DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 28: The Angamimiapfü Mechü Krotho (AMK), the apex body of all the Angami women, today expressed shock at the Nagaland Tourism Department’s directive to concerned Departments to prepare for Hornbill Festival and urged the state Government to reconsider its decision and cancel the Hornbill Festival 2020 in the interest of safety and sanity and save itself the ignominy of being forced to cancel it by the public at the last moment.
In a statement issued by AMK president, Kevinourheno Seyie and general secretary, Shürhivino Nakhro, the Krotho asked: “Is the Hornbill Festival a sine-qua-non to the identity and the existence of the Nagas that we must celebrate under any circumstance including a pandemic? Does the life of the people of Nagaland hang by the significance and the successful annual conduct of this manufactured festival of extravagance?”
The AMK said Hornbill Festival is neither an ancestral festival of any tribe nor a religious festival that “we are duty bound to observe”, but rather more of a glorified Government effort to project and showcase the various culture and tribes of the Nagas in a bid to promote tourism.
“… in spite of all the red flags that exists, for the Government to remain adamant to organize a festival not only risks its artistes insensitively, but perhaps even goes deeper to expose one of the two; ‘that either the organizing Department or Government officials have vested interest’, or ‘have misplaced priorities’ and have not given the recent increase in COVID morbidity and mortality the attention and seriousness that it deserves,” the statement said.
The AMK further said, “Unless the Government desires to put Nagaland in the map of super spreaders, it would augur well for the Government to reconsider its decision and cancel the Hornbill 2020 in the interest of safety and sanity and save itself the ignominy of being forced to cancel it by the public at the last moment.” (Full text )
(Page News Service)
