the Naga people. Demanding respect for the beliefs, identity and dignity of the Naga people, similar rallies were also held in educational institutions and federating units of the NSF throughout the Naga homeland.
