Imphal, Aug 19 | EKHON: Naga Gandhian and veteran peace advocate Niketu Iralu passed away on August 18, drawing deep condolences from across the Naga community and tributes to a life devoted to peace, human dignity and the Naga cause.
In a condolence message, Ukhrul MLA Ram Muivah described Iralu as a “Naga conscience keeper” and one of the most perceptive thinkers who had articulated the Naga cause to the wider world. He said Iralu’s more than six decades of commitment to the peace movement would remain an enduring part of Naga history.
“His over six decades of dedication to the peace movement will be remembered by the Naga people,” Muivah said, adding that the vacuum created by his death would be difficult to fill and that his demise marked “the end of an era.”
Iralu spent his youth in Australia, where he became associated with the Moral Re-Armament movement. After several decades abroad, he returned to India and settled in Panchgani, Maharashtra, where he continued his work and engagement with peace initiatives. It was during his years in Panchgani that he is understood to have met and married his wife, Christine.
Reflecting on Iralu’s contribution to the Naga political and social journey, Muivah said the late peace advocate understood nation-building as a continuing and cumulative process rather than a single historical event.
According to Muivah, Iralu recognised that the Naga nation-building project had evolved over nearly a century, tracing its roots to the early assertions of Naga identity and freedom in the late 1920s. He referred to Haipao Jadonang’s movement in the Tamenglong area and the formation of the Naga Club in 1929 as important milestones in that historical journey.
Muivah also recalled that Iralu was deeply saddened at times by divisions and disunity within the Naga family. Yet, he said, Iralu ultimately came to terms with the understanding that disagreements and setbacks were part of the broader Naga journey.
Throughout his life, Iralu remained associated with the pursuit of peace and reconciliation, earning respect for his ability to examine the Naga question from a wider human and historical perspective.
His passing is being seen by admirers and colleagues as the loss of a significant voice in the Naga peace movement—one whose intellectual contribution, moral conviction and commitment to human dignity shaped generations of discussion around the Naga political issue.
“Farewell, Uncle Niketu,” Muivah said in his message, conveying his deepest condolences to Christine, Iralu’s children and other members of the bereaved family.
The Naga community now mourns the passing of a man remembered not only as a peace advocate, but also as a thinker who devoted much of his life to understanding and advancing the aspirations of his people.
