What Freedom means in Jim Kasom’s ‘The Last Free Naga’

Jim Wungramyao Kasom’s The Last Free Naga is a collection of 12 short stories from his home state, Manipur, published by Speaking Tiger Books. The Last Free Naga is Jim Kasom’s third book after his first collection of short stories, Homecoming, and his poetry book Cradling Memories of My Land.

The book opens with Season of Cicadas, a story that addresses a subject of taboo in Jim Kasom’s Tangkhul community. A farmer and his buffalo returning home from the fields encounter “the third entity, the unspoken one – the Khangayei.”

Kasom, with his adept skill in writing about sensitive subjects, helps readers discern the humane side of the Khangayei. The entity that is often feared and misunderstood is portrayed as just another lonely being looking for a way back home.

Kasom does all this while also exploring the dynamics of the relationship between the farmer and his buffalo, showcasing his nuanced approach to storytelling and setting a precedent for the rest of the stories.

A third of the stories in The Last Free Naga are written in the first-person narrative, and the book, in parts, reads like a diary entry from the tumultuous pre-ceasefire era of the 1990s in Manipur, particularly in the Naga-inhabited areas.

The book explores myriad themes of love, loss, myth, longing, and freedom side by side with the violence, despair, and conflict that the draconian AFSPA rule brought to Manipur.

Kasom’s writing bears the unmistakable semblance of his own character: quiet and simple yet powerfully persuasive.

He has mastered the art of writing about simple things, simple values, and simple landscapes that we often overlook in life. Stories like Postcards, The Cousins, Snow, and A Village Boy’s Dream explore the idea of love and relationships in their many forms and the beauty in each of them.

As a writer deeply rooted in his homeland, his knowledge of the terrains, forests, and rivers of his home, and the humility with which his people accept the minuteness of man before nature, comes through in stories like The Mountain Man and The River That Bends Time.

The most striking theme of the book, however, is Kasom’s take on the idea of freedom. In the titular story, The Last Free Naga, childhood and innocence are portrayed as the last frontier of freedom for a Naga person living under Indian rule.

Another profound line appears in What Is Heaven Baking Today? where the narrator reflects on how his uncle, “at 24, … joined the Naga national movement and gave up his freedom indefinitely.” Stories such as these touch on the irony of being held captive in one’s own land by a foreign force that brands indigenous peoples as terrorists for standing up for their rights and freedom.

The 1990s, when the writer grew up, were a time when the Naga revolution was at its peak.

The generation that grew up during those times is also one of the last generations with vivid memories of the atrocities of the Indian Army meted out under the power of AFSPA before the ceasefire agreement between the NSCN-IM and the Government of India in 1997 brought a false semblance of freedom through more peaceful times.

In a way, the idea of the last free Naga may also be a reflection on how those were the last nationalistic generations, and how the idea of Naga nationalism has mostly been lost to assimilation today.

The lasting impact of AFSPA, which is still in effect in many districts of Manipur, is seen in Salt. The narrator, a man with a good education but rugged in appearance, stares at the face of death at the hands of commandos who mistake him for an insurgent during a trip to Imphal.

In the aftermath of the event, on the journey home to the hills, the narrator ponders whether a life away from the clutches of violence and modern consumerism is more worthwhile.

Here, Kasom touches upon the idea of the untouched Naga life, which was disturbed by the arrival of modernity.

This particular idea is somewhat conflicted with how Kasom incorporates numerous Christian values into his characters and stories, as the Nagas’ first contact with the modern world came through Christian missionaries.

However, the text can be understood as a criticism of modern consumerism, which drives greed and violence, rather than a criticism of modern life or Christianity itself.

Overall, the book is a riveting read that sheds new light on the life and struggles of a people who have long been tagged as insurgents in their own land. Like the Khangayei in the opening story, the book explores how the Nagas are a misunderstood entity in the context of Indian politics.

It seeks to demystify the struggle of the Nagas as one of a people who live, love, mourn, and fight for their idea of freedom, much like any other people.

When you pick up The Last Free Naga, think of the 12 stories in the book as a championship boxing match. You start the bout thinking Kasom is about to deliver the knockout punch in the early rounds.

However, instead of dramatic crescendos and southpaws, he sticks to subtle climaxes that jab at the emotions of readers relentlessly.

One after another, the stories carry on, and at the end of the book (or the 12th round), you realise you’ve been thoroughly undone, and the only thing to do next is to unpack how great a fight it was. In doing so, you realise the strength and resilience of Kasom’s people, who have been subdued and silenced for too long.

Also Read: Faith and Resolve: Manipur’s call to choose life over opium