On behalf of 356 churches, the Western Sümi Baptist Akukuhou Küqhakulu (WSBAK) and Sümi Baptist Akukuhou Küqhakulu (SBAK) have appealed the Sümi Hoho to strictly ban the sale and consumption of alcohol in Sumi Ki during the ongoing Hornbill Festival at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama.
In a letter to Sümi Hoho president, WSBAK executive secretary Rev Dr Phughoto Sema, and SBAK executive secretaries Rev Kughato Chophi and Rev Tovishe P Shohe cautioned that if the fervent plea of the church was ignored, then the church would have to start discouraging its members from participating and attending the Hornbill Festival.
They said they anticipated Sümi Hoho president’s considerate and wise decision on the matter. They also strongly condemned the state government’s recent relaxation in the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition (NLTP) Act to permit sale and consumption of liquor during the Hornbill Festival for tourists.
Noting that the festival was aimed at showcasing Nagaland’s rich cultural heritage and not for mere physical merrymaking, they asserted that the Nagas could not compromise their societal and religious conviction by letting the tourists consume alcohol in the state.
They claimed that it was a universally proven fact that consumption of liquor was injurious to both spiritual and physical health. Hence, they termed the justification provided by the state government as a mockery to the commitment to God and Christian principle as well.