C. Cho-o
Road, road everywhere; not a kilometer to enjoy a smooth ride! Electricity everywhere; not a single day without load shedding or power failure due to mechanical failure! Where is it? In Nagaland! What has gone wrong with Nagaland? I mean, concerned authority (people) of Nagaland. There are many loopholes which is unavoidable because no nation or state can be perfect, but there are two things in the eyes of the writer that have gone seriously wrong for years and years. These two things are road and electricity; the two main things for a country to be called “developed country” or “civilized society.” It will be immature to compare Nagaland with towns and cities outside of the country, but just crossing Forest Gate beyond St. John School Dimapur towards Diphu or towards Bogajan is enough to tell us how poor the road condition in Nagaland is. The writer has been to a few states in the North-eastern region of India but did not experience frequent power failure like Nagaland. How can the power department of Nagaland defend their lack of responsibility by saying that all the north-eastern state of India are facing the same power shortage? It is said, “You can’t cheat everybody all the time.” Why can’t you just say, “We’re trying our best to make things better,” and show it in your action. Many concerned individuals have written incredible articles on this issue in the daily newspapers. In consonant with what some have already voiced out, “what is the purpose of infrastructure development of electricity without power supply?” Or for that matter, how can there be development of a State without good road condition and power supply? Jonai road in Demaji district of Assam is an example of how good road condition can bring other development in the area. Villages in Jonai road adjacent to Telam of Arunachal Pradesh received power connection just two years ago (that tells how remote the places still are) yet the road condition is excellent – four lane road where maintenance of road and bridges is everyday-business. All the developed countries had its beginning from good road condition and uninterrupted power supply which led to the development of the country in other spheres such as education, technology, industry, business, farming, etc. Some simple logic that needs no explanation are: If there is regular power supply, there can be no shortage of water because it can be pumped from any source. Water is an important resource for a clean and hygienic city or town. In today’s world, without regular power supply the whole office work or industrial activities come to a halt, forget about humidity and darkness. Good road condition can save time, energy, and money which will result in the progress of all round development in any village, town or city. But these are some things we could have had long time ago but still far away from us due to apathy, indifferent attitude, lack of vision, and ego-centricity on the part of the concerned leaders both in the government and non-governmental set up.
Amidst these not-good-at all things, there is an array of hope in Nagaland. Half a decade ago, Nagas we generally apathetic about the situations, young people lacked vision. As a result of which public voice was almost unheard. Even if it was heard, it was too feeble. But, of late many good things are happening among the right thinking citizens both young and old. Today, many platforms are available whereby the visionary people of Nagaland can express their opinion, concern, suggestions, even ventilate one’s anger for a good cause. Two typical examples are “We the people for Reform Facebook” column of Nagaland Post and “Naga Blog” of Morung Express.
Apart from verbal expression, how encouraging it is to see Naga Blog comrades come out to street to show the wrong-doers the right way of doing things! A couple of months back, through the initiative of Mr. Isaac Zhimomi, some precious young people protested against power failure in Dimapur. On 28 July, Naga Blog members protested against the potholes by symbolically transplanting rice saplings and fishing in the potholes of Dimapur. How amusing and entertaining? What a way to make things right? Unlike conventional violent strike and bandh, this innovative way of protesting against the bad things in Nagaland is highly commendable. Besides, the mentioned groups, there are many organizations like clubs, student bodies, colonies, and several NGOs taking up the responsibility of the government by filling up potholes in various parts of Nagaland. The writer is sure the government of Nagaland in general and the concerned department/s will not take the advantage of the works taken up by the mentioned organizations and shift their (departments concerned) responsibility. It is said, “A picture is worth a million words.” While the government of Nagaland is in deep slumber, these young people (mentioned above) who are agents of change and the hope of Nagaland have silently thundered in their action what the government needs to do. Their action speaks so loud that it has awaken the whole Nagaland. If the writer were one of the VIPs responsible for maintenance of good road in Nagaland (but miserably failed), after seeing the protest in action he would not come out of his house until he does something on the road condition. After seeing and hearing the outcry of the public against the passivity of the elected representatives, the concerned government servants, the municipal committee members, if the road and power condition remains the same, they are not fit to be leaders of the Naga society. They must step down and pave the way for the capable young people with vision to take up the responsibilities for building our society. David Wiersbe once said, “If a short man cast long shadow, it shows that the sun is setting.” If incapable corrupt people occupy key positions be it in political, social, or religious arena for too long not allowing the capable to exercise their potential, the “setting of the sun in Naga society can be expected soon.” Bob Bowers commented, “When the people in a nation are programmed to sin, they also elect leaders who are corrupt.” It is observed that most of the Nagas are victims of the system. While the politicians are to be blamed for their corrupt activities both during and after the elections, the public is also to be blamed for forcing the politicians to do what they do. About a year ago, a top politician of Nagaland said, “corruption has taken its root in the system” (paraphrased). So, the question is: who creates the system? It’s you and me. Therefore, it is my responsibility as much as yours to bring both social and political reform.
Now, it is heartening to see that public voice and practical protests are yielding fruits; however, the results are far from the required standard. As far as the writer’s experience is concerned, road construction even in third world countries are two feet thick. Potholes are strange sight for the people of those countries (and for the Nagas, roads without potholes are strange sight, lol). Roads in European and Western countries must be far better? As mentioned above, comparing our road condition with the road in other countries would simply be a fantasy, a wishful thinking, but Nagas can do far better than what we see now.
A day or two ago, a friend commented in one of the daily newspapers on filling potholes with mud. Why waste time and energy? Of course stone alone will not work, and soiling needs to be done before blacktopping, but what is observed lately in most part of Dimapur and any other places as usual is temporary filling which does not last for more than a week. It is also said, “Where there is no vision, a people (nation) perish.” Is your (contractors) vision just one week or a month?” Or is your hobby riding car in the river? Are you doing the job just for money? One wrong philosophy from a reliable source among some Naga contractors is that, “If the work is done so well and the road or culvert last for several years, there will be no more contract works for several years.” This is one the worst philosophies the writer has ever heard in life. And if at all this is true with most of the contractors, then this is the main reason Nagaland is stagnant in development. In other parts of the world, contractors do the best work, and every time they renovate or reconstruct those works that are firmly done earlier, the quality keeps improving. This is how a country gradually becomes a developed country. Another wrong philosophy that the writer observes among the Nagas is: “That which is everybody’s is nobody’s.” Therefore, public works are not done well; public properties are not taken cared of. One of the results of this attitude is potholes and namesake patching of potholes. One often hears a humorous comment on the blacktopping of roads in Nagaland: “Black topping in Nagaland is thinner than Ladies’ make-up” (mocking of ladies’ make-up not intended). “A stitch on time saves nine” it is said, but we have never learnt this simple truth, and even when the multiple “stitches” are done on the road, they are done just to relief the commuters for a week or at the most three month! What a wretched thing??? Please, please change your mindset because “You are what you think.”
Murphy’s Law says, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Indeed, no good things come by shouting from ivory tower or sitting in luxurious arm-chair. It’s sacrifice that yields positive result. The sacrifice of right thinking citizens both young and old will take the Nagas a long way. There were times in the past when the future of the Nags was very uncertain, but today, many people are willing to contribute in thought and action, even willing to risk their lives for the reformation of Nagaland. These are the assets of the Naga society because they bring an array of hope to the once-hopeless people. They are the torch-bearers every sensible Naga should support according one’s own capacity.
Finally, please allow the writer to make a suggestion to the Naga Blog members and like-minded groups: “Next time, if you plan to stage a peaceful innovative protest against potholes, power failure, or any other anomalies in Nagaland, please let the public know in advance through mass media, so that more supporters will join hands (and of course joint hearts) and thus plant more rice saplings, fish out more fish, and return home with greater harvest for Happy Nagaland!”
