Ginlunmang Tungnung
Lieut Colonel (Retd)
There is no closer relationship in nature than that between a child and the nurturing mother. Even in this intimate emotional bond, however, the child still needs to cry out or throw a baby tantrum to communicate its most fundamental and basic needs to get the mother's attention, and to ensure she attends to them.
Who possesses the energy, the daring, the curiosity and the gumption to try out new things - to attempt the first to climb a tree, or jump a fence, or to put a finger in the power socket? Who in the family dares to question or attempts to challenge a set tradition? Who is usually expected to raise a demand for a new thing or a new item for the home? Who is normally the first in the house to get acquainted and comfortable with a new technology? Who is the one to voice, or to be most frequently asked about, their plans and ambitions for the future? On whom do the hopes of the parents and the family rest regarding the realisation of aspirations and advancing or fulfilment of the family prospects in the future frame of time?
When we apply the same analogy to the larger context of the community, the society, the state and the country, and we extend the concept of the family to the larger collective identity, the answer to all the questions posed remain the same - the child, the young, the youth, of course and without a doubt!!
But where is this presence in the context of Nagaland? Where is the Voice calling for daring, for dynamism, for change from the rut and routine? Where is the articulation, the expression and embodiment of the dreams and hopes, ambitions and aspirations for the future? Who is voicing the concerns and worries that face the young of Nagaland today? Where is the dynamic energy that accompanies the processes of the learning curve in the colleges and universities in the state?
Why have you abdicated your assigned role, obligations and responsibilities? Why is your spirit shying away from being free, unshackled and daring? Where is your optimism? Your sense of adventure? Why are you keeping yourself from dreaming and seeking? Why have you lost the faith and the belief in your ability to chart your own course and destiny? Why have you given up on yourself and the leadership that only you and the youthful spirit can provide the land and the people?
Awake from your somnolence, your self-indulgence and your indifference, you the youth of Nagaland! Assume your position under the sun, and your place on the stage. It is up to you, you young men and women of Nagaland, to rejuvenate the energy of the Naga people, and to revive the sense of hope, challenge and adventure that has long been absent from the public discourse and public mindspace. May the Force be with us all!!
