Peter Rutsa
One of the surest way to cleanse Naga society from the political complexities voraciously devouring us is to let people who are not overly obsessed with politics, not owing unrestricted allegiance to any political party or not dependent on a politician(s) for their sustenance to manage our village councils and its affiliated bodies like the mothers/women, youth and students. These powerful traditional institutions have indisputable authority to shape our future and control events in their respective ancestral domains. If citizens free from political influences lead various Naga village mandated institutions, the dilemmas confronting us can be sorted in a dignified manner. Be it political, social or religious. In rural or urban areas and in the lower or higher echelons of society.
With steadfast community leaders at the helm of grassroot village and tribal offices, Naga men, women and youths misusing the many broader regional and apex Naga organisations for their personal gains or in the interest of politicians will be incapacitated and made redundant.
With apolitical and unattached officials in our villages, tribes and hohos, political rottenness will have no space to breed or spread. Politicians have never lorded over Nagas and should never be allowed to. Their purpose is to govern and not rule! The traditional institutions should positively utilize their inherent powers to ensure that politicians start to serve. While we the people (especially the Church) must reciprocate by giving politicians the freedom to govern the state with least interference.
The Church needs to urgently start using the pulpit to preach against corruption. The Church needs to start building society and not grand places of worship. The Churches need to stop taking donations without knowing the source. The Church needs to stop gyrating itself in front of the wealthy.
We learned this election that clean electioneering is possible and it is for the Church to pursue it. That free and fair polling is possible and it is for the traditional authorities to ensure it. That peaceful voting is possible and it is for the electorate to choose it.
Without any argument, polling to the just concluded 13th NLA was predominantly peaceful in areas where village institutions were united and spiraled out of control where village institutions were slack, disunited or too involved with the candidates.
If the Church and Village roll up their sleeves with good intentions and determination, we Nagas don't require central forces or any other authority to teach us and make us follow clean, fair and free elections. We can get out of this duplicity on our own!
