(A closer look at Midland colony Kohima and its candidates)
My grandmother, Vinyii Dziivichii is in her nineties. Although she has never been to school, she can read, write her name and has a great sense of duty, justice and moral zeal. She has been voting faithfully in every election since she got her voting rights, making that well over 40 years of being civically active.
My Grandmother lives in middle Midland, Kohima. She has lived here for more than 50 years. Midland is also home to two generations of my grandmother, that of my mother and her sisters and me and my sisters.
For those who are not familiar with our colony, Midland lies right in the heart of Kohima, stretching an arm towards the walls of Assam Rifles on one end, PWD on the other, and, opposite the most significant landmark of our capital - the Second World War II Cemetery.
Midland has been divided into three parts because of its range - upper, middle and lower Midland.
Going by logic, Midland should have come under the Kohima town assembly constituency, but for some strange reasons, it falls under 8 western Angami constituency. And that, I feel is the reason of the state of our Midland today. A colony in the hub of the capital town clubbed with villages as one constituency, hence, the perfect place for officials and elected members to pass the bug. We are neither a town nor a village.
Our roads have been the same ever since I can remember. My mother and my grandmother, going back two generations before me will back me up and say the same. Potholes have not been repaired for years and we cannot remember the last time when full resurfacing road took place. Our water - over 80% households in Midland do not have water supply. Street lights - the only trace of street lights in most parts of our colony are rusted lampposts, we have no idea when it has been installed and why it has never been restored. Sewers. What sewers? Our roads play double roles.
If you were to come to middle Midland (recently named Kathipri road) say towards my grandmother’s house, you would take the slope, below Ser’s bazaar.
After few seconds on that road, you will get the first feel of being in a washing machine. Go further down and as you prepare to get into the spin mode, there’s a pleasant surprise in the form of an evenly plastered patch in front of a local BDO’s residence. But don’t get too comfortable, because without warning, a huge open dustbin awaits you and, will wake up your two great senses - of sight and smell. On your left is a public cemetery which we referred to as the Naga cemetery, but no authority maintains it, so it became one of the most abused and forsaken cemetery ever, in Kohima.
Living in an unplanned town such as ours, with zero public space or garden, this cemetery could have been a great colony park, but alas! The cemetery has been impinged and infringed. Neighbours dumping their raw housing materials on top of graves, residence of a church even dared to use it to store their wood, water tanks and believe it or not, a kitchen garden in-between the graves. The cemetery is getting smaller so is our roads.
Let us take some numbers and our candidates into perspective. According to the record of Election Commission of India, 2013, Midland has 1,892 valid voters. Out of which 887 are Male and 942 Female. Going by past records, 8 western Angami constituency has seen very close contest between candidates. Case in point, in 2003 Kiyaneilie won by just 966 votes against Asu Keyho, and in 2008 against Achubu with 1,478 votes, making it clear that no candidate can afford to neglect Midland or take its voters for granted, hopefully not anymore.
Kiyaneilie Peseyie: NPF
Elected Twice. Held the longest post of speaker in recent memory
USP: Party endorsement.
Political Track record: Never lost an election since getting into active politics in 2003.
Asu Keyho: Congress.
Political Track record: Most experienced candidate amongst the three.
Lost in 1993 to Shiirhi-u.
Won in 1998 against N.T Nakro
Lost to Kiyaneilie twice. In 2003 with a Congress ticket and 2008 as an Independent candidate.
USP: Young politician. Approachable personality
Huzo Meru: Independent.
Political Track record: First time in the fray.
Politically inexperienced and untested.
As an educationalist and a theologian, he is highly regarded in
society.
USP: Clean Image. Anti–corruption advocate
We are lucky to be in a state where voting is a personal choice and not a legal obligation. As progressive society members, every electorate should ask ourselves some fundamental questions
1. Why are we voting in the first place?
2. Can we ever vote based on Individual performance and not on Party?
3. In a worst case scenario, Is it not better to have a strong opposition than a weak elected member?
4. Should we continue to follow our hearts and not our head?
Like many constituencies in the state, statistic shows us that there are more women voters than men in Midland. Another glaring fact about Midland is the growing number of widowed single mothers. The least elected member can do is address issues that directly affect them. There are mother’s wishing for basic requirements, such as walk-able roads, so their children’s school shoes can last longer. A basic government dispensary, so they can avoid going to private clinics for minor problems. A government water tanker in dry season, so they can stop buying water from private suppliers at inflated rates. Some wish for the day, when power cuts are a thing of the past and street lights restored, making it secure for women and children at night.
As for my grandmother, she will not be able to cast her vote for the first time since she became eligible decades ago. She’s confined to her bed - nursing a broken hip. But for her, regardless of her voting or not, her candidate coming to power or not, life has always been the same.
Her drinking water still comes from the same well, hand-dug by her father over a century ago. No, she doesn’t have direct water connection living in the heart of the capital town and she shares the well with hundred other households in the area. Her electricity goes off every two hours - every day. On a pitch dark night she watches the lights flickering at Raj Bhavan and the VIP lines of PWD, whose lights never seem to go off and wonders why. Her vote seems to have made no difference in the past.
We cannot expect change overnight. But, our first step towards that road of change is to go out on Election Day and vote. From a political standpoint, we need someone who has a vision, is capable, sincere and considerate towards community welfare.
In all sincerity, I would like to add that, this is not about party or individual bashing. We cannot deny several significant dynamic transformations that took place under the leadership of Neiphiu Rio and DAN government. But, at the end of the day, each candidate has to step up for its constituency members to give him or her another chance. Let us all in Midland with voting rights, for once, put community/colony above party rhetoric’s - vote this time and, vote wisely.
N. Arhe
