Some of those who voted YES had this to say:
• India really has studied the mindset of the Nagas. Only money, money and money can lure and defeat the Nagas. Ever since the ceasefire, the Government of India has been pumping Nagaland state with unaccounted money through the state government and other central schemes. A more clear and visible middle class has been created in Nagaland and it is obvious which side this new middle class will support if in case the situation deteriorates. This new middle class is more pro-state and has the money power to muscle its way through and unfortunately they are the ones who can articulate and express their views, while the grassroots remain dis-empowered and voiceless.
• Nagas never experience the wisdom of God!
• I just don't know what happened but nagas have become more selfish and disrespectful. They don't let a chance slip by when it comes to pride, honour, reputation (in a negative selfish way). But we are blind folded when it comes to helping one another. I feel sorry for my younger generations because they won't probably taste the sweetness of life. I remember a peaceful and unconditional loving nagas during my younger days..
• It’s because rich gets richer day by day takin all da opportunities of the weaker society..
• Nagas do not have God given knowledge, nagas is not after her real conscience.
• Yes. due to corruption, profiteering and outside influence
• Yes definitely the Naga people are losing sight of their values and vision. Just a good honest look around you will tell you how materialistic and greedy the Naga people have become. Nagas people are becoming highly superficial in their outlook and understanding of issues.
• A big Yes. Your place in hell is rest assured.
• yes, one question that always comes to my mind is, '' Are we what we were? Is this how we want it to be? Are we happy with what we are?'' Greed has made many capable leaders blind in our society. This is why i think our society is lacking behind inspite of the talents we have...
• Pretty sure! Everyone runs for pomp and show. They want to possess the world, ignorant about the pains and sufferings of the unabled people. The well-to-do people runs for more money, humiliating and stampede the needy people instead of helping them. The rich and wealthy people derive the money which has been sanctioned for the upliftment of the poor section of society. Nagas, especially the high ranking officials are blind and deaf of the pains and miseries, the poor sections are bearing. Instead of uplifting the people they drive the money into their own hands.
• Unhealthy competition!
• Yes. Though there r some exceptions. Most of the people tends to follow their fellow citizens(e.g. near & dear ones) blindly without introspecting the pros n cons(in general).And again most people like to get rich Quick..its time we get away from this Formula..
• Yes, today's Nagas christian are not better than our forefather the non christian!
• Naga has sold its freedom and dignity to the wealth shower by the generous India. It's a shame to know, what we have been fighting for and what we are now. Until we come out from this confusion of greed and arrogance, one day our children will become the victim of our own folly. 100 years from now, if we continue selling our identity and freedom in this manner, there will be no Naga but mutated-hindi(naga) speaking people. Saying this, it's not too late to change our future. Kuknalim
• Our leaders' goal seems to be the accumulation of wealth. If this is so, what can we expect from the followers?
• There is no doubt that we nagas are greedy n materialistic...but d question of losing our values n vision does not arise becoz we never had them...its high time that we start developing certain values n set visions if we don't want a stagnant naga society.
• Starting from pastors, evangelist somewhere we have lost all morals. worst is predicted for Nagaland.
• Nagas are look like a pig who see only earth and never seen heaven.
• Greed, materialism and copying orhers without rhyme or reason is leading us to a hybrid race of modern evils and corrupt means. Time to reflect!
• Even the Marwari community is feeling the pinch that their once unpenetrable territory has been intruded by the rapid advancement of the greedy nagas, who have amassed huge amount of dirty money. Nagas have taken the no.1 spot leaving the marwaris far behind.
• YES..... Our Naga Society has undergone a complete overhaul in terms of our predominant psychological tendencies, moral priorities and level of economic wants since our ancestors' first contact with the modern world. These changes have a major influence on how we view life's value and goal, or life itself. The degree of our reverence for cultural/traditional values and virtues of material modesty, benevolence, honesty, self-sufficiency and capacity for hard work seems to weakening. Modern society surely promises a lot of avenues for making our life easier, more comfortable, and healthier (mentally & physically). It also provide opportunities to use our creative energies productively. But with no consistent knowledge or moral guide (Christianity seem to have failed terribly here) on how to practice the old traditional wisdom & values and at the same time cope with demands of modern lifestyle, hedonistic promises and temporal social prestige that comes with economic materialism, seem to have deflected our efforts and energies toward creating a morally decadent and valueless society. Some values and virtues I mentioned above - Material modesty, Self-sufficiency, hard work, honesty, benevolence - are, I suppose, timeless ones with potential to provide for an enriching life if we can practice them consciously and consistently. The nature of Life demand such values & virtues in man and understanding this perspective, I believe, will make it easier for us to practice them and make possible a happy and fulfilled life an achievable goal.
• No need to explain....everyone has attained a degree in this field
• Nagas began to commercialise values too.
• In trying to be rich like the Laodiceans, Nagas have become wretched, pitiful,poor, blind and naked. We have made ourselves a big laughing-stock. How foolish and shameful!!!!
• Values, Yes. Vision, it is subjective, totally depends on the vision of the people. For those people whose vision is amassing wealth, greed can actually become a means to the end. But the vulnerability of the Nagas to the power of money is evident with even some churches falling prey to it. And though morality has been compromised and values lost, the present generation hasn't lost the vision of taking Nagaland to a higher level of equitable growth and development.
• Yes the proof is all around us. But instead we are blinded by our own insecurities, greed and selfishness. Really very sad…
• Its very clear that we are losing sight of our own values, dignity and the most important thing that is our future vision and the things to face/come.
• I, one of the hard-working young Nagas aspiring to find the place in the sun by striving to find my niche in the certain field as a career in this fiercely competitive world where the material success rule the roost. And so the Nagas with no exception in this fast changing world seems to be beginning to lose their grip on their core values and vision in pursuit of worldly fame and material comfort of life for the present purposes, albeit, I have no inclination to sit in judgment over my fellow nagas by way of indulging myself in nitpicking or cynicism, yet I, as always, be proud of the fact that how my naga identity makes me feel unique and special within and without and it does prick my conscience for a lapse of living up to that unique naga identity. The positive role models and visionaries are perhaps the scarcest commodities that the upcoming generation of nagas find quite hard to come by in this prevailing current scenario of the naga society whereas the day-to-day life of nagas on all major spheres of lives obviously show how satisfying their conscience and leaving and indelible mark for posterity have been relegated to the secondary place at the expense of sheer greed and materialism for their conspicuous creature comforts for the present.
Some of those who voted NO had this to say:
• For the majority of the Naga people I dont think they are running crazy after materialism. Sure, everyone wants the basic amenities and a decent standard of living, but this does not mean materialism. But yes, there is a growing class of people who are crazy only for money, money and more money. They will sell their souls to get anything they want. Just look at some of the young people today, especially the children of politicians and bureaucrats, they are really driven by materialism. One thing the NPF government has done is to promote only a select group of people and this trend will be very dangerous in future. It means it will only create more poverty and insecurity.
• Let us not condemn all Nagas just because the rich and the affluent have no other job but to only increase their material wealth.
• No doubt it has become a materialistic world, but it does not mean that all Nagas have given up their basic principles for the sake of materialism. I know there are still people who are living with their values and conscience intact inspite of suffering in poverty.
Some of those who voted OTHERS had this to say:
• We Nagas are born with this motto “before I die everything should be mine and everyone under me.” Are we emperors or what? Why are we not at all ashamed of our corrupted mindset? You know we are even despised by other because of our mindset (don’t want to mention in detail). We are just few. Try to preserve our uniqueness in every field. Hey Nagas wouldn’t it be nice if our motto is replaced with “share, love and stand one for another.”
• Let us reverse the sentence. Nagas are lost in greed and materialism BECAUSE we do not, in the first place, have any sense of deeply ingrained values nor vision.
• I am sorry the churches in Nagaland have failed miserably to rich out to the rich and powerful people who are the main source of materialism and corruption in Nagaland. Rather than educating them the rich and powerful are corrupting the churches with their donation and free will contribution.
• No organization seems to have the moral authority to say anything about the present state of affairs. The undergrounds are looting people with the gun, the politicians and bureaucrats are looting people with the pen and the churches are just keeping silent, the so-called intellectuals are cynical and lack self-belief.
