Morung Express News
Dimapur | January 12
GOVERNOR OF Goa and former Chief Minister of Nagaland SC Jamir has expressed concern over the manner in which freedom of speech and expression has been throttled to such an extent that it has today become ‘an exception and not a democratic right’. “There is a severe famine of speaking the truth for fear of gun-culture. Unless the elders open their mouths and minds, how will the younger generation learn from them?” Jamir said during the 33rd Ongpangkong Kaketshir (students) Mongdang (conference), at Chuchuyimpang, Mokokchung district today.
Describing this as the most disturbing development in the State of Nagaland, Jamir did not mince words when he pointed out that today’s youths were unknowingly inheriting this legacy in which ‘truth and honesty’ was swiftly retreating. “Whereas falsehood, dishonesty and brute force have become a shortest route to success”, Jamir lamented in his address and cautioned that the younger generation in particular should be acutely conscious of the prevailing situation in the state and its impact on the future of Naga society.
“This dangerous phenomenon had made the problems of Nagaland murky, complex and critical that defies rational solutions”, Jamir said and further pointed out that Nagas were acclaimed as brave, honest, frank, straightforward and upright. “But today, they are maintaining a complete silence on all issues and keep themselves mum”. Jamir warned that this abnormal trend in Naga society and the negative impact it will generate would overshadow the prospect of a bright future for Nagaland.
The former Chief Minister also gave the opinion that ‘people were tired, fed up and angry with the situation’ and said that people were disillusioned, frustrated and confounded over what he described as ‘the tall promises of heaven on earth during the struggle for independence’.
In this regard, Jamir pointed out that even after more than five decades of political struggle, the most cherished nationalism and patriotism of the ‘fifties had taken a long day off’. “In other words, is there something to offer to the people of Nagaland?”
Emphasizing the need to educate the people, Jamir urged the younger generation to know what was in store for them in the future. “The youth community should take the leading role in awakening the slumbering hearts, minds and souls of the Nagas and to see the kind of society they are in”.
