On NPF slams Thephulhouvi’s article

In apropos to  the rejoinder by NPF’s  Press and Media Bureau ‘NPF  Slams Thepfulhouvi’s article ’ let me, as a layman, give some of my own opinions too and exercise my freedom of expression. A party which is in power for the third consecutive term while recognizing its own achievements and accomplishments ,it should also be able to concede or accept its own loopholes and shortcomings also by analyzing ,introspecting or retrospecting. It indeed is very immature and unbecoming for any such reputed regional political party like the NPF to indulge in mudslinging or stoop so low themselves rock bottom and call someone ‘stooping so low’ like against some political arch-rival or nemesis just because he gave us some home-truths about our CM leaving the most coveted and the prestigious sought after seat in a state political arena. For the NPF party ,when the CM first expressed his desire to contest the coming Lok Sabha elections sometime back it was like taking away the prize bull away from the pasture and the party started some mumbling and fumbling but when some better bargain seems to be in store all the moaning seems to have subsided and now has become fiercely protective of its decision and ready to hit anyone like  a killer on the rampage. The party in power is now belittling so much itself that it cannot even take an honest criticism in its stride or show its own maturity by showing some statesmanship or diplomacy. Even many of its own partymen has expressed displeasure over the Press Bureau’s statement of going up to even the extent of  saying ‘lost his mental balance’ to one of our Naga’s most prolific and inexhaustible writer ,thinker and a visionary. He is one who is respected by everyone irrespective of tribal, political and denominational lines.

I have never met Uncle Thepfulhouvi personally before (I will address this gentleman as an Uncle rather than a Sir due to my personal admiration for his qualities which any new young Naga would look up to) but I have often read his awesome articles in the press which I admire him very much for his boldness, straight-forwardness, candid writing-skills and personal acumen on social and political issues of our present Naga society. My father had worked under him in the forest department when he was the PCCF and what I heard from my father and all other department staffs, Uncle Thepfulhouvi is known to be a man of principle, a man of integrity and a person of high moral character. I have heard him speak at the ACAUT Rally last October in Dimapur and his words were indeed pearls of wisdom for all and the New Young Naga Generation are all witness to it.
 Today any young Naga looks up to leaders like Uncle Thepflhouvi and Uncle Khekiye. The leaders who think out of the box, the intellectual leaders whose boldness, truth and straight forwardness are their hallmark. Today when our people seems to be talking without speaking, hearing without listening and acting without doing and when our people is forgetting to tell the truth with our moral degradation of our Naga society seems to be more each passing day. I always remember this two gentlemen mentioned above whenever I read their write-ups and the definition of George Orwell that aptly suits them which goes ‘In times of an universal deceit, the act of telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act ’ .These two gentlemen have become the torch-bearers of truth and justice for the young Naga generation though they could have lived a comfortable retired life tugged up in some mansion like any others away  from all ills of the society. Yet their love for the Naga people and dream for a better place for our tomorrow’s generation they don’t deserve such harsh comments and descriptions. Today they have the full support of the young Naga generation behind them where our government, churches and our national workers have failed.

What baffles anyone and even the people in the NPF party itself is that by the NPF Press and Media Bureau’s lines in the rejoinder that if it did not find Uncle Thepfulhouvi’s opinions worthy to argue over, then why issue a rejoinder at the first instance? Then sure he did not worth to be their mockery and ridicule. Why is it arguing of its own action? Isn’t’ it like slapping oneself when something or someone angers you?

A very popular and winner of several Oscar awards movie, ‘The Gladiator ’ has a remarkable scene in which the slave-master Proximus calls his best gladiator Maximus who was a one-time Roman general before he became a slave due to some conspiracy, and tells him before the slave-gladiators were taken to Rome to fight in the Coliseum either for death or win their freedom. There Proximus tell Maximus the secret of his winning was not because he was the best but because of ability of winning the crowd. If any organization be over-ground or underground cannot win the crowd it spells doom for them.

Let us ponder on a short parable. One cold winter evening, a Little Bird was flying south to escape from the harsh cold weather when suddenly snow started falling and became severe with strong winds. Suddenly the little bird could bear no longer and fell to the ground and started dying .A Cow passing by dropped its dung on the bird, actually the dung was thawing and warming the little bird. The little bird started gaining strength and began singing.  Suddenly, a Cat passing by heard the bird chirping caught it, cleaned it and ate it.

Moral of the Lesson:
1.    Not everyone who throws dirt on you is your enemy.
2. Not everyone who takes you out of your trouble is your friend.
3. Sometimes, it is better to keep silent and come out of the muddle first and start flying home.
Now from the above narration, we can comprehend that the NPF has been like the Little Bird here while Uncle Thepflhouvi played the role of the Cow. So don’t let the people become the Cat.
The rejoinder  of  the party reminded us about the Oliver Goldsmith’s poem in the English literature ‘The Village Schoolmaster’ who can keep arguing and arguing and when cannot win an argument he starts using bombastic words which astounds the villagers and cannot be  deciphered by them. Aren’t we living in a democracy to give our own opinion on any political party or any politician guaranteed itself by the constitution? We are judged by how we finish not by how we start. It does not matter where we are running to but what we are running away from too .Some cause happiness whenever they come while others whenever they go, so how anyone takes oneself about our CM venturing into the big wide open fields of India’s great assembly of representatives depends upon oneself and not massacred at their political guillotine for expressing one’s opinion. Wishing our CM the best  in all his future endeavours.
Jonah Achumi



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