A critical analysis of the past, present and reform recommendations to architect the new Nagaland
Yanpvuo Kikon
Kohima
The Past is history and history is the greatest teacher for it teaches us not to create a bitter future but a better future. We the youths deeply appreciate and remember our forefathers for their selfless sacrifices yet at the same time we also look at the mistakes made by our older generation and learn from them.
A man cannot run forward with his head turned backward - So long as we hold on to the past, we cannot focus on the present and build a better future. We Nagas will always be haunted by the thousands of mass murders and atrocities in our Naga villages and have always yearned for some form of emotional healing in ways similar to the ‘National Sorry Day’ in Australia to remember and commemorate the mistreatment of the country's indigenous Aboriginal People by the colonials. Although an official apology never came to us, yet as Christians in true Christian spirit we ought to have a heart big enough to forgive them as by reflecting on Matthew 6:14–15 - For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Because Forgiveness and Mercy are the greatest principles of Christianity, we must share these and teach those who do not know about the teachings of Christ. Harbouring vengefulness, hatred and bitterness will be our own downfall because emotions make us weak and vulnerable; men must learn to use our brains and not our hearts when it comes to making critical decisions. We Nagas need to become stronger physically, emotionally and spiritually for us to step into a new future.
The Present is today and as a youth, I am not scared but excited and looking forward to witness history. As we observe our Nagas exercising the Fundamental Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression on multiple platforms, there are two peculiar common insights inferred from the millions of opinions and thoughts shared:
1. The desire to be identified as Nagas with our unique history, culture, traditions and not willing to accept the word ‘Surrender’ (Which need to be replaced with a more politically correct word such as ‘Rationalisation’), Despite the love-hate relationships among different tribes within and across the border like quarrelsome couples who still choose to live together and not divorce, at the end of the Naga tribes desire to live together under the same roof which for me is a beautiful thing.
2. The desire to be free from extortion, multiple taxation, intimidation, oppression from our own national workers who seem to have become servants of money and not their people.
Although NSCN IM was the group which became the torchbearer to lead the movement, yet greed for money and becoming oppressive to their own people instead of acting as liberators turned the public to resent against the group. The leaders of the group can still win the hearts of the people by taking pragmatic steps today towards long lasting peace and stepping into a new chapter in history, not by thinking they are surrendering but rather by rationalizing and adopting non-violent means of continuing the mission.
NNPG’s must also not steal the limelight and start acting like the champions of the people because even they do not have a righteous history either, yet the manner in which NNPG’s were able to reflect the desires of the public today and becoming more pragmatic than guided by emotions is appreciable.
At the end of the day, it is not about what GoI or IM or NNPG desires but about what the Naga people desire! If you ask any simple minded Naga in a village, every individual wants nothing but to live a good and dignified life. And to empower every single individual within the Naga areas beyond physical borders, it is the duty of our present leaders to design and architect a solution which will provide equal opportunity to every Naga irrespective of which class, tribe, party, faction or denomination he/she belongs to. This will enable us to access free quality education, insurance and healthcare, world class public infrastructure, jobs and business opportunity, peace and security among other things.
THE FUTURE is not scary if you are able to architect and design a better future.
No amount of money poured into this area can transform present Nagaland and the autonomous Naga areas in other states so long as the same kind of system and leaders (Both overground and underground) are in place. Corruption has become a part of this system and to root out corruption, there is a solution which relies on technology.
It is difficult to change people but it is easy to change the system - The Naga solution should include systematic and institutional reforms using technology particularly digital and e-Governance which will change the system itself and people will have to adapt to the new system which cannot be manipulated by corrupt officials. What does Singapore, South Korea or Estonia have in common? They were the poorest countries with the highest levels of corruption in the entire world yet they all took a giant leap to become the most advanced and richest nations in the world within just a few decades. These countries had bitter pasts yet they focused on designing and architecting a better future by first eradicating systematic corruption by way of mandating use of technology and e-Governance. They also made their population/resident registry (Similar to our RIIN) the core foundation in their system architecture through which all other department databases were distributed and integrated.
The beginning of a better future must start with:
1. All Naga areas must abandon the old British Raj form of paper governance, implement and mandate digital e-government to become digital societies
2. RIIN or Naga Population Registry must be mandated in all Naga areas because this is the only security which can protect our minority indigenous population from demographic displacement by illegal immigrants and allow our people to inhabit these mountains which will connect the two greatest economies in the world - South-East Asian countries with India
3. Pan-Naga body which will integrate all Nagas beyond borders to create a European Union (EU) form of confederation for progressive cooperation
4. Upper house to converge traditional Naga institutions and laws with modern legislative process
5. Nagas will become contributors instead of consumers, more independent than dependent on the Indian tax payer and not surrender but instead rationalize the movement towards adopting non-violent means by using knowledge combined with wisdom and intelligence towards creating a thriving economy, a progressive culture, a prosperous digital society and an important geo-political land-linked gateway to South-East Asia
This is a practically achievable strategy which can be executed within a timeline of 5 years post October 31, 2019 as long as the interim transitional body bring together the brightest minds in our society to architect and execute this roadmap.
