In Nagaland there prevails widespread frustration among the educated youth and instead of becoming a positive force they are getting increasingly alienated and resentful. For this sorry state of affairs, the students should not to be blamed entirely as they try to confront the many problems brought about by socio-economic and political upheaval that afflict our state and society. Unless due attention is paid to their problems, the future of society may remain bleak.
In this backdrop, the media reports about the Dimapur police clamping down on young boys and girls for their unbecoming behavior in public places during their so called late night outings has generated cross ranging opinions not only on the ‘conduct’ of the youths arrested but also on the way the entire issue was projected in the local media, which some felt was improper with a touch of cruel insensitivity. However, there were those who felt that the police as well as the media had done the right thing by drawing attention to this act of public indecency some of the young people were getting into for sometime now despite being cautioned prior to the arrests.
Despite this divergence of views on the way the entire episode was conducted, there is also a general feeling that much more needs to be done by way of improving the condition of the crisis ridden young men and women in our society. It is obvious that there is a lot of rage among the young people and it would be a goodtime to introspect on how society itself has responded to this crisis.
The problem of indiscipline among the youth has two sides. First, a proper sense of values has to be imparted and second, the personality of the youth has to be developed on the right lines and they have to be protected against the unhealthy influence of anti-social elements which has permeated our daily life. Here the first facet of the problem can be tackled by molding suitably a system of education. The responsibility for the second aspect lies on the shoulders of politicians who exploit the highly inflammable instinct of the students. By their own misdeeds the politicians themselves should not expect to ‘reform’ young people into useful and law abiding citizens. How do they expect ethical values, moral codes and norms of society to be implanted in their young minds while they themselves have not been in their best of behaviors?
The youths find themselves in a society disintegrating with so many vices such as bribery, corruption, favoritism, cheap popularity, defunct leadership, mock democracy and so on. When elders and our leaders are not showing any exemplary character to inspire the youth, not much should be expected of them. The political life of the State has not had a healthy effect on the minds of young men and women. The way some of our politicians behave among themselves have left an indelible impression in their minds that politics, is after all a game of scoundrels, who have no principles in their lives. This mistaken notion seems to have taken its full grip on the youth.
