“Mushkil Hai Jeena Yahan, Zara Bachke Zara Jhoomke Yeh He Bombay Meri Jaan”. This is a song famously sung by comedian Johnny Walker in one of his black and white movies. The tune of the song itself is very catchy and even today, whenever I hear or see this song; I am nostalgically taken back to those sweet old times when life seemed so much simpler, unsophisticated and endearing.
In this song, the singer sang that it was difficult to live in Bombay during those days and here I say life has become very mushkil in this 21st century Kohima. So what are the things that compel me to comment that Kohima or Kewhira has become a place where life is draining the blood out of our skins?
1) First of all, Kohima is a growing city without any structures. Someone recently told me that Kohima is growing but losing its beauty because it is an unplanned city. In western countries whenever a city grows, its beauty also increases because in those countries the length and breadth of every city is minutely measured and the city is thoroughly classified into areas like residential areas, market complexes, government official buildings, private enterprise establishments, country-side areas, school areas, college areas, gas station, movie theatres, parking spaces etc and etc.
But in our beloved Kohima, everywhere is parking spot, everywhere is residential area, everywhere is school and college area, offices are almost everywhere and our churches can also be built anywhere even by encroaching neighboring territories. The result being that even though Kohima is growing in terms of population, cars, buildings, schools, colleges and department offices, life here is only getting harder, tougher, tenser and tighter. And all these are eventually taking a huge toll on our peace of mind, finances, health, mental balance etc.
2) During my childhood years, we used to have government water pipes attached to our homes. These were our only source of water and the service which we got from these government pipes was quite regular, reliable and dependable. Except on some few occasions, we usually did not have to go to the nearby wells to fetch water for drinking purposes and for other domestic consumptions.
But now, what has happened to all those water pipes? Most of those water pipes now lay rotten, broken and buried beyond repair. Has the Nagaland government stopped repairing and constructing water pipes meant for the public? I think here is an area where we need to set our priorities very straight and accurate. We need to realize that we can survive without RCC buildings and fancy cars also… but we cannot do without water even for a single day. Even in ancient times, cities grew and developed where water was available in plenty and even in this 21st century, human dependence on water for survival has not diminished even an inch – in fact it has only increased further. Therefore, as long as the Nagaland government continues to neglect the issue of proper water supply to its citizens, we are playing with our own lives and a day will surely come when water will become costlier than our petrol.
3) Despite the repeated assertions that the Naga youths should no longer depend on government jobs for their livelihood and survival, the fact still remains that employment within the state government is still the most sought-after when it comes to career and profession. Probably the fate of many hard-working and brilliant Naga youths would not have been so pathetic if recruitments and inductions into our state government services are made purely and strictly on the basis of merit only.
However, it is an undeniable fact that nepotism and favoritism are still clearly reflected in almost all of our government departments. Almost all HODs (Heads of Departments) try to recruit their own sons or daughters into a well-placed and lucrative post within their department before retiring from office. I guess this is the reason why we hear of young inexperienced officials heading over senior and experienced govt. servants and why we hear of pending court cases in our departments.
4) “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” – we all study this proverb in our schools. But it appears like this proverb does not apply to Nagaland. I say so because in Nagaland, the early risers are usually the poorest, the weakest and the most-neglected while the late-risers are usually the wealthiest who own the best buildings and cars. Maybe this is why it is said that everything is ‘ulta-pulta’ in Nagaland.
And because we rise late in the morning, it is no big deal even if we reach our offices at 11:00 am, 11:30 am or even at noon. In fact, we now live in a society where those who reach their offices at 10:30 in the morning are called the early comers.
Even if we go to office late in the morning, if we try to supplement it by staying in our office chairs till late in the afternoon, I would say that our conscience is still alive and kicking. But all the chairs in our department offices would be empty by 2:00 in the afternoon. This is so despite the fact that the sun still rises and sets at the same times as always.
5) I don’t know when electricity exactly came to Kohima but it must be somewhere in the late 1950’s or early 1960s. And if electricity has been here with us for over 50 years, why is it that we still suffer the most because of this most essential service? We talk about development but the frequent power failures are a big slap on the face of our so-called progress and development. When I think about the irregular power supply that I am forced to cope up with everyday, I begin to wonder what actually are the top priorities of our government. Are not proper water supply, proper power supply and good roads supposed to be the top most priorities of any civilized modern government?
Here, it needs to be remembered that we cannot call ourselves as modern or advanced as long as we continue to light our candles every one hour.
6) When elections take place in countries like the USA or UK, it is always interesting to follow the proceedings on televisions or radios. This is so because elections in these countries are totally fair and democratic where the principle of ‘one man, one vote’ is strictly adhered to. Terms like proxy voting, booth capturing or EVM tampering are not mentioned or heard even once in these election proceedings in these countries.
Moreover, when elections take place in counties like USA or Britain, the contesting candidates are made to publicly express and share their thoughts and ideas on pressing issues facing their countries and thereby the public or the electorate get the opportunity to personally assess the potentials, capabilities and visions of the contesting candidates.
However, as far as election in Nagaland is concerned, it is better not to talk about it because, here in Nagaland, nothing is what it seems to be. Here in Nagaland, the contesting candidates do not take part in public debates whereby the public can judge their potentials, capabilities or visions. The candidates only publicly repeat their many plans and programs which they will never fulfill once elected.
It is also undeniable that we live in a land where only crorepatis can contest and win elections. In our democratic set-up, there is no place for political visionaries and intellectuals, no room for social reformists and no chairs for politically conscious sons and daughters from middle-class families. In our elections, some of the winning candidates are usually the wealthiest, the most crooked, the most treacherously tactful, the most money-minded and the most-wicked. Therefore, the best advice that fathers can give to their children about elections in Nagaland would be “just stay away from it”…..
Khrietuonyü Noudi hails from L. Khel, Kohima Village and has a post-graduate degree in political science from Delhi University
