Making easy money at the expense of other people’s hard work or even taking their lives has now become a dangerous trend practiced in the Christian State of Nagaland. Extortion, kidnapping and killing which has become rampant especially in the commercial hub of Dimapur is not only a shame for the Nagas but it is also a sin and offense against God. What has become of our Christian Naga values? Who should be held responsible for this sorry state of affairs that we are facing in our homeland. Today, dishonesty and the unending greed for money and power have destroyed the moral fiber of our society. There is widespread corruption and the primary objective of everyone is clearly on swindling public money and amassing more and more wealth. Just imagine what kind of impression and lesson our present moral failings will leave on our children and future generation. Instead of teaching them right from wrong, we are doing just the opposite. Look all around us, Nagaland is today plagued by the chronic problem of extortion, kidnapping, killing and other corruption. And this is what our children will also learn and inherit from us. It is of no use to indulge ourselves in blame game now. What we need to however do is acknowledge the gravity of the problem at hand and work collectively in addressing it.
Extortion which appears to be the root cause of our problems has become a sort of ‘industry’ in the State. It is no wonder that self styled leaders and cadres from armed outfits are involved neck deep in the so called extortion business. This is something for the Naga political groups to ponder upon and take corrective measures. The public whether locals or non-locals are not against ‘taxation’ per se. They are willing to share in the burden of raising resources for the national groups. However it is the unofficial collection by elements within the outfits or by the mushrooming extortion gangs, which is a cause of concern. Recently, one of the national groups has come out with measures to streamline taxation and to root out the bogus elements. Among others, a round-the-clock helpline has been suggested to be set up to ensure that criminals posing as national workers are identified and punished. On the lines of a public grievances cell, this will record all complaints tendered by offices, business establishments and the general public either against corrupt national workers or against anti social elements.
All this is a welcome step that needs to be encouraged among the others as well. It is high time for the national groups to initiative reform measures especially in the area of tax collection so that resource mobilization remains a credible exercise and is not misused to overburden the public. Anything that is not authorized should be considered as extortion and a crime as rightly stated by Home Minister, Imkong L. Imchen recently. Whether it is the State government or other corresponding governments run by the national groups, the rule of law must be respected and enforced without fear or favour. Let us root out lawlessness, extortion, kidnappings and killings. This will demand collective effort of the State government, political parties, national groups, the Church and civil society.
Extortion which appears to be the root cause of our problems has become a sort of ‘industry’ in the State. It is no wonder that self styled leaders and cadres from armed outfits are involved neck deep in the so called extortion business. This is something for the Naga political groups to ponder upon and take corrective measures. The public whether locals or non-locals are not against ‘taxation’ per se. They are willing to share in the burden of raising resources for the national groups. However it is the unofficial collection by elements within the outfits or by the mushrooming extortion gangs, which is a cause of concern. Recently, one of the national groups has come out with measures to streamline taxation and to root out the bogus elements. Among others, a round-the-clock helpline has been suggested to be set up to ensure that criminals posing as national workers are identified and punished. On the lines of a public grievances cell, this will record all complaints tendered by offices, business establishments and the general public either against corrupt national workers or against anti social elements.
All this is a welcome step that needs to be encouraged among the others as well. It is high time for the national groups to initiative reform measures especially in the area of tax collection so that resource mobilization remains a credible exercise and is not misused to overburden the public. Anything that is not authorized should be considered as extortion and a crime as rightly stated by Home Minister, Imkong L. Imchen recently. Whether it is the State government or other corresponding governments run by the national groups, the rule of law must be respected and enforced without fear or favour. Let us root out lawlessness, extortion, kidnappings and killings. This will demand collective effort of the State government, political parties, national groups, the Church and civil society.
