We Nagas are still a primitive, short-sighted and narrow minded people; our conception of Law is limited to our Village or Tribe. We are all for the Law, as long as it defends or profits us, our fellow Villagers or Tribesmen; but we have no compunction or scruples about breaking the Law to profit ourselves and our cronies. And our hypocrisy is manifested every time we raise our voices when others benefit by breaking the Law! Did we speak out when our Tribesmen broke the same Laws to give unjust advantage to some of our Tribesmen? We are no less than Sons of Belial.
Corruption is overwhelming Nagaland because Laws are being broken by all and sundry. Joel Nillo and Simon Kelio came to visit me a few months back wherein Joel was of the opinion that our “Freedom Fighters” were the cause of this rampant corruption; this same narrow view is held by many and was manifested by the Naga Council, Dimapur’s recent Rally against the multiple taxation of our multiple Freedom Fighting Organisations.
But that is far from the truth, what every Naga should understand is that we have created the perfect Environment for Corruption in Nagaland. The Origin of Corruption lies in The Government Offices of Nagaland. The Government Employees, at various levels, show the ways and means of subverting lawful procedures to defraud the Public Exchequer and profit themselves and their near and dear ones; they point out of the availability of Employment and share those jobs, via backdoor employment, with their Political Masters. In short, they are the Root of All Evil.
Our Politicians are The Facilitators of Corruption; they authorize each and every act of corruption and nepotism in Nagaland. They give false Authority to Illegal Acts based on the fact that they managed to fool or buy a section of the voters in their constituencies to vote for them; and many Naga Morons are of the opinion that since we voted for them, we cannot do anything if they break the law. I take this opportunity to remind these Naga Jackasses that, “We vote for Legislators to make and enforce The Laws of The land, not to break them.”
Our “freedom fighters” are the Enforcers of Corruption. They get their due share of the Government Pie of Corruption and are not averse to using strong-arm tactics to terrorize anyone who stands in the way of this Nexus of Corruption: not satisfied with that alone, they have, in collusion with unscrupulous businessmen, managed to create monopolies in every business undertaking, controlling and raising prices at will. The same goods are taxed multiple times, from the check gates, to the wholesaler to the retailer.
In brief, our Bureaucrats/Technocrats, our Politicians and our “Freedom fighters” are the Unholy Trinity of Corruption in Nagaland. You cannot hope to eliminate Corruption in Nagaland unless this Evil Trio of The Philandering Father, The Illegitimate Son and the Demon Spirit of Corruption is checked.
When corruption runs rampant, people turn to Civil Society Organisations to redress their grievances. But in Nagaland, our C.S.O.s are content to highlight instances of corruption which affect them alone; there is no coherence, coordination or comprehension in their fight against corruption. Some protest against non- payment of salaries, some about bad roads, some on backdoor employment, some on taxation, ad infinitum; without understanding that they are all interconnected.
And this problem is compounded by the silence on corruption, of the established Religious Organisations of Nagaland. Our bodies are protected by our Immune System; when we fall ill, it is our immune system which decides how best to tackle whatever is ailing us. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS, is when the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, takes control of our Immune System, leaving us powerless to all diseases; broadly speaking, AIDS does not, by itself, make you ill, but opens the way for all other illnesses to attack you. So, unless you can cure AIDS, once you’ve developed it, you’ll always be falling sick with some ailment or the other.
Nagaland is suffering from the AIDS of Corruption. And just as an AIDS patient suffers from coughs and colds, dysentery, tuberculosis or whatever germ or virus he comes into contact with; Nagaland is suffering from all the symptoms of corruption like bad roads, irregular electricity, illegal taxation, backdoor appointments, non-payment of salaries and all other forms of illegality.
So, what is the Immune System of a Nation or State? It is THE LAW. The Law ensures that a Society, Governmental and Non-Governmental, must function in a certain way. And just as our immune systems fight diseases, the Law fights those who violate the Rules laid down by the Nation or State by punishing them.
WE must realize that the Law applies to ALL of us. We must learn to unite our voices against ALL FORMS of CORRUPTION; we must approach The Courts of Law to rectify instances of illegality; once we enter the Courtrooms, we must be relentless in pressing our Cases. For only when the guilty are punished and their acts of commission and omission are overturned, will THE RULE OF LAW prevail in our land, and Justice and Peace will be enjoyed by the People of Nagaland. God Save Nagaland
