Nagaland: Son lost to rebel bullets, proud Konyak father gives stirring patriotism speech

GUWAHATI:

Ngonpha Konyak

, a village headman of Nagaland's warrior tribe, the Konyaks of Mon district, brought netizens to tears with his speech - heart-rending but at the same time filled with immense pride - at the funeral of his son,

Rifleman Khatnei Konyak

of

Assam Rifles

.

It was, in brief, a fierce lesson in patriotism from the farthest corner of the country.

Rifleman Konyak

was one of the five men of 46 Assam Rifles, including their commanding officer Col Viplav Tripathi who lost their lives in an ambush by two Manipur insurgent groups in Churachandpur district of Manipur on Saturday. The CO also lost his wife and six-year-old son who were travelling with the team.

At the rifleman's funeral at Tizit town in Mon district on Tuesday, the video of which has gone viral on social media, his father, the Zangkham village headman, told the world what patriotism meant to him.

"To make India strong and daring I sent my two sons to Assam Rifles. One has died today but there is still one more (serving in the paramilitary force)," Konyak senior said in Nagamese language.

He did not stop there. He then appealed to the people of Tizit, the

Konyak Naga

tribe and everyone else to "give more" (send their sons in the service of the nation). "My son has given his blood for India. I am massively happy. There should be more (bravehearts like his son)," the fearless Konyak headman said, full of pride and with not an iota of sadness in his voice. Rifleman Konyak has left behind his wife and four-month-old daughter, who live in Tizit town.

The Konyaks from the largest tribal group in Nagaland and are settled in and around Mon district but are also habitants of adjoining territories of Arunachal Pradesh and Myanmar. In the past, the Konyaks were renowned headhunters, but now they are mainly agriculturists and skilled artisans.


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