I personally do not subscribe to the idea of dragging in Christianity when we fail to set things in order. No religion teaches corruption, Nagaland being a Christian state and Nagas’ Christianity is no exception. I remember reading this line during my primary schooling in Moral Science subject “all religions are holy leading to one God”.
Who doesn’t know the Government and its functionaries? It has become an open book and people have been reading pages after pages that some departments do not release funds unless the deal is based on percentage. What is this suicidal and hijacking tendency of patriarchy system of father department to mother department to implementing agencies if you read between the lines? Why do public invoke useless RTIs but can’t hammer out the nail? The pathetic side of RTIs in Nagaland is that some people make a good profit over RTI business that is supposedly a tool to combat corruption.
Another grade of people are the office Babus and Babunis. Hold your breath and imagine your source of income at the rate of Grade III basic scale pay. For you, Rome was built in a day. We STs are exempted from tax and there is no system to check our illegal wealth. That is how our fortune increases in manifold and acquiring wealth like winning a Jackpot is the way of life for many. You are a proud owner of palatial building within 48 hours and own luxury cars, forgetting the thatch house you lived just 24 hours ago.
How about NGOs run by public leaders robbing the State and Central Governments? How many Theologians-run NGOs are listed under tainted category? How many School Management Committees are transparent in managing the Government school affairs? How about the GBs and VDBs implementing NREGA in the villages? How about the implementing agencies of other flagship programs and various schemes? How about some people holding dual posts? How about the employees keeping proxies? How about some Government officers who supersede seniors through political support? How about back door appointees draining state coffer?
Many back door appointees demand service regularization w.e.f. date of appointment and fight the Government in High Court. Come on, look back at your appointment order. What is the wrong there when the Government takes time to regularize your service as per norm? Weren’t you appointed as an ad-hoc because you didn’t face interview? Backdoor appointees do not mind no matter how odd it is to venture outside service rules because money talks and money reigns right from the start of their appointment process. Our Government on the other hand has a history of losing endless cases to petitioners. With the verdict passing in favour of backdoor appointees, genuine employees who were earlier appointed through open competition succumb to worst stagnation in promotion. The reward of being law abiding and proper channel appointee is pathetically pathetic. Government’s habit of losing court cases is directly encouraging back door appointment in Nagaland. Corruption is at its best at all levels. The heights of embarrassment is when you see some corrupt people shouting on top of their voices by virtue of holding certain post in tribal bodies. Better be a Holy Devil than to be a Dirty Angel.
If we have some corrupt people leading Hohos or Tribal bodies, we are sorry to say that you have no moral authority to lead the masses. Do not expect respect from people because you have not earned it. This is a small world and the reason is, the world is a global village. Lead by example and with a clean image in order to prove your leadership.
We crucify the Government every single day, fry the politicians, grind bureaucrats, steam and boil the HODs with every breath we take. How about the general public and public leaders? How clean are we? We can’t be honest with ourselves and truthful to the Government in paying even a mere electricity bill. I remember some prominent citizens’ names being published in local dailies by the Department of Power for power theft (hooking) in the recent past. Let us make sure that our fingers are clean while pointing at others. Some people wouldn’t be transparent even over 1000 bucks if entrusted to manage. They are clean due to lack of opportunity. We need to gargle our mouth and throat before we shout with a set of 32 snow white teeth.
Let it be public leaders or the Government officers, the one who fear God the most rob department the most, the one who praise God the most deduct fund the most, the one who preach in the church the most demand the most and the one who talk about Bible the most corrupt the most.
The problem is not with Christianity. If Christianity is a solution to corruption, Nagaland with 99.9% would be declared ‘No Corruption Zone’ in the map of India. But Nagaland state already has Deduction Kings, Percentage Queens, Prince of 50-50 share and the Under-table Lords. Some think corruption is nobody’s fight but that of ACAUT’s. Then who is ACAUT and what is ACAUT? To me, ACAUT is a collective noun and it is none other than I, YOU, WE and THEY. Corruption is a battle that starts with I and ME. If all is not well with me, how do ‘I’ point at ‘YOU’? If all is not well with us, how do ‘WE’ check ‘THEM’? The crusade against corruption will be a reality only if we have a good command over corruption. Our own life is our testimony. Kuknalim.
Vikali Shikhu
Dimapur
