This study examines the moral dilemmas surrounding the Naga peoples' practices of ali-rongsen (cultural economy) and sen (monetized economy) as defined by the Ao Naga indigenous philosophy of ajak kulemi sendakteba aliba. A direct translation of this is "living together in interrelationship with all of the life-world," which I capture in the abbreviated phrase "pan-relational being." In Nagaland, indigenous cultural economy is primarily practiced by the tribe (semi-village republics, pan-Ao tribe, and pan-Naga tribes). The monetized economy is predominantly pursued by the state (the government of India, the state government of Nagaland) and the Church (the Nagaland Baptist Churches' Council). Previous research has mainly focused on the centrality of sen, but has little to say about the vitality and resiliency of ali-rongsen and the fundamental incompatibilities between the two.

Modern social science scholarship and dominant Christian social teaching in India tend to portray the persistence of ali-rongsen as a sign of underdevelopment and technological backwardness that must be overcome. It is rarely perceived as creative resistance or an alternative to a monetized economy. Hence, this dissertation seeks to reframe the issues around ali-rongsen and sen as a problem of two competing moral visions. The worldview of pan-relational being continues to function as the fundamental integrating vision among the Nagas and as the veritable lens to examine the logic and dynamics of both visions and their mutual interactions. The pan-relational being helps Naga people integrate and mediate these two competing moral visions, aiding them to pursue a unique Naga cultural-monetized economy.

The central goal of this dissertation is to affirm and make explicit this integrating vision and demonstrate how it is employed by the Naga people in dealing with the competition between ali-rongsen and sen. This study serves as a critical resource for conversation with other indigenous peoples globally and for addressing the inadequacies of the dominant models of social sciences and Christianity from an indigenous perspective.