The Tetseo Sisters comprises of four sisters and a brother, making music since childhood together with their parents who taught them. Initially performing Chakhesang folk and gospel at school and church events, the group evolved into professional musicians with their only brother as their Music producer and Guitarist. Their musical repertoire spans Naga folk, folk fusion, English originals, and covers in a diverse range of languages, including English, Hindi, Punjabi, and Japanese/Korean/Vietnamese. The group is among the pioneering Naga bands to perform at nearly all of India’s leading music festivals, and is also the first all-female folk ensemble to receive the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Music. They have also represented India, Northeast India, and Nagaland in over 25 countries across the globe
In an exclusive interview with Nagaland Tribune, the group speaks out against online bullying and the impact and trauma of online defamation.
Nagaland Tribune: Mhaseve, you recently clarified on social media that you and your family have been traumatized by fake rumors and hate directed at your sisters. What prompted you to speak out after such a long time?
TS: We’ve been not just traumatized but our reputation, dignity and honor, our image, legacy, career, livelihood and everything we’ve worked so hard for had become questionable of late.
Reading the comments online and live chats circulating on social media, it was shockingly clear that more people were starting to believe the rumours and were thinking my family was benefiting from the alleged relationship of my sisters – which sister is never clearly indicated – making all of them look bad.
As public figures, with thousands of eyes from around the world scrutinizing our every move, it has been increasingly painful to witness the flood of hateful comments questioning our character and integrity—especially from our own Naga people. And it is embarrassing for us to explain to prospective clients and collaborators why there is so much negativity from our own people.
I believe we had started losing out on some opportunities also because people were not comfortable having people with questionable reputations gracing their prestigious brands, events and concerts.
My nephews are also growing up and they can see and read the nasty things written on our videos and other related posts and start asking why people are saying such things. Not to mention our extended families who are not used to being under public scrutiny. Our parents have also had uncomfortable conversations with others about these comments.
As the only son, brother and uncle, I felt inclined to take a stand and decided that after our performance at the 25th Hornbill Festival Finale, I’d go over social media reactions and if it was still bad out there with the similar comments coming on, I’ll put an end to all this nonsense once and for all with a sincere appeal to the humanity and wisdom of everyone out there. So I posted a reel on Instagram which cannot be doctored or altered by anyone else. And then Mokokchung Times picked up the story.
Nagaland Tribune: Sisters, how has your own community responded or reacted to your efforts to promote and preserve cultural identity through your music?
TS: We are grateful for the support of our Chakhesang Nagas. We have always been encouraged and guided by the elders in our community. It’s only fair to say that we’ve gotten the most support as well as the most ridicule, rejection and criticisms from our own community.
We have been trendsetters for a long time, especially in promoting Naga culture at a time when others value Western culture more. For this very reason, we have been subject to scrutiny and mockery by those who don’t value our own culture.
Our culture teaches us to respect our elders, from whom we learn our traditions. Sadly, this respect is fading, especially among younger generations on social media, where some share uninformed opinions. For example, they mock us for wearing traditional clothes or performing traditional dances, saying it looks funny. They think folklore phrases like Ho hey, Hiyo, Aho, Ho ah, etc and repetitive traditional lyrics and idioms are weird and boring without understanding the context and finer nuances of Naga folk music. This criticism often comes from younger people who have no sense of their own cultural heritage and can be quite disrespectful—both from within our tribe and from other Naga tribes as well.
We have received maximum criticism from some people who do not understand our mission. And these are mostly people who have never seen us perform nor seen us on stage or in person but have strong opinions on how we should sing or dance or dress to represent our people. These same people also question why we are the ones chosen to represent our state or country when according to them, there are people who can do a better job. Or that, we should retire and give younger people a chance.
Nagaland Tribune: Aside from finding it amusing how some are twisting your story to link you to the Chief Minister of Nagaland, Can you highlight a little bit about this issue and others?
TS: There is nothing remotely amusing about being branded with derogatory labels—prostitute, bedsheet, concubine, and mistress—being publicly demeaned, and having every aspect of our lives dissected and criticized for no reason at all whether online or offline. Now, we find ourselves compelled to defend our integrity and innocence, all within the confines of a conservative society that imposes double standards on women.
It is astonishing that a society predominantly rooted in Christianity can behave in such a way, showing utter disregard for women and their fundamental rights. Whenever women rise to prominence or achieve success, there is an automatic assumption that they must have been “sponsored” or “promoted” by powerful men, to whom they are presumed to have sold themselves. Should a woman succeed in any public sphere, she is immediately labeled as morally lax or promiscuous, with society feeling entitled to slut-shame, judge, and ridicule her, all under the belief that public figures should simply grow a “thick skin” or “take it.”
– This prevailing mindset has been the catalyst for our ongoing ordeal. Certain individuals have made it their mission to undermine and discredit us solely because we are successful women in the music and entertainment industry. The assumption is that we must have “slept our way to the top,” and for us, this has been unfairly tied to the “CM” label, turning us into targets of relentless bullying, harassment, and invasive questions such as, “Which sister is the mistress?” “Whichh sister had CM’s baby?” Etc and insinuating comments like”How much they must be charging“ “They must be tired from servicing Ministers” etc. As we chose to ignore these provocations, the situation has only escalated.
– It also puts us in an embarrassing position because we continue to perform our music at VVIP events and if these rumours reach their ears, it is not a pleasant situation.
– Who knows if we have been blacklisted by certain organisations because they perceive us as not suitable for their events because of these rumours. So our credibility is already compromised for no fault of ours.
Many people are often surprised that the majority of our performances outside Nagaland are not funded by the Government of Nagaland (GON), TAFMA, or any other governmental agency, except for a handful events sponsored by ICCR or when we are part of a Nagaland troupe. We would love to know which department in Nagaland provides such sponsorships for international/national tours/trips, events, and flights for artists so that we can avail such benefits.
For all these years, we have been self-funding our travels or relying on the company or event organizers to cover our travel, accommodation and meals. Our participation, including our trips to Nagaland for Hornbill Festival etc, has always been at our personal expense.
Additionally, we are shocked that some people believe the Government of Nagaland is paying us a monthly salary to promote our music. This is baseless and completely false.
We are Independent professional musicians and not affiliated with any Government agency or department. We are making a living out of the performance fees that we get paid by organisers across the country and abroad from time to time. Besides earning from music shows, some of us are content creators, beauty & lifestyle influencers and get paid for brand collaborations and related projects. One of us is a Medical Doctor and one is a Mompreneur. Our brother is a music producer and also does sessions with other bands to make ends meet.
Nagaland Tribune: How have you managed to cope with this for so long, and what message do you want to share with others about your experience?
TS: Our unwavering faith in God—that one day the truth will emerge, and we will be exonerated—has sustained us. Our parents instilled in us the importance of maintaining a positive outlook and forgiving those who seek to bring us down, and we have adhered to this principle. Furthermore, the outpouring of support from numerous quarters has been a great source of strength, urging us to keep moving forward. In spite of the noise and distractions, we have remained steadfast, dedicating ourselves to our music, family and work.
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Nagaland Tribune: You girls are incredibly brave for maintaining your smiles and performing despite the backlash you’ve faced—that’s truly admirable. Can you share how we can stay positive even when circumstances are challenging?
TS: We don’t agree that it is a backlash. It is a smear campaign by certain frustrated individuals who think we are a soft target.
We strive to maintain professionalism, especially on stage and while creating music, and to carry ourselves with dignity in our daily lives.
We have nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide, and we trust that God gives us the strength to stay calm and patient as we await His deliverance and blessings.
By focusing on the bigger picture and working towards it, we can move forward without being weighed down by the challenges around us.
Nagaland Tribune: We’ve also noticed that you have many supportive fans outside of Nagaland, while most of the hateful comments seem to come from within the state. Why do you think this negativity is so prevalent in Nagaland?
TS: We are deeply grateful for the overwhelming support and love we receive from our Naga people since the beginning. Most of them express pride and appreciation for what we do and continue to encourage us to be more adventurous and experiment. In fact, the Naga public named us Tetseo Sisters in the 1990s and in the year 2000, North East Sun magazine named us the Cultural Ambassador of NE India.
We are fortunate to say we are loved by Nagas and beyond. By God’s grace, we are well recognised and invited to most events all over the state and outside and we give glory to God for his Grace and the gift of music and the rich cultural heritage that he has blessed us Nagas with.
It Is therefore disgraceful and disappointing that we have to take a step like this to protect ourselves against the degradation and character assassination from some people claiming to be fellow Nagas and doing us dirty all this time.
A few people have really made it their mission to spread their misery and throw their frustration on us. These individuals seem to be driven by jealousy, hatred, and misinformation and are bent on being the loudest voices to condemn us for our supposed crimes and punish us by shaming us online.
We cannot understand why they feel so threatened by our existence or our art and why they are so angry with us. They claim to be Nagas online but they could also be fake accounts aimed to create confusion and misunderstandings. We will get to the bottom of this hopefully with legal help.
These delusional people swoop in and try to make everyone believe that we are liars and degrade us for being who they believe us to be. They want to paint us with their lies and convince everyone else that we are cheap and immoral and do not deserve praise or appreciation. They want to portray us as women who can’t possibly be talented or smart enough to succeed but are doing well because we have the support of the CM and whoever else they believe we are with. They think they are doing society a favour by exposing our so called crimes and in that they are completely blinded by hatred or ignorance and refuse to be logical or rational.
Maybe they can’t digest our success and visibility. Or feel that life is not being fair to them while we get it easy in life. They are unable to see our hardwork and the effort of our whole lives. We’ve come to realize that their actions reflect more about their own frustrations in life and their inability to cope naturally with life.
We believe some people may just feel the need to criticize others in order to make themselves feel important, but we remain focused on staying true to our passion, our work, and the support of those who truly believe in us.
Nagaland Tribune: You mentioned your plans to take action against those spreading lies and misinformation. How do you intend to address this issue?
TS: We have given a time frame upto the end of 2024 for anyone who has made defamatory comments to retract or delete their statements. If any similar comments still remains or surface in 2025, our legal team will take swift action.
Nagaland Tribune: What message would you like to share with the people of Nagaland?
TS: Firstly, we thank all who have fought on our behalf and encouraged us and been our rocks and anchors over the years in the face of these terrible challenges.
For years we have endured unimaginable ridicule, humiliation and the worst of abuse and character assassination but we chose not to react because we wanted to rise above the negativity and noise. Another reason was because we did not want to show this sick mentality of some Nagas to the rest of the world. People from all over the world read your comments on our posts or any other posts tagged with Tetseo Sisters.
But this made such fools bolder, more confident and probably convinced that since we kept quiet, we were Weak or had something to hide.
But there is one injustice we will no longer remain silent about — the slander and slut-shaming, the malicious lies and rumours told about my Sisters and family for no rhyme or reason. This has gone on far too long, and we will not bear it any longer.
We will be silent no longer. We are standing up, not just for ourselves, but for every person who has been unfairly judged or falsely accused and shamed online or offline for no fault of theirs.
This is not a plea for sympathy—it is a call to action. We are demanding that the truth be heard. We are asking for your support. Share this statement far and wide. Let it reach every corner, every ear, until those who have wronged us are held accountable and justice is served!
We urge the many unions and organisations out there to continue educating and protecting people against cyber crimes, bullying and violence against women in real life or online.
The time to act is now! Stand with us, speak with us, and together we will bring the truth to light. Today it is us. Tomorrow it could be you or your sister or your daughter.
We, Tetseos, want to make a strong statement today as a testament to our supporters, extended families and also our children who are starting to see and read things on the internet.
We have been bullied, abused, targeted and our reputation and character tarnished and trampled by cowards hiding behind fake accounts long enough but enough is enough. We will keep no stone unturned to find the culprits and get to the truth. May the truth set us all free.
Our big heartfelt thanks to Nagaland Tribune for this exclusive interview.
Best wishes,
Tetseo Sisters
