Bureaucracy, borders discussed at White Owl Literature Festival

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• Panel discussion on bureaucracy in progress at the White Owl Literature Festival and Book Fair at Zone Niathu By the Park in Chümoukedima on Tuesday.

• DIMAPUR — On the second day of the ongoing White Owl Literature Festival and Book Fair at Zone Niathu By the Park in Chümoukedima, while sharing his thoughts on the topic "Navigating bureaucracy: governance and challenges in the northeast," Alemtemshi Jamir, former chief secretary of Nagaland, stated that the inefficiency of bureaucracy today can be traced back to historical factors.
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• He mentioned that before British rule, the Nagas lived under small tribal institutions without centralised administration, while the British introduced an alien bureaucratic system driven by colonial and mercantile interests, keeping the Nagas largely isolated.
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• He added that after World War II, the British made some efforts to uplift the region but left the Nagas to independent India. India then introduced parliamentary democracy, but insurgency in Nagaland created further complications.

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• Ad hocism was born in Nagaland, and many people were appointed on the spot, provided they had passed class six, simply to prevent them from joining the underground. Apart from ad hoc appointments, there were also contract appointments. He mentioned that at one point in time, there were around 17,000 work-charge employments in Nagaland, and these were made without rules or regulations.
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• Stating that bureaucracy need not necessarily come under the shadow of politicians, he added that bureaucracy will always exist but must evolve to remain effective, whether under illegitimate politicians or wealthy elites.
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• The deputy secretary in the Personnel and Administrative Reforms department, Livitoli Sukhalu, said that they inherited a British bureaucratic system that evolved in a different context from their needs. Sukhalu mentioned that one of the biggest challenges in Nagaland’s governance is that, while the government exists as an institution, it has yet to be fully institutionalised.
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• The commissioner and secretary of the Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department, Kekhrievor Kevichusa, mentioned that some of the points where bureaucracy might be failing are the division of labour and the hierarchy within the bureaucracy.
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• Meanwhile, in the first session of day two of the festival, while sharing his thoughts on the topic "Frontiers, corridors and connectivity: a conversation on writing about the Indo-Myanmar borderland," Sanjoy Hazarika, a researcher and columnist, stated that one reason for the lack of connectivity between Myanmar and the northeast might be the absence of a long-term policy from the Indian government towards Myanmar, with the approach so far being largely ad hoc.
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• Hazarika added that the positions towards the Myanmar border region have been defined by two factors: one is the situation within the Northeast in terms of security concerns of the government of India, and the second is considering China as an adversary.
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• Regarding his viewpoints on the lack of literature in general and also in academic writing about the Indo-Myanmar borderland, he mentioned that one needs access to the area, and without that access, one can't really write a well-informed article, essay, or book.
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• Patricia Mukhim, the editor of Shillong Times, highlighted the irony behind the border fencing of the Indo-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya, pointing out that while there is BSF fencing in certain areas, it abruptly ends at a particular point. Beyond that, the rest of the border remains open, with people living on either side separated only by a river. Locals from both sides often fish in the same rivers, blurring the lines between the two nations.
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• Mukhim emphasised that she often tells people from the so-called mainland that the Northeast region shares only 1% of its borders with India, while the remaining 99% borders foreign countries. She questioned why the country doesn't give this region the attention it deserves.
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• Mukhim pointed out that India tends to view one neighbouring country as an adversary, rather than seeking common ground. She raised concerns about how India will handle China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific and emphasised that too much focus on internal issues has neglected external matters. She also expressed disappointment in India's failed diplomacy with Myanmar.
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• Mmhonlumo Kikon, a poet and former two-term legislator from Nagaland, highlighted the demarcations of the Indo-Myanmar border. He discussed policies like the Free Movement Regime and the Sixth Schedule, which reflect colonial legacies, aiming to integrate the northeast into India. He also addressed security concerns and the growing influence of China in the geopolitical landscape, which is affecting India’s strategy in the region.
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• Dr. Samuel G Ngaihte, an interdisciplinary scholar from northeast India, shared that one challenge in writing about this region is the lack of appropriate language and terminology.
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• He maintained that the concept of "border" is problematic for those living in the Indo-Myanmar borderlands, who have long contested this idea—first with the British and now with post-colonial nation-states.