KW Longkumer
A few days back I was reading the editorial of Morung Express dated Oct 13, 08, Unchanged Hearts in a Changing World, and I had to agree with the writer how the recent economic indicators that show a boom are many a times superficial. It felt good to read such critical analysis in a popular newspaper in Nagaland. If it was written a few years back then many of us would have just discarded it as “Pious readings but impractical”. The times have changed and humans are now critically viewing the notions that were presumed true for many decades in a significant way. Moreover, working in a US based MNC compels me to keep an eye on the world events and the changing demographics in business and how we Nagas can learn from it.
In many quarters especially in economics a rethinking process is underway forced by the current financial crises threatening the world. The world is questioning the policies of extreme deregulation and privatisation started by the Republicans and the Conservative party in the USA and UK respectively and later on by Clinton and Blair. The recent speech by author Naomi Klein (The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism) against the policies of Milton Friedman and the move to oppose a new research center in the University of Chicago named after him is also noteworthy. She argues that repression was employed to make the Chilean economy work. In fact in the USA there are now many of its citizens and intellectuals critically commenting on the economic policies of the American Government. On the other side of the Atlantic too we are witnessing the ramifications and many commentators stated that the whole idea behind the formation of the EU is almost dead at present because the member states wants to protect their interest firsts. World economy is also driven by globalization and consumerism and this is what Jonathan Porrit the prominent English Environmentalist had to say in one of his TV documentaries, “If all six billion people here on earth were to consume at the same level as we ourselves do here in the UK, we would need two other planets to provide all the necessary energy, soil, water, raw materials to make that possible.” In other words it means the whole world cannot have the “American Dream”.
So tucked away in a corner in India Nagas at the moment are influenced only in a small way by the global scenario, but the scenario will obviously change in a few years’ time due to the rapid advancement in transport and communication. This calls for the Nagas to chart out a broad based bi-partisan socio-economic roadmap before it is too late. This is the right time for Nagas to have a vision and with an objective of achieving it within the next 15 -20 years. The vision could be on the lines of the MDGs formulated by the UN namely Poverty and Hunger, Primary Education, Equality for Women, Child Mortality, Maternal Health, HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases, Environmental Sustainability and Development. With the MDGs as the basis we can further expand and tweak it to make it work with the unique issues in Nagaland. The project can be a collaborative effort by the Naga intellectuals particularly the subject matter experts in their respective fields. The politicians should also take the assistance from the intellectuals and stop socio-economic policies from being formulated only within bureaucratic and political circles. At present, immediate measures are required to control the growth of power and money of only a few vested interests and businesses. It should be curbed at the initial stages by making appropriate laws. The government needs to ensure uniform growth in all areas from now on or else Nagas will face the fallout, as evident from around the world, in the very near future.
A new system based on the strong social structure of the Nagas should be taken into account and the gaps that we are experiencing at present be duly filled. Nagas also need to start standardising and writing down the customary laws and wipe out the grey areas and try to bring some degree of uniformity among the villages and the tribes. Moreover if Nagas want to rise up as a people in the 21st century then a review of our customary practices is required and should be made at par with the UN Declaration of Human Rights. It is only when we accept the declaration in spirit and in practice among ourselves that we could also truly fight the perpetrators against us. A serious review is also required on the present relationship between the villages and the government. At present it can be said mostly as a “one-way traffic”. Even the existing link between the villages and the civil administration is only a dotted-line and we end up having completely autonomous institutions. Economic packages for the rural areas and the villages in particular should also be streamlined and critical riders included to check the accountability of the village councils. The present method of giving packages to villages, both economic and developmental, in Nagaland can be rightly construed more as a political tool to appease the incumbent council members but very less to do with actual improvement in human development. We are sadly still relying on a model designed for sustained control started during the conflict years in our history; it is in effect a ‘wartime interim model’ and not meant for permanence and very little has changed over the years since the Britishers left. Nagas need to come up with a new vision and a changed model to reach our goal. For instance, reliable sources indicate that even the much acclaimed VBD system is filled with political intrigues in the remote villages across Nagaland except for the few award winning villages.
These kinds of activity no doubt need a monumental shift in our thinking but not unachievable if it can be made into a partnership between the government and the civil organisations or NGOs. The strong community based society that we have would in reality make it easier for us to mobilise and educate the people. The current advancement in technology and the media boom in Nagaland can be leveraged to disseminate information and educate the masses. Text books on civics can be improved upon to include more of the Naga system and stop the overdose of teaching other’s system. We should do away with the tendency of Nagas learning all about the rest of world but nothing about ourselves. Nagaland requires an educational system that strikes a balance between our age old traditional knowledge and the ideas of modern world.
However all these can only be achieved only when we can set a few things in place. We can wait for that almost supernatural legendary god-like "Naga Leader" who will solve all our problems. That charismatic, visionary, humble and righteous Naga Leader for whom everyone is waiting for. Many of us have even stopped dreaming as it is not required because we still believe that this "Leader" will set everything right for everyone. We can either still wait for that leader or stop it immediately and do something. Let us come to a consensus by shedding the 'narrow domestic walls' that we have built between us over the years and work together for a common dream. We need to realise that everyone is follower but at the same time everyone is also a leader. Moreover leaders need not be an individual; it can be a political party, tribal body, student’s body or any civil organisation. Nagas need to dream again, dream together and work together to achieve this dream because so much is at stake if we stop dreaming.
