Kahuto Chishi Sumi
Akukau (GB) Hevishe Village, Khaghaboto
The level of ignorance of government, governance and basic laws among the educated Nagas never ceases to amaze me. We accept illegalities and downright criminal acts as part of everyday life, so long as they emanate from a person occupying a seat of power. That our Politicians have just enough brains to run their bodily functions is understood, but what’s wrong with our Bureaucrats? Do your brains stop functioning the moment you clear your Civil Services exams? Just as a plant is stimulated by sunlight, are you stimulated by money alone? This monumental stupidity on our part leaves me no choice but to write this essay on the line of the popular 1980s series of computer books for dummies.
Societies are governed by Laws. A member of a society can choose to ignore or break directives and notifications issued by governments, but not the Law. For ignoring or breaking the law is enforceable and entails a specific punishment or penalty, but directives and notifications are not legally enforceable and do not carry a legal penalty unless they support an existing law.
Every Democratic Government functions on the Principle of “Separation of Powers” and has three arms, which check and balance each other; viz the Legislative, the Executive and the Judicial arms. The Legislative Arm makes the Laws that govern Society; the Executive Arm runs Society based on the Laws made by the Legislature; and the Judicial Arm interprets the Laws made by the Legislature.
India and its States have the Parliamentary System of Government wherein Parliament/State Assemblies form the Legislative arm of government, and its members are chosen through Universal Adult Franchise. The Executive is headed by the Leader of the party that has the majority of members of Parliament/Assembly and becomes the Prime Minister/Chief Minister. The P.M./C.M. chooses fellow members of the Parliament/Assembly to help him run the Government, they are known as the Cabinet.
The Cabinet is the Executive arm that runs Government on the basis of existing laws, they cannot make laws, only Parliament/Assembly can make laws. .
To make a Law, a Member of Parliament/Assembly must introduce a Bill in the House (i.e. Parliament/Assembly). After due discussion, the Bill may be passed, to become a Law, or rejected, by Members voting on it. Since Parliament convenes three times a year, and the State Assemblies convene at least once every six months, the Constitution of India has provided a method of passing urgently needed Laws. This is called the “ORDINANCE”. An Ordinance is a temporary Law, promulgated by the President of India/ Governor of the State on the advice of the Union/State Cabinet, respectively.
An Ordinance lasts only 6 months and 6 weeks. This shelf life of the Ordinance has specifically been set to prevent the Cabinet from bypassing Parliament/Assembly in making Laws. An ordinance is not a law and can be enforceable only if it does not conflict with existing laws; and it becomes law only if introduced and passed in Parliament/Assembly. To prevent the Cabinet from promulgating an unpopular ordinance ad infinitum, the Constitution limits an ordinance from being promulgated more than 3 times.
I explain all this is connection with the Government of Nagaland’s greed and pigheadedness in trying to set up a Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland. Only a Law can determine the status, rights and privileges of a member of society. Since this Register plans to determine our status, rights and privileges without the sanction of any Law, and I have no qualms in declaring it an illegal exercise.
No Member of our State Assembly has introduced a Bill on the R.I.I.N. (leave alone discussing and passing it) to determine the status of the people of Nagaland; ergo, it is not a Law; hence it is not mandatory. Even if the Governor has promulgated an ordinance on the R.I.I.N (of which I am unaware), it still needs to be passed by the State Assembly before it becomes compulsory for all the people of Nagaland to register ourselves.
If Nagaland is in dire threat of being overwhelmed by illegal immigrants, why doesn’t the State Cabinet request our Governor to call an emergency session of the State Assembly to discuss the issue and introduce a Bill to set up this register?
Is the Cabinet afraid that questioning of the benefits to the people of Nagaland viz a viz the benefits to those who cooked up this scheme will reveal that the former have nothing to gain while the latter will mint money, hand over fist? Explain why the backdoor when you can conduct the whole exercise by the legal front door? God save us from the parasites that feed on Nagaland.
