In September 2013 a member of a well known Facebook group of Nagas posted a question asking how many of the then almost twenty thousand strong members have provided and are still providing incorrect income certificates of their parents to avail post-matric scholarships. Till date it has received only 131 likes and a few comments unlike other topics of corruption and the various injustices being done by the existing systems.
In March 2016, the noted social activist Niketu Iralu put forward a novel idea that if a group of college students whose parents’ income are higher than the stipulated amount for availing scholarship can come forward and fight against corruption by not applying for the scholarships, this will in turn challenge those who are already corrupt in varying to change and save our society. Till date there have been no reports in the media of any such people coming forward, not even in social media.
Similarly Nagaland is bombarded with hundreds of welfare schemes planned and designed in New Delhi with the target group being the majority of the people in the rest of India. The target is not only in the rural areas but also the urban areas of the country. The MGNREG scheme; schemes under the urban poverty alleviation programme; old age pensions; National Rural Livelihoods Mission; Indira Awaas Yojana; benefits for people living Below Poverty Line; and the labour specific welfare programmes is a list of a few notable welfare programmes from the central government. All these schemes require some form of proof of income or the proof of absence of income to avail the benefits. A sworn affidavit declaring the income of the parents/guardian or one’s own signed by the person is one method of proof of income. Even though unintentional the system might have moulded generations of Nagas who were taught very early in their life that it is okay to give false witness at times in our present system. Coincidentally, while talking about false sworn affidavits the state is at present witness to high profile cases of alleged false sworn affidavits filed during elections.
To take a peek at why this could have happened, it is pertinent to look into the demographics of the state. Nagaland state with a population of hardly 20 lakhs (Census 2011) has an urban population of just about 29 percent against a rural population of 71 percent. However, Nagaland has 1.4 Lakh persons employed under the government as the then Finance Commissioner of the state stated in February 2016. Then there are a few thousand who are drawing pensions from the government. Moreover as per the census of 2011 the state had hardly sixty thousand illiterates but nearly 5 lakhs in the age group of 9-18 years who today are between the ages of 15-24. With the existing criteria of how a person’s dependents are decided in the country, it has left only a few number of Nagas who can actually avail these welfare schemes. However this in no way indicates that Nagas have a very comfortable life; the region and the topography specific problem is unlike the ones faced in the other states.
For the people of the state, the numerous central schemes have become more like a facade and they are not eligible unless the average Naga has to bypass some form of rule to avail it. For example there have been instances where the names of the clergy were also featured in the list of BPL beneficiaries that created a ruckus in social media. The church also should have a say in this.
However the time may have come for our leaders in the State and also at the Centre to take note of the ground realities in the state and provide the Nagas the benefits due to them in the correct way. The talk about what is wrong and right might not be the answer in this case but how can these benefits reach the people of the state in the correct way with the different criteria modified for the state according to local requirements.
