Veroli Zhimo There aren’t many words that sum up today’s economic growth paradigm in Nagaland better than ‘infrastructure.’ Policymakers have been pushing the consensus that infrastructure is the critical ingredient for economic development and launching one new project after the other. On the other hand, almost every day, adjectives like dilapidated, forlorn, abandoned, neglected, crumbling, etc., are frequently used to describe many of the state’s

Dr Asangba Tzudir One of the greatest challenges which Naga society is facing today is the maintenance of social order in contrast to social chaos or disorder. The challenge is to build a stable state of society where the various components of the society work together while maintaining the status quo that includes social structures, political institutions, social relations, interactions and behaviour, and cultural aspects which includes norms, beliefs and values. Ironicall

Imlisanen Jamir Our planet, along with all of the life forms it sustains, is fragile, and we’ve learnt it the hard way this year.  A virus is killing people. We’ve been forced to practice social distancing and have been robbed of the bite-sized pleasures of life. The pandemic has shown how many of us have this habit of taking things for granted. Although the pandemic has made us fearful of actually being together right now, it’s also reminded us of just

Officially, Nagaland is considered the ‘safest’ place for women given the low registration of crimes both under the Indian Penal Code and Special and Local Laws (SLL).     Data in the annual ‘Crime in India’ published by the National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs often paints a rosy picture regarding crime against women in Nagaland.  For instance, the latest 2019 report showed that the consistently low rate in Nagaland has b

Witoubou Newmai Even as another day experiences another issue in our society, we are nudged by an article presented by journalist Uri Friedman in The Atlantic which reads that “the COVID-19 pandemic is revealing a new form of national power”. According to him, “in the COVID-19 era, a country’s strength is determined not only by its military and economy, but also by its resilience”. These two sentences by Friedman give us a glaring connotation that no

Imkong Walling The energy sector continues to be a neglected sphere. On one hand, the Nagaland state government harps on attracting investment, while seldom makes available the prerequisites.  One obvious indicator of the neglect, as far as the energy sector is concerned, has been the frequent power cuts.   Another indicator, which hardly catches the attention of the public, has been depreciating Budget allocation by the government against mounting projected requirem

Dr Asangba Tzudir The current tension in the Assam-Nagaland border coming under Mokokchung district has once again highlighted the state of ‘dependency syndrome’ of the State of Nagaland where any tension at the border is subsequently followed by bandhs and economic blockade called by different organisations in Assam. The nature of the border is such that the State’s leverage often finds lost to the dependency syndrome and the matter is ‘amicably’

The recent report of the dilapidated condition of the lone morgue at the District Hospital in Nagaland’ State capital Kohima carried by this newspaper is not just an act of gross irresponsibility but reflects the overall neglect of public health by successive governments and other stakeholders.  The report (see ‘THE UGLY TRUTH: Kohima’s only morgue in shambles,’ The Morung Express, November 21) noted that the three-room morgue which serves the entire dis

Imlisanen Jamir The vaccines are coming. An announcement was made last week by Pfizer and BioNTech that their COVID-19 vaccine candidate had 90% efficacy in clinical trials. Similar announcements about the Russian Sputnik V and Moderna vaccines followed soon after. Pfizer’s testing is showing a 90% efficacy. Moderna’s is 94.5%. Both are in the homestretch of a race with a huge jackpot — potentially saving millions of lives and a way back to normal for everyth

Witoubou Newmai Each Naga must acknowledge with a nerve of urgency that the situation demands all of us to be all willing to retrospect more intensely the circumstances (and factors) that have helped the Naga society to attain the present situation. This exercise must be considered as one attempt to extricate Nagas from the grim situation.   While there is no disagreement over the slogan--“Nagas must progress”--, what happens when each of us is aggressively categ

Veroli Zhimo The Coronavirus is still a mystery in many ways. Scientists cannot say for certain why it is deadly or debilitating in some people but have virtually no effect in others. They do not know exactly how long immunity lasts or whether (or when) a vaccine will stop its spread. But they do know this: The virus spreads most rampantly between people who gather indoors, in close quarters, to talk or laugh or sing, without wearing masks. Experts pinpoint the wave of outbreaks

Dr Asangba Tzudir After the postponement of the Undergraduate Odd Semester examination, the Nagaland University is faced with another dilemma with 31 colleges in Nagaland expressing their displeasure over the postponement and has issued a statement appealing the Vice-Chancellor of the University to consider conducting online class this year itself.  Had it not been for the directive from the Department of Higher and Technical Education to postpone the exams, the university w

Imlisanen Jamir It may seem like common sense to most of us, but motorists need to stick to their lane when driving through the newly completed four lane highway from Purana Bazar in Dimapur to Chümoukedima. The number of accidents and near misses which are being caused due to motorists’ unwillingness to follow lane discipline is a cause of worry.  The Dimapur Police also noted a week back that most of the recent accidents occurring in the highway are due to motor

“The fundamental objective of journalism is to serve the people with news, views, comments and information on matters of public interest in a fair, accurate, unbiased, sober and decent manner,” declares the Press Council of India’s ‘Norms of Journalist Conduct.’ As journalists and others observe the National Press Day on November 16, a day symbolising the existence of free and responsible press in India, two questions are being heard increasingly. Wh

Witoubou Newmai “…when women without fur coats grow kind to their husbands…you know for sure that winter is near at hand”.  This is a line from O Henry’s story, The Cop and the Anthem, which tells us about a homeless man named Soapy, who struggles to escape the severity of New York winter. The story tells us about how torturing a winter can be for the have-nots. Cut to the present trend here in our region, the torturing part for the people wit

Veroli Zhimo Parents who have watched their children struggle with online learning since schools across the country were closed in March are painfully aware that virtual classes are no substitute for face-to-face instruction. Even so, many of these parents worry that schools might hastily reopen without taking the necessary precautions to shield children — and everyone in the school community — from infection. In this regard, the recent survey conducted by the state D

Dr Asangba Tzudir The latest satirical episode by the popular theatre group Dreamz Unlimited once again brings out the painful ‘unavoidable’ realities of being in a ‘society’ of unions, donations and collections especially in a state like Nagaland which will easily enter the Guinness Book of World Records for the distinction of having the most number of unions in the world if such a record in included in the list. The drama portrays different forms of c

Imlisanen Jamir What has happened to facts? Facts aren’t what they once were. In this bewildering internet age, every fact, however apparently undeniable, has the potential to become a subject for debate. The internet has seen to it.  Essentially we can’t tell truth from lies. They both look perfectly nicely typeset and they’re both on websites. The discerning thinker disbelieves everything and then makes up his or her own mind on the basis of evidence f

As expected, the election for the next President of the United States (POTUS) was the most keenly observed event in the recent past as both Americans and global populace followed the proceeding since the Election Day on November 3. On November 7, most media outlets called the race for Democrat Joseph Robinette Biden Jr and his running mate Kamala Devi Harris after ‘numbing’ counting process and animated suspense throughout the week. Conventionally, though the US election

Witoubou Newmai The world’s main talking point at the moment is the presidential election ‘in’ (I don’t prefer to use the preposition ‘of’ in this regard at least for now) the United States of America (USA). There are definitely sections of people naively talking about the election simply by the influence of the auras or hypes. And definitely there are also people who really know what and why they are talking about this election. The auras or hype