Tingsangai John Panmei
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]HE role of present youth in this ever changing world has its impact on our society. The present youngsters assume the western values as their culture. They have openly started pushing for the lifestyle of a modern man and woman as an open challenge to our traditional values and customs. They aped the western culture and act like the actors, actresses and models. Although we the Naga has a strict traditional values, cultures, and customary laws, the modern youngsters has kept that values aside and decide themselves aping the modern civilization. Practicing the modern styles is not going to pay them back any good in life. The present “attitude” of the young modern men and women for consuming alcohol, drugs usage, partying at night, and dressing indecently is what’s disturb parents the most. The recent incident that had happened last month, raids of 79 youth in an objectionable atmosphere under influenced of alcohol conducted by the NSCN(IM) OSD team, act as signal to the rest of the society. Lack of moral education and parental discipline and guidance is to be blamed for these aggressive and anti-social youth. In a day of widespread drugs usage, immorality, civil disobedience, vandalism, and violence, we must not depend on hope and luck to fashion the critical attitudes that we value in our Naga youth. The unstructured technique was applied during the childhood of the generation which is now in college, and the outcome has been quite discouraging. Permissiveness has not just been a failure, it’s been a disaster.
In today’s society, family is seldom together-members off to their own works. Thus they separate day by day, vaguely aware of mutual joys, sharing or needs. Children spend most of each day away from their parents. Emotional alienation can easily follow physical absence. Here and there very young children are left to themselves. Alcoholism in grade students begin nipping from wine bottles when parents are away.
Teenagers pull out on the family. A revolution in lifestyles is a more appropriate description. Standards of morality, ethics, religions, and custom have been chopped at the roots by adolescents bent on doing their own things. Nowadays mothers don’t find time to feeds, tells folk stories and play with their children. In order to have a healthy society, hereafter parents should make an effort to bring up mentally and physically healthy children.
Too many young Nagas attend school on an irregular basis, resulted a failure to gain a solid foundation of basic academic skills, moral values and spiritual awareness. They are truant—at the risks of academic failure and dropping out of school at age 16, or earlier, and never obtaining the skills to become contributing members to the society. Communities have a responsibility to provide an appropriate education for all youth in a disciplined, safe and secure environment.
It underlines the fact that there is an immediate need to improve children life chances through directly intervening with programs that are effectives in imparting moral education, spiritual awareness and also changing parenting styles by organizing parenting lessons to parents on how to discipline their children.
Moreover, there should not be indecency and vulgarity in the name of advancement of civilization and modernization. On the other hand, the awareness of adhering to moral values and decent character should also come in every youth’s mind by themselves and not by forcing them.
Decent character and behavior is not something that can be imposed, it should be built by the individual themselves. The youth should behave with decorum and decency in public society. On the other hand it is the duty of the parents to keep a close watch on their wards, help them to be more responsible and to be successful in their life. Let me cite the example of Mr. Jackson Phaomei son of Shri. Gaidatpou Dobinnala Dimapur representing India from mere Rongmei Community in World Hanmadang Taekwonddo held at Pohang City, South Korea from 21st -25th August 2014.and obtains Gold Medals. This is how the parents take care of their children and molding to achieve a great success.
The issue of Naga men and women aping modern ways of life style that does not go with our Naga values can be solved by the parents, and the brothers and sisters of the youth, and the other guardians at home.
These youngsters should be instilled basic moral values and a deep respect of our customs and traditions from their younger age. Needless to say, what’s disturbing us the most is being the concept of freedom, in the liberal sense, are still not very clearly embedded in our Naga society. Freedom doesn’t mean one can freely roam half-naked in the market. Individual freedom should not disturb or bother others in the society. A drunk- woman on the streets may not harm a man but it can harm herself. In a generation where even an old lady is not spared to be molested and raped, what will happen to those urban models if partying in the pub, getting drunk and fell unconscious on streets? It’s high time that we all realized the boundaries of freedom and individual rights.
There’s something that I really hate my Naga brethren is we are fighting against our own brothers, insulting, depriving, competing, rejecting and discriminating amongst ourselves in every sphere of our life. These have become the accustomed of our people. We have different tribes, social organizations, factions, political parties and denominations etc. other tribes against other, other social organizations against other and faction into faction etc. then why are we saying Naga integrity and solution where there is no civic sense of living. Our social activities practice and our mindset is contradicting to our vision and destination to reach. These are the elements which is sickening our society. We the Nagas have the uniqueness of our own Culture and identity but we have been ignoring by ourselves we failed to render and promote our own culture and identity. In spite we are taking importance of the others and western civilization. The so called USA the most advance and powerful Country; what is their culture? Technology: whereas we Nagas have wonderful and unique culture and tradition, how long should we ignore and adopt others civilization? Let’s be a Christian as Naga not as Jews in every aspect of life, socially, politically, spiritually, emotionally, physically and practically showing the feeling of oneness and people of uniqueness. The world is widely open for us there are thousands of avenues to venture new things but we succumbed to that. Why should we fighting and competing against within our own arena, own brothers and within our own community. Why don’t we explore and compete to the rest of the world? We are too confined like a frog in the pond and caterpillar in the cocoon, what hinder us? Why should we be so long in dilemma? Let us break through and see splendid world of today and face the challenges.
Let us all take up our own responsibility, be more matured and play our own part in bringing the society a harmony, more safe and secured citizens for the vibrant Nagaland.
pandunpupu@gmail.com
