A book titled ‘Waiting for A Christmas gift: Essays on politics, elections and media in Nagaland,” written by Vikas Kumar, who is currently a professor at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, and published by Heritage Publishing House, was released on Friday by Monalisa Changkija, editor of Nagaland Page, at Room 03 in Kuda-B (Nagarjan), Dimapur.
Commenting on “Media as an agent of change" in the book, Changkija found to be particularly impactful and expressed believe that it has changed her perspective. She invited the author to spend some time with the media in Nagaland and engage in conversations in order to help strengthen the media in the region.
Changkija mentioned that the book is not just a Christmas gift but a gift that can be appreciated all year round as it highlights the fact that Nagaland has always been under scrutiny from the outside world.
“Our thoughts and deeds, our actions and inaction make a significant tributary of the great river of world history, politics, economics and culture,” she said.
In that publisher’s note, Lanusangla Tzudir remarked that the book would allow the Nagas to reflect and set their perspectives right as well.
On the occasion, Tzudir mentioned portions of foreword written by Charles Chasie in the book that reads, “The book has something for everyone. It is recent history at a glance, telling what happened which year and who did what?”
She added that for the people from mainland India, it is a chance to read unbiased views of the NE region and Nagaland from one of their own.
The book launch was followed by conversation with author hosted by senior broadcast journalist and conservationist, Bano Haralu.
The author, Vikas Kumar, currently teaches Economics at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. He is the author of “Numbers as political allies: The census in Jammu and Kashmir” (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming) and the co-author of “Numbers in India's periphery: The political economy of government statistics” (Cambridge University Press, 2020).
He has also curated the exhibition “Baba Saheb: An extraordinary philatelic journey (1966-2022)” at the India International Centre, New Delhi (June 2022), and the Bangalore International Centre, Bengaluru (July 2022).