Unabated taxation, corruption & factionalism
The world over we are witnessing political upheavels taking place, which is more often than not, directed against the established order. Very recently, protesters took control of Ukraine's capital Kiev, seizing the President's office in a bid to oust him from power. Whatever may be the situation or the place and country of occurence the one commonality that we notice, whether it is Egypt, Syria or now Ukraine, is that those in power and authority have ignored the legitmate concerns, problems or aspirations of its own people and and therefore the disillusionment, anger and conequent protests spilling onto the streets. It seems to be that for too long people suffered in silence. Perhaps they hoped for better sense to dawn on their leaders. Many would have waited patiently in the realization that change would indeed come. But nothing happened. The perceived silence was seen as weakness. But today people have come to realize that change has to be effected by people themselves and not to expect it from the top.
The world over we are witnessing political upheavels taking place, which is more often than not, directed against the established order. Very recently, protesters took control of Ukraine's capital Kiev, seizing the President's office in a bid to oust him from power. Whatever may be the situation or the place and country of occurence the one commonality that we notice, whether it is Egypt, Syria or now Ukraine, is that those in power and authority have ignored the legitmate concerns, problems or aspirations of its own people and and therefore the disillusionment, anger and conequent protests spilling onto the streets. It seems to be that for too long people suffered in silence. Perhaps they hoped for better sense to dawn on their leaders. Many would have waited patiently in the realization that change would indeed come. But nothing happened. The perceived silence was seen as weakness. But today people have come to realize that change has to be effected by people themselves and not to expect it from the top.
Closer home, the recent incident involving the Sumi public and one of the NSCN group or the popular movement against unabated taxation directed on the Naga Political Groups (NPG) and State government, these are pointers to what could happen, popular uprising, if people's legitimate concerns or needs are ignored. So what exactly are the issues before the Naga people? One that has been clearly underscored is the call of the people for a national unity government with the appeal of 'one tax one government'. And why is this important for people? The simple answer is that such an outcome of having a 'one tax one government' will mean doing away with the gruelling unabated taxation culture that the Naga public have been made to bear all these years. 'One tax one government' will also bring unity in the ranks of the NPGs, which has been the cry of the Naga public. More importantly such an arrangement will remove the strong incentive there exists at present towards factionalism in the Naga political movement, driven by money power. Love for the people, the cause and deep patriotism rather than money and power should lead our way. And when we move away from the politics of factionalism to national unity, killing and division amongst us will naturally go away.
Obviously therefore, today's generation of Nagas are conscious enough to study the costs and benefits of continuing with the current state of affairs. And they want a better future, to be proud of the Naga people's identity as one people, to live in peace and human dignity and not in the path of self destruction. Besides the call for 'one tax one government', the other concern is the unabated corruption leading to economic disparities and subsequently posing a threat to Naga society. Just consider that the World Economic Forum's 2013 annual survey of global risks identifies 'severe income disparity' as a key concern likely to manifest itself over the next decade. Studies have shown that the top 0.5 percent of the globe's population holds 35 percent of its wealth. A similar statistic could explain the economic divide in Naga society. This is not a good sign. Those who occupy position of political and economic power should not erroneously believe that the movement against unabated taxation, corruption, factionalism are being led by 'fringe elements' or that they are without majority support. Its time for a reality check. The sooner the better before any kind of civil unrest and political disorder takes place.
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