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Op-Ed

The Road Ahead

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By EMN Updated: Feb 22, 2017 10:58 pm

The Naga are an ancient people, but new to the modern world and its concepts, faiths and ideologies. Our Educated think that education is the means to obtaining a government job; not an opening up of one’s intellectual capabilities to the uncountable ways to make a good living without being corrupt. Our Legislators run for elected office without any clue that their purpose is to make laws that benefit and regulate society; not to jostle for ministerial positions. And the few that occupy ministerial offices see it, not as an opportunity to build up society; but a chance to suck their various departments dry. Our Government Servants think that they are Government Owners. Our Theologians serve The Unholy Trinity of Men, Money and Mammon instead of serving The Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit; and our Freedom Fighters seek sovereignty under the banner of Socialism; in a land where everybody owns something, no matter how little, and every inch of land and every piece of property has an owner. We are a people displaying all the Forms of Modernity without an iota of Substance behind the various forms we seek to project.

The past few months have seen events unfold; unlike anything in the history of Nagaland. And I am of the firm belief that it will shape how The Naga advance into the future. Allow me a brief recap:-

  1. All tribes of Nagaland united under the banner of the Joint Coordination Committee against Issues and Policies of the State Government. For the first time ever, Nagas were not divided along Tribal Lines, but United on Issues. It was The People versus The Government. Despite the countless endeavours of many, to split The People along village, range, tribal, political and personal lines; we endured; and still hope to endure and overcome the evil machinations of those that would seek to destroy us in their blind greed.
  2. Our Legislators, once again, showed that their sole purpose was hanging on to their precarious grasp on power. Their game of Musical Chairs has ended with the Puppet and The Puppeteer, exchanging places; and the remaining Marionettes salivating in the background; while worrying their hairs grey about their possibility of snagging a ministerial or parliamentary secretarial post. At the time of the writing of this letter, the Cabinet is yet to be formed, but we need not wait with baited breath. It will be some combination or the other of the self-same, self-serving spineless parasites that We, in our greed and stupidity, have elected to lead us.It is no longer an issue of, “Old wine in new bottles.” Whatever Wine there was, if there was any to begin with, has turned to Vinegar; we are merely watching them pour the Vinegar from bottle to bottle.
  3. The Naga Hoho and N.S.F.; once considered the torchbearers of Naga Society have proved, once again, that they serve themselves and others rather than the people they claim to represent. They can be made redundant in an instant by any organisation or group of people that genuinely seeks to serve the real interests of the people of Nagaland; as happened with the Nagaland Tribes Action Committee suddenly springing up to spearhead the people’s movement; and the Dimapur Sumi Students’ Union and the Autorickshaw Drivers of Wokha ensuring that students appearing for their board exams made it to their centres.

So, where does that leave the ordinary Naga, men and women? I ask you to be of good heart; for out of chaos grows order. And it is incumbent upon the survivors to ensure that such things do not occur again. I am sick of the whiners of our society grumbling; in the privacy of their homes and the freedom of the internet, without ever suggesting any means of overcoming the numerous problems we face. So, to give them more reason to complain and whine, I venture the following suggestions:-

  1. I request the Good Women of Nagaland to be patient for a while. Let us first examine the Nagaland Municipal Act 2001 minutely for any more mines it may contain; and whether we should accept M.E.S.A. with all its implications. And I’m certain that together with the Tribal Hohos, you will arrive at an amicable solution with the Magical 33% that some of you so crave.
  2. The J.C.C and N.T.A.C. have done a sterling job in keeping the various Tribes of Nagaland together during this crisis. With the E.N.P.O. and C.N.T.C. already separated from the Naga Hoho; we need a permanent coordinating committee/body to ensure smooth lines of communication between the various Tribes of Nagaland on issues pertaining to the State of Nagaland. The Naga Hoho and N.S.F. have developed an alarming habit of rising up in arms on issues concerning Manipur and keeping silent on those affecting Nagaland. So, I feel that the Tribal Organisations of Nagaland should form a body of representatives whose sole purpose will be coordinating the TribalOrganisations of Nagaland on issues that affect either one, some or all of the Tribes of Nagaland. Not an umbrella organisation of the Tribes of Nagaland, but a facilitator for the common aims of the Tribes of Nagaland.
  3. The Tribal Students’ Unions/Associations of Nagaland too, should also form a body on similar lines to the above suggestion; to ensure that the interests of the Students of Nagaland are served. And I would advise all Student Leaders across all Tribes of Nagaland to work for the welfare of the students. Do not see your positions as spring boards into politics. Your deeds will reflect in the respect you gain from students and parents alike.

Until the day Nagaland sees a New Breed of people seeking electoral office; people who aim to serve the people, not lord over them; people who understand that their purpose is to legislate and govern, not to grab everything in sight; people who understand that their Good Works and Deeds will last longer than their ill-gotten wealth; we have to make do with the corrupt lot we have now, and in the foreseeable future. The different parties and ideologies are just eyewash. I guarantee you that even if all the Voters of Nagaland refuse to take a single Paisa for their votes; and we conduct the cleanest election in the history of the world; those elected will carry on in their rutted path of corruption and nepotism.

So, the road ahead is now clear; the Tribal Organisations must take on the role of Watchdog for Nagaland and its Peoples. We have to realise, and educate our people to the fact that catering to the benefit of a few from our family/clan/tribe, at the expense of others, will eventually lead to the destruction of all. We are no longer living in independence in our villages; we have formed towns and a State; a State for all Tribes and People of Nagaland, and no single person,party or Tribe should be allowed to gain or advance at the expense of the other people or Tribes of the State.The future of Nagaland does not lie in a Power Struggle between elected and appointed Government Officials versus Civil Societies; but a Balance of Power between the Governors and the Governed.

God save our Nagaland

                                                                             Kahuto Chishi Sumi   

                                                                                  G.B. Hevishe Village

                                                                                      Dimapur

                                                                            Kahuto107@gmail.com

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By EMN Updated: Feb 22, 2017 10:58:32 pm
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