The need to intensify the fight against corruption is central to the vibrancy, viability and well-being of the Naga society because it continues to eat away the core of our human dignity. The recent call made by the new Nagaland Governor Ashwani Kumar to confront and control corruption in the society is greatly appreciated. The strategy developed to address corruption needs to be all encompassing and fully inclusive in its scope. Although inculcating sound ethical values in children who are the future generation is crucial, we are currently living with intolerable conditions that require immediate intervention.
Consequently, such a call must be made from the highest office, and backed up by demonstrating the political will through taking practical steps that can positively impact daily living. Corruption, after all, is a social, political and moral disease that requires a committed collective effort and full participation to bring about transformation incrementally. This effort will create its own momentum that has the potential to uproot and alleviate corruption.
Chronic corruption has become so alarming that most people have resigned themselves to it and have become overwhelmed by cynicism that thwarts exploring creative solutions to overcome it. Because corruption in the Naga context has assumed a collective and societal demeanor, initiating a public discourse around it becomes problematic, even though corruption is a generally acknowledged to be enveloping the Nagas way of life. After decades of militarization, armed violence, dependency on the State, social crisis, etc., we cannot allow ourselves to be further encroached up and narrowly defined by unethical and deceitful practices.
In fact, corruption seems to be the least of the people’s worries against the backdrop of continuous armed conflict over many generations. Yet, the two go hand in hand as the conflict situation contributes to breeding corruption; and the corruption that is becoming the primary cause of Naga society’s moral decay which is currently imprisoning the present.
Public servants are called to be actively involved and respond positively using transparency and accountability in the fight against corruption. The Naga situation is embedded in a larger State structure rife with violence and corruption that increases our vulnerability to corruption. When the State system structures are inherently corrupt, the people are inclined towards corrupt practices in order to survive. Long term solutions are needed to reweave the fabric of Naga society and culture.
In the fight against corruption, everyone needs to feel empowered to earn a livelihood through honest and fair means. The people are at the heart of the fight against corruption that asks for the Naga society to transform at all levels. In essence it calls for a consciousness in which the Naga heart responds to the struggle against corruption.
