The on-off political confrontation between the ruling NPF Party and the Opposition Congress has sometimes led to a degeneration of politics to mere partisan squabbles provoked by politicians on either side for short term gains. The result is that this only foments mutual resentment so much so that there are no standards of what is right and wrong but the mere political assertion of who is right. Politicians in the State should seriously reflect on whether such divisive politics is good for the people and their welfare.
Sadly, the situation in Nagaland has come to such a pass that it is no longer viable for any political party to speak on real issues. Rather than actually addressing a particular issue in a transparent and fair manner, the ruling and opposing party appear to be more concerned about exploiting the issue itself for their own interests so much so that members look at every important point from the narrow eyes of their respective party interest. As a result, in many situations, the general interest of the people at large is often being sacrificed at the altar of party interests or rather political posturing.
Taking the issue of the Naga peace process as a case in point, it is extremely unfortunate that both the NPF and the Congress are unable to close rank on this even though they regularly shout from the roof top about peace, unity and integration. The question that needs to be asked to the respective parties is whether differences are so irreconcilable that they cannot break ground on something as important as the peace process. The only conclusion that one can draw here is that as long as the party system exists, there will be no place for reason and the political space will be cornered by those who will continue to see the game of politics as nothing more than a power struggle. As a result, politicians in Nagaland will agree to disagree in most of the controversial situations just for the sake of sticking to their pretentious convictions. Politics without reason will turn out to be a dangerous game. The choice for both the NPF and Congress is clearly written in the wall.
More than anything else the over-ground leaders should realize that they have no legitimate right to ask the Underground groups to reconcile when it is clearly evident that the political parties themselves are unable to come together. Rather than profess about something that they are unable to put into practice, the NPF and Congress should step back and seriously reflect on whether it is advisable for them to approach the Naga political issue from an apolitical ground or take it to be a matter of everyday politics.
Knowing that the western concept of a party system remains alien to the Naga polity, its absorption into the body politic is almost an unnatural political phenomenon. This is a matter of concern. The worst thing about it is that it kindles animosities of one party against another, foments division in a community into irreconcilable camps seeking to degrade each other. As a result the ruling and opposition party will always remain antagonistic to each other. When this happens, it is highly unlikely that a common agenda can be put together. And as long as vital concerns such as peace process or reconciliation is made into a game of political one-upmanship there will be less and less chance of making headway on these issues. Rather than fomenting partisan divisions on each and every issue, the spectrum of political leadership should be open to bipartisanship as an avenue for dealing with the critical challenges, and for combining the best ideas. Whether politicians are genuinely willing to embrace true bipartisanship therefore remains the moot point.
