A political stalwart has drawn allegory to facts about how unaddressed socio-political morass often breeds consequences that will come to adversely impact future generations, reports our Correspondent Imrongkumba Aier
Mokokchung, May 3
One of India’s senior most politicians has warned that the current state of Nagaland where ‘fear’ flourishes beside unchecked socio-economic problems, such as chronic unemployment, is breeding a generation that would prove more dangerous than the issue of ‘sovereignty.’ Governor of Odisha Dr SC Jamir has warned that socio-economic disenchantment will come back to haunt the Naga people in the future if left unchecked when time was still right.
On Tuesday, the governor challenged the Ao Naga to rededicate their history and community capital to again strive for the truth and work for the betterment of the Naga people ‘just like the forefathers who spread the good message of the Gospel in the past, despite many difficulties.’
The veteran politician and former chief minister of Nagaland was the chief guest of the Moatsu celebrations at the Imkongmeren Sports Complex in Mokokchung town. The event was organized by the Jangpetkong Senso Telongjem.
The governor expressed deep apprehension over the instability of the present Naga society. He said that the Naga society was currently undergoing a dark phase ‘just like the days of our forefathers before the advent of Christianity.’
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The former chief minister lamented deeply that the ‘darkness’ that Naga society was going through was ‘much darker than the past.’ It is time for the Ao Naga to once again spearhead a movement of change as ‘grandparents’ would, who with nothing but faith, belief in truth and honesty, brought much changes into the entire Naga society a hundred years ago.
Dr Jamir also asserted that the Ao Naga never sought nor competed for leadership but for the sake of the Naga society, led the people. To illustrate this, he pointed to the legacies of the first NNC president T Aliba Imti, the first Naga People Convention chairman Imkongliba, and that of the first chief minister of Nagaland P Shilu Ao. These leaders were mandated by the Naga people and they sacrificed much for the Naga people, he said.
Jamir also expressed deep grief at the current state of affairs in Nagaland. There is a lack of truth in the Naga communities ‘simply out of fear.’ The various and myriad village councils (yimden), the nongovernmental organizations and even the church cannot speak the truth because of fear, the politician, a survivor of several assignation attempts, said. Nonetheless, Jamir expressed hope that the society would now ‘think of today and the future’ and not to dwell ‘too much on the past.’
Dr Jamir also expressed deep trepidation over the unemployment situation in Nagaland. He said that the problem of “educated unemployment” would be more problematic than the issue of ‘sovereignty.’ The society should seriously think about the future of the youths, he said, and warned that the problem of unemployment among the youths, if not addressed immediately, would turn out to be very dangerous to the state and its people.
Jamir, therefore, called upon the people to be more realistic, to ‘open our eyes and ears and to think about what can be achieved and what can’t be so that the Naga people can progress and march ahead with the rest of the world.’
Representative from the Ao Senden, Ao Students’ Conference, Watsu Mungdang, and Eastern Naga Peoples’ Organization, besides other community groups and a host of dignitaries attended the program.
