Our Correspondent
Kohima, Sep. 2 (EMN): Secretary of Finance and Public Health and Engineering Department, Kesonyu Yhome on Thursday called for collective effort to address the various challenges and problems confronting the Naga society, stating that the future was dawning with a new world order.
Yhome was addressing the felicitation programme organised by the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) for HSLC and HSSLC Naga Toppers 2021 at Capital Convention Centre in Kohima.
While congratulating the students and parents for achieving the feat, he told the students that ‘the real challenge begins from now’; away from the comfort, confines of the classroom, the guidance and constant support of teachers.
“Success is not always measured on how high you have reached but it is often measured by how strong you fight back,” he told the gathering.
“The real world will welcome you now! You will face challenges in life, most of you may not have faced or encountered challenges or failures in that face of the term, but it is only now that you will have to face looking out for various problems and challenges that will come your way and you will run into the problems, face failure; so it is important that for you to always remember that failure is not the end of life,” said Yhome.
He advised the toppers not to become frustrated when they encounter challenges and problems.
‘Making it big in the examination is excellent. But what is more important is to enhance your maturity level, mentally to understand the broad picture not confined to your books but understand what is happening around and understand the challenges in the society,’ he asserted.
Yhome stressed on the need to have a clear vision, ‘understand where we stand in the society’ and contribute to the society.
Citing the data of Employment Exchange two years, wherein there were over 60,000 registered educated unemployed youths, he said unemployment continues to be a very big concern in the state.
He informed that Nagaland has highest unemployment rate in the Northeast and second highest in India, only next to Lakshadweep. He added that the state’s unemployment rate is 31% against the national average of 6%.
He lamented that there were less Naga shopkeepers, electricians, plumbers, and manual labourers despite many speaking about unemployment issues. He informed that a survey done by the Directorate of Evaluation in 2007 on 13, 080 shops situated in Dimapur, Kohima and Mokokchung revealed that the total number of non-Naga workforce earning their livelihood in these districts was estimated at 45, 815 with an annual income of INR 450.60 crore.
While stating that this money was remitted to their home states, he also expressed dismay over many local people not ready physically, nor had the skill sets or desire to do manual work.
The official pointed out that Nagas have become “so easy living”. Expressing concern over the future of the state, he said, “We have become prone and vulnerable to making easy money, because we have become so lazy.”
“Our living standards on the one hand, and the income we earn on the other, do not match because our living standards are very high,” he said.
Citing a recent report about the volume of vehicles registered or purchased in a month in Kohima, he said that the living standards were only getting higher with no parity in income.
On this, he maintained that the people were ready to do almost anything to earn easy money, and cautioned the student community to be wary of this prevailing easy route.
He also pointed out the state’s poor performance in the recent Niti Aayog reports and having the dubious distinction of having the second highest HIV prevalence rate in the country with 1.45% (Nagaland) against the national average of 0.22%.
He reminded that the state was ranked seventh in tobacco consumption in the country, with 43% of the Naga population consuming tobacco in one form or the other.
“Are these issues you should be proud of? Quite contrary,” said Yhome.
Yhome also expressed concern over the languages spoken in the state facing a possible extinction.
He informed that there were 191 endangered languages in India, according to UNESCO, and all the languages spoken in Nagaland were in the list.
The official stated that languages become endangered when there are ‘no longer native speakers or when a whole native speaker speaks another language’, before eventually becoming a dead language.
He called on the students of the state to understand the gravity of cultural entities, saying that many languages had become extinct. He told them that he didn’t want languages in Nagaland to be in the list of extinct languages hundred years from now.
‘The responsibility lies in many of you as young people,’ he said.
The official maintained that the world was dependent on mechanical power in the 18th and 19th centuries, while it was technology in the 20th century. ‘By the turn of the 21st century, that ideology continues and technological sophistication has become final,’ he added.
‘It will not be muscle power, mechanical or technological power, but I think we will be moving into a new world order where those countries, where there is very strong ethical power, will continue to rule the world or begin to rule the world,’ he said.
The official maintained that ‘by ethical power’ he meant ‘very good integral human being’. He added that the future would belong to societies and countries that have good and ethical human beings.
“I don’t think that new world order is not far away from today and it is important for you (students) as achievers, as heroes to inspire people and understand that concept- for a nation to grow; for a nation to expand we need human beings in the society,” he said.
Earlier in the programme, NSF president Kegwayhun Tep said that the federation had the convention of honouring Naga student toppers not confined to Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE) but in all Naga-inhabited areas.
However, students from other boards -- Manipur; Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Myanmar -- couldn’t join the event this year due to the pandemic, he stated.
He informed that out of the total of 70 Naga toppers -- 49 topper in HSLC; one in HSSLC (Commerce); 14 HSSLC (Arts) and six in HSSLC (Science) -- 56 of them were present at the felicitation programme.
Tep advised the students to give more effort and become successful in life; to follow their hearts and keep striving. He also urged them to be an asset to the society and not a liability.
Keneino Thorie, who secured Top 1 in HSCL examination, spoke on behalf of the toppers while Kekhrongulo Letro spoke on behalf of the parents.
‘The Vanguard’, a quarterly bulletin of the NSF, was also released during the programme and Virie performed a song.