Dear Readers,

It is with great joy and humility that we present the thirteenth volume of Makhraihrü Shüpei, the annual publication of the Mao Students' Union, Delhi. After a five-year gap, this edition marks both a continuation and a renewal – an affirmation of our collective commitment to intellectual engagement, creative expression, and cultural preservation.

The theme of this volume, “Roots and Routes: Bridging Horizons,” encapsulates the dynamic relationshipbetween tradition and transformation. Our roots embody the continuity of memory, heritage, and identitythat ground us in a shared past. Our routes, conversely, signify the pathways of exploration and innovation that open us to new experiences and evolving realities. The confluence of the 'past' and the 'future' invites the present-generation to reflect and engage in the dialogue between the two, reminding us that the future isn't something we wait on; it is something we create side by side.

In a rapidly changing socio-economic and technological environment, the challenge before us is to navigate between preservation and progress with caution. This issue seeks to address that challenge by creating a space for dialogue – where diverse voices, perspectives, and creative forms meet to explore questions of bbelonging, change, and continuity. The essays, reflections, poems, stories, and illustrations featured in the current issue collectively explore how identity, culture, and knowledge adapt and endure amid shifting contexts. It reaffirms our belief that meaningful engagement with the world requires both rootedness in our origins and openness to new directions.

We extend our sincere appreciation to all contributors for their valuable insights and to the readers who sustain the spirit of this publication. Let Makhraihrü Shüpei be more than just a newsletter. Let it be a place for honest conversations and bridge generations, not just in words but in actions.

With gratitude and hope,

Editorial Team

Makhraihrü Shüpei

Remember  when comics, fashion and lifestyle magazines and the like used to be our favorite choice of entertainment? How we would eagerly scour bookstores for a copy of our cherished reading material, anxiously flip through their pages and voraciously devour them. As we grow older, not only what we read has changed but also the availability of reading materials through various medium has undergone a sea change. With the world moving at break-neck speed, thanks to the advancement of technology, we are constantly bombarded by exciting information and news about other people’s regions, cultures, lifestyles, achievements, innovations, to name a few. But how much more exciting it would be if we were actually reading the stories, experiences or insights of people we actually knew. To be more specific, reading articles and stories penned by people of our own close-knit community.

This is what Makhraihrii Shiipei is all about; a vehicle to promote communication and greater connectivity among ourselves, Ememeis, in diverse subject areas. It is a platform for each one of us to express ourselves through articles that would speak to our readers, to disseminate information, promote unity and to reach out to each other. It is also to ensure the continuity of re-telling our folk-tales, ethnic stories, cultural history etc. It strives to maintain our knowledge and connectedness to our roots. This also helps those of us who have grown to become unaware of our own rich cultural tales, ethically important places and events in history. In this way, even people outside our community are provided a source to learn more about Ememei. Furthermore, we hope to acquaint our readers about the accomplishments of our people, their contributions; and more significantly attributing to them the credit they deserve.

As human beings, each one of us have our own thoughts, our own experiences, our own opinions, our own creativity, our own perspective of life, our own wisdom to contribute- all of which can be brought out beautifully in writing; in the form of poems, stories, articles, inspirational messages, et.al. Sharing to the wider population is always enriching: it helps someone who relates to it, it may push others to challenge their own views and vice-versa, and it definitely widen one’s own knowledge and perspective. In short, it helps a group become more cohesive and more informed. This is exactly what you will find in the pages of Makhraihrii Shüpei, a collection of inspired and thought-provoking collection of articles that would stimulate your intellect. We are confident that the enthusiastic write-ups of our writers will unquestionably hold the interest and stir the minds of our readers.

The enthusiastic response to revive the newsletter has been received with great appreciation in this issue. In The Mao Naga Traditional values of Peace and Reconciliation: A Contextual Source for a Theology of Reconciliation in Naga Society Today, Building a Reconciling Way of Life in Mao Naga Context: From Church Perspective, Envisioning a Model community: A Search for a Just and Peaceful Society, we will find the much needed panacea for a society that has been torn by conflicts and strife with seemingly no solution in sight. You will encounter the real and present danger emanating from the threat of illegal immigrants in Eclipsing the Indigenous Population of North-East India. In Mao Academy ye Mao la, it is heartening to learn the work being done by Mao Academy in extensively promoting our language and in The Ememei Empowerment Initiative, our readers will recognize, appreciate and applaud the various novel concepts of empowering our people for a better future. To promote healthy living, Food that Helps Fights Cancer is a must read. Further in, Scope and Role of a Veterinarian in Modern Society will dig into the interesting field of veterinary science. Besides, we also have a repertoire of public and personal interest topics from diverse voices. We truly hope that the pages that follow will make an interesting read.

We would like to express our appreciation to all authors of the articles in this issue. It is this willingness to share knowledge, concerns and special insights with our community at large that breathe life into these pages and made this issue possible. As the success of the newsletter is directly related to the support and contribution of our well-wishers, we also express our heartfelt gratitude to the generous contributors whose financial help brought the newsletter to fruition.     

Team Makhraihrii