Ever since the World Health Organisation declared the Corona Virus (Covid 19) as a pandemic the whole world has been engulfed in a daily struggle for survival against an invisible yet deadly enemy. As the virus spread across the nations of the world, it slowly made its way to our tiny yet beautiful and picturesque State of Nagaland, the state which all of us call our home and it has affected our lives in more ways than one. It is at times like this that we get to know who we really are. But looking at the reactions of our fellow Naga brothers and sisters for the past few weeks I am sad, heartbroken and disappointed at the same time, at what we have become. Now the question is, “Is this who we really are?”. We all admit and realise that times are hard at the moment but there is so much negativity and suspicion in our society at the moment. Much of our time is being spent on playing the blame game, finger pointing, spreading rumours and fake news, judging people and unnecessarily criticising those that are doing what little they can to lend a helping hand. I believe now is not the time for all this drama rather it is time for all of us to join hands and work together for the benefit of our people and our state because the ongoing corona virus pandemic is not a joke but it is a serious and deadly threat for us and all of our loved ones.
The Government of Nagaland has been facing criticism from day one and have been relentlessly accused of underperforming in its duties during the ongoing pandemic. Yes one cannot deny the fact that the Government may have failed at certain duties and may have shortcomings in certain areas but we must also keep in mind certain aspects of the Government before drawing our conclusions. Firstly the current ongoing pandemic is the first of its kind in our State and nobody has any experience on how to deal with such a situation and so like the rest of us the Government is also slowly but surely adapting and evolving day by day and learning how to deal with the situation better. Secondly we must all realise that the Government is very different in its functioning. Unlike our community organisations and civil societies the Government has a set of clearly laid out rules, regulations and procedures which are to be strictly followed while executing its duties and as such it takes time to get certain things done but it does not mean that the Government is not being responsive to the needs of its citizens. We must all learn to be a little patience because there would be utter chaos and anarchy if the Government starts ignoring protocols in its functioning. We are a Democratic Welfare state which means that the Government is of the people by the people for the people. We must take collective responsibility for our own Government and be proactive in guiding it towards common good and criticise and point out its failures and shortcomings but we must also realise that everything the Government is doing is for the welfare and benefit of its citizens. The sad part however is that ever since the countrywide lockdown began the Government has seen nothing but criticism from every corner of the State when we the citizens ourselves cannot even adhere to one simple rule that is to maintain social distance in public places. The sheer amount of public rushing and jostling with each other to buy essential commodities with complete disregard for public safety and health clearly amazes me. In a State with 79.6 percent literacy rate and with social media full of eloquent writers and intellectuals I am shocked and appalled to realise that we Nagas cannot follow a simple rule of maintaining a one meter distance at public places. Criticism is necessary and required for a positive and successful outcome but we Nagas should also learn to give credit when its due. Despite the numerous criticism and blame there are Government servants working tirelessly spending sleepless nights for the welfare of the people and I bear witness to many who despite everything continue to serve diligently with genuine concern for the people. Health workers, sanitation workers, district administrations and various other government personnel are working throughout the week putting theirs and their families’ lives at risk so as to lessen the hardships of the citizens. We Nagas should learn to look beyond the failures and at times learn to appreciate the effort that is being put into.
Nagaland is a Christian State and we Nagas pride ourselves at being devout Christians. But recent incidents have shown otherwise. We as a community and as Christians should all be ashamed of the discrimination and stigmatisation meted out to our fellow Nagas and staff of a certain hospital who have served us dutifully in the past and will continue to do so even in the future, for no fault of theirs. The only thing they were guilty for was treating a patient in need of medical attention. The harassment of flight passengers that flew into the State on 24th March 2020 when their private info was leaked is also one incident which we as Christians cannot ignore nor justify in any way. A recent incident where a good friend of mine, a photo journalist, who while trying to help a family was being accused of doing it for his own benefit also sheds poor light on our people as a whole. Now all these incidents have really made me wonder and made me come back time and again to the question I mentioned earlier, “Is this who we really are?” We Nagas have become too judgemental in many ways. I believe it is time for us to come off our high horses and humble ourselves and work together as one family and as Christians. It may seem funny but today our people have even started criticising and started judging people who are out there helping the needy saying this and that should not be done and giving pointers on how to help the people. We need to stop all this negativity that is slowly eating away our society and rather adopt a positive attitude towards everything because that is what our society desperately needs at this dark times.
As the saying goes a Crisis either brings out the best or the worst in people, we should also wonder what the ongoing Crisis of Corona Virus is doing to us and the Naga People as a whole. We need to ask ourselves where do we stand as a community and question ourselves who we really are?”. I am lucky that my job has given me the opportunity to witness and experience personally the situation at present in our State during the Covid 19 Pandemic and I must confess that it is all not as gloomy as the picture I have painted above. I have come across inspiring stories of human kindness and triumph in these testing times but they have all been overshadowed by the negativity of our people and it is sad indeed. We Nagas are known worldwide for our honesty, generosity, hospitality and hard work. It is these traits that we inherited from our forefathers and it is our culture and our heritage. It is time to make our forefathers proud who forged these lands with their bare hands and many who gave their lives defending it. We must remember these traits when we ask ourselves who we really are. Now we Nagas need to join hands and work together, encourage one another, help a fellow Naga in need because we need each other now more than ever during these dark days. ‘Together we can and Together we will’ should be our motto. I strongly believe that this crisis will bring out the best in our Naga people and our unity be stronger than ever post the corona virus pandemic. Lastly but most importantly “Humanity must Prevail”.
A DIPR Feature by Morotsung Longchar,
IA Kohima