08/19/2026
We feel the loss of someone with great care, leadership and love for his people. The world is a better place because he lived.
A VOICE FOR PEACE FALLS SILENT: NIKETU IRALU’S LIFE OF COURAGE, CONSCIENCE AND RECONCILIATION
18 August 2026 | Delhi
With profound sorrow, we mourn the passing of Niketu Iralu, a respected Naga elder, peace-builder, thinker and tireless advocate of reconciliation.
The news is deeply painful. We had hoped and prayed that he would recover after receiving treatment at BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital in Delhi. Yet, in the face of loss, we can only bow our heads, thank God for the gift of his life, and entrust him to His eternal care.
Niketu Iralu’s life cannot be measured simply by the positions he held or the causes he represented. His greatest contribution was the human space he created for listening, truth, forgiveness and reconciliation in a region scarred by conflict and division.
For decades, he worked through Initiatives of Change and other peacebuilding efforts, believing that lasting change begins with a transformation of the human heart. In 2025, Initiatives of Change International honoured him with its Lifetime Achiever Award, recognising his lifelong contribution to trust building and his moral influence across communities.
His message was remarkably simple yet profoundly difficult: peace cannot be built by continually seeing only the wounds inflicted upon us; healing also requires the courage to recognise where we may have wounded others. He spoke of restitution, reconciliation, forgiveness and the rebuilding of trust—not as abstract ideals, but as necessities for a people and a region seeking a different future.
For many, Niketu was more than a public voice. He was an elder to whom people could come with their questions, pain, disagreements and hopes. The Initiatives of Change described his home, Kerunyu Ki—the “house of listening”—as a place where people from different backgrounds came to seek reflection, encouragement and strength.
That may ultimately be his most enduring legacy: he reminded us that even in the deepest political and social wounds, the other person must never cease to be human.
His passing leaves a profound silence—not only within his family and among those who knew him personally, but within the wider Naga and Northeast Indian peacebuilding community.
We extend our deepest condolences to Gugu Haralu and the entire family, and to all who loved, respected and walked alongside Niketu Iralu.
We thank God for his long life, his courage, his conscience and his service.
A life has ended. A voice has fallen silent. But the work of building trust, choosing forgiveness and healing wounded relationships remains.
May the wisdom he shared continue to guide those who carry the unfinished work of peace.
May his soul rest in eternal peace. 🙏
