Following is the speech delivered by Dr Phyobemo Ngullie, retired Psychiatrist and Chairman of Kohima Educational Society, at ‘The Naga Morung’ organised by the Naga Students’ Federation to commemorate the 78th Naga Independence Day on 14th August 2024.
In our journey to our rightful place, our path is strewn with challenges, demanding of us for an appropriate response. We cannot remain complacent or procrastinate but must strive together towards our destiny.
The stark reality of Nagas today is that of:
– our sacred cause being desecrated,
– our aspirations in tandem competition with the market force,
– our education with no employment,
– our roads filled with cars with no space to move,
– our houses without homes,
– our subsistence is on the ‘free ration’,
– our relationships are built on trust deficit,
– we, at our best only bring out the worst in us.
Are such predicaments suggestive of nearing our end times as foretold by our forefathers that we will be transformed into miniature humans climbing chilly and brinjal trees?
In the Pop music culture we seem to be oblivious to our reality being enchanted by the song “Killing me softly with his song” (Roberta Flack).
Philosophically, we are in the era of fear, greed and desire for power.
At such a juncture, I draw my strength to present this paper from the African Indigenous peoples’ philosophy of ‘UBUNTU’, the essence of being human, particularly stating the fact that a human being cannot exist in isolation and must remain connected and interconnected with each other and to do what is good and do it well to spread out for the whole of humanity. May our theme of Kuknalim imbibe the spirit of ‘UBUNTU’.
There cannot be just any one single factor for where we are today, at the crossroad. Allow me to humbly bring forth into our awareness of some unknown, invisible but pervasive factors that could be slowly and steadily eroding our society.
- Trauma: Ever since the British coloniser set their foot on our land, we resisted them for 48 years and upon their departure we rightfully reclaimed the honour of our peoplehood and nationhood, establishing the very principle of ‘Right is Might’. Others who failed to understand the very child of our struggle is that of our land and history confronted us with ‘Might is Right’. The eventual contest between ‘Right is Might’ and ‘Might is Right’ has left behind a trail of devastation with far reaching consequences on our mind in the form of mental and psychological trauma.
Over the decades the world has come to recognise through neuro-scientific researches, the existence of mental and psychological trauma which can be intergenerational and intra-generational. Such trauma has been found to change the brain biology and psychology causing emotional or physical pains which are often invisible like a virus, nevertheless harmful and contagious. (Paul Conti, Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic) The mental and psychological trauma can behave like a villain in our mind. It insidiously and viciously attacks our emotions and memories to change them and thereby successfully alters our decision changing the course of our lives.
It can also change our brain to the extent of making us forget our own worthiness, our dreams, our aspirations and the fundamental aspects of what it means to be fully alive.
(Paul Conti, Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic) It can also destroy and damage our human potentiality for innovation and creativity. The trauma can create in us the fear of failure effecting our progress and development by reinforcing anxieties and worries.
One thing the scientists are concerned about the harmful effects of trauma is, its capability to effect the children of the future, in fact the children who aren’t even imagined yet, let alone born.
The trauma, though invisible like a virus can be so dangerous as it can infiltrate the survival chain of our species by allowing its harm to amplify across generations.
- Victimhood Mindset: We continue to remain in a mindset of victimhood ever seeking for validation for the injustice done to us. We consider ourselves as victims of the negative actions of others to which we are helpless, powerless and at the mercy of external forces. According to political psychologist Bar-Tal and Chernyak-Hai, victimhood mentality develops from a progression of self-realisation, social recognition and eventual attempts to maintain victimhood status. People with such mindsets do not take responsibility for their own actions and blame others on the circumstances for their difficulties. They exhibit tendencies such as self-pity, constant complaining and lack of assertiveness, self-motivation or active decision making in their lives. The outcome of living in a victimhood mentality can be deleterious for our people as psychologists at Masters counselling in Calgary have found out that:
– it can increase stress and anxiety,
– it could lead to limited personal growth and development,
– it can cause strained relationship and social isolation,
– it can decrease our capability in problem solving skills, and
– impair our mental health and well-being.
According to psychologist Kain Ramsay, “there are many psychological forces when it comes to morality and politics but victimhood seem like the most powerful”. Perceptions and assumptions of victimhood determine our moral judgements, our self-perceptions and shape our interactions with other people, while inevitably seeking recognition for one’s victimhood, we may develop moral elitism with lack of empathy for the pain and suffering of others and keep on ruminating about our past hurts. Psychologically, this can lead to stunted growth and development with ignorance of our own ability to see oneself and the world in all of its complexities.
- Entitlement Mindset: People with entitlement mindsets are the ones with a sense of deservingness or being owed a favour, when, actually little or nothing has been done to deserve any such special treatment. They are likely to have the “you owe me” attitude and tend to think “the rules don’t apply to me”.
The acts of entitlement are that of demanding special treatment, expecting others to do things for them, not showing gratitude and with a deep rooted belief that they should be admired and respected by others. At a conscious level, they believe that they are above others and nothing is wrong with them, but subconsciously they have deep internal shame which is so strong that they hate to accept it consciously.
Victimhood rooted in the past or resentment from past hurts may emerge as an entitled mindset to compensate for past wrongs. Such a mindset may behave aggressively and selfishly. Research shows that all of us spend about 50% of our inner dialogue thinking about ourselves and 95% of our conversations talking about ourselves.
In conclusion, I would like for all of us to think creatively and constructively to successfully respond to the challenges lest we are all transformed into miniature creatures fighting over our rights to climb chilly and brinjal trees.
