Chenithung D. Yanthan
University of Madras
Since time immemorial our ancestors brainwashed us “sorkari sakori pesaribi” (govt job). The alluring niche was well off until recently. With hard times to come the need to go away from this stereotype locomotion is imminent. We are so rooted on this niche wherein we consider a person without a govt job as someone inferior. We were even taught “peon, chowkidar hoi lae be govt laka pesaribi”. Even parents don’t want to marry off their daughters to a non-govt servant.
Well I don’t blame our ancestors for any reason whatsoever; because back in the days, our population was way less and the literacy or educated ratio was also less. They also had a sense of belief in the govt that they will not fail them, but sadly today the govt is not the sole answer to everything, and the trust of the people on it is vanishing. If we were to follow the pattern of our ancestors then we will be nowhere in the days to come.
Today I contradict with my ancestor’s view, because their views will make people ‘Dependent’ and not ‘independent’. Which means we are also not contributing anything to our society; remember we don’t even pay income tax. Yes we are forced to pay something to someone, but all in all we are not supporting our economy. The more we depend on the govt for our survival the greater problem will it entail.
Imagine this- in some parts of our state the govt has not been able to grant salaries for the past few months, and they are suffering to the limits. So what if the problem persisted for another few months? Yes, we are all angry with the govt for not paying our bills but on the serious note- we (public) will all suffer, who knows even famine might break out.
With the ever developing Nagaland come the new conundrum; the literacy level have risen to higher crescendo and with limited openings in the govt sector and corruption on the fore- I honestly think that we will hit a cul-de-sac. If we are to survive in this world we have to change our definition of life. Getting a govt job and living a mediocre life is not ‘the’ solution. Let us also try to contribute something for the betterment of our society too. There is also no guarantee that your son/daughter will get your (parents) dream job (sorkari).
With having said that I know it is not easy to break any deadlocks but first and foremost we must understand that, we need to join hands to fend off any stagnation in our business structure. This is the sole platform where we will become independent and generate more money, thereby enhancing our standard of living, creating more employment and raising our state’s GDP. As a cue, the power is with the public, especially the youths. It is up to all of us as to what to do and how. Dear youths of Nagaland, we need to set an example, because the Naga clairvoyance belongs to us; so come wake up. Nagaland is not N-Korea. If we stay behind doors and stay ostracised from the issue bothering our economic prosperity, we will have life sans future.
I also understand that the money granted to us by the centre gets slipped out of our state. From an economical point of view we must make amends. Here ‘supported Migrants’ should be minimised.
These group are the student communities and as such. Here the blame goes to the govt and its educational department. Granted, there is a fair amount of quality education on the liberal education (degree) viz senior school, B.A, B.SC. Here my eye brow rises “why is the govt so obnoxious in ignoring higher education?” do they even realise that such a huge amount of money goes out of our state fairly on higher education?
Yes, I don’t blame the govt on grounds of other technical education like Engineering, MBBS and as such. But on grounds of liberal education, they have to step up now. ‘Liberal education’ migrants form a majority of the chunk studying in the mainland; which I think is illogical. Wasting such a huge amount of money on a liberal or post graduation degree and that too with a bonus of ‘Racial discrimination’ is void. In my say- our state will earn a lot of revenue if we bring up substantial, reliable institutions and universities to cater in the surging demand for liberal education.
Till degree level, education in Nagaland is top class but beyond that there is a shadow looming large. Through this article I earnestly call upon all intellect, businessman, politicians, The Nagaland University, The Nagaland Govt to look into this matter; as it is the need of the hour. Creating more seats with quality Higher education is a must and urgent. It is indeed the ripe time to let everyone aware that “Education in Nagaland is second to none”.
