India, Dec. 7 -- This year too, the first of December saw Nagaland's famed Hornbill Festival begin in earnest, as it does every year. December 1 is also Nagaland's State Day - this year marking our 63rd year of Statehood - but as the years pile up, the Hornbill Festival has gradually eclipsed the historical significance of State Day. One gets the sense that in the last twenty years or so, during the inaugural programme of the Hornbill Festival at Kisama, our State Day merely receives a token mention when one considers the larger scheme of the Festival.

This could reflect a section of Naga political groups rebuffing the State of Nagaland, hence the long years of political negotiations with the Government of India - something our State Gov...