It is with profound grief and a heavy heart that the United Naga Council, mourns the passing of Ino Niketu Iralu, a towering peace activist of our times, affectionately known as “Uncle Niketu”.
The condolence message issued by NG. Lorho, President of UNC reads, “Ino Niketu Iralu’s life was a living testimony to courage and forgiveness. From his student days at Madras Christian College in 1955, when he encountered the movement of Moral Re-Armament, now Initiatives of Change, he committed himself to one purpose: to see transformation begin in the human heart. For over 7 decades he walked that path without wavering. With his passing, Nagaland and the entire Northeast has lost one of its tallest moral voices
“As a guiding force in the Forum for Naga Reconciliation, as Chairman of the Naga Reconciliation Committee, and as convenor of the Naga National Reconciliation Commission, he carried the burden of our collective wounds. He reminded us again and again that “restitution and reconciliation become possible when we go beyond seeing only where others have hurt us, and are ready to see where we too may have provoked them.” That was not just a statement. It was how he lived. And, we the Nagas must walk on his legacy dearly that shaped the journey of common hope and dreams.
“Niketu Iralu was honoured with the Initiative of Change (lofC) International Lifetime Achiever Award 2025, the UN Brahma Soldier of Humanity Award, and the Gopinath Bardoloi Award but he wore no pride. He remained a simple man, a servant of God, a “keeper of conscience” for our people.
“Today a voice for peace has fallen silent. But the example he leaves behind must not. In a time when our region is fractured by mistrust and violence, Uncle Niketu showed us that peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice, truth, and the courage to forgive.”
The office of the United Naga Council pays its last homage and gratitude to the departed noble soul. We stand in solidarity with the bereaved family, the FNR, Initiatives of Change, and all who were touched by his life. We pray that his soul rests in eternal peace, and that his vision of a reconciled Naga family and a stable Northeast continues to take root in us.
May God grant strength to all who mourn him.
