A Peaceful Society

What makes for a peaceful society? Are we a peaceful Naga society? What could possibly be the factors that go to make a peaceful society? And if we knew this, perhaps we would benefit from such knowledge. The Institute for Economics and Peace, an international research group based in the United States, has come up with eight ingredients for more peaceful societies. They’re laid out in a report, “Structures of Peace,” based on the institute’s annual Global Peace Index and more than 300 data sets from around the world. Hopefully this knowledge can be applied to our own situation where peace, order and harmony are a constant challenge given the inherent conflict our society is faced with. Firstly how effective is our government in performing its duty. What is the quality of public service rendered? Or in our context whether there is service at all—water supply, access to health facility, proper roads or electricity to name just a few. What about the government’s responsiveness to people’s needs or policy formulation and implementation. Nagaland probably will fall short on all counts. We need money to build world class infrastructure to improve our road, power or health sectors. A major chunk of money goes towards supporting big fat government machinery. Then another problem is we are unable to enforce policy decisions and instead we are good at roll backs, relaxations and even bending rules to suit vested interest. Our government is therefore not only ineffective but it is weak. Related to the effectiveness of governments, another vital ingredient for a peaceful society is the proper distribution of resources. There has to be equality of opportunities.   If there is inequality and the gap between the rich and the poor widens, there is bound to be unrest and conflict arising out of grievances and the injustice done. And perhaps this is what we are witnessing today in our own society.

The other ingredient needed for a peaceful society is high levels of education. This is true and we need to invest in building up the human resource potential of our people so that they can become vital assets for the growth and development of our nation. Another thing that we in our Naga society will have to mindful about is the large number of school dropouts and how they can become liabilities in the long run. Our education system will also have to be in tune with the needs and challenges of the job markets and young people can be given opportunities to pursue vocational training so that they do not become frustrated with life. Degrees and educational qualification alone will not be enough to get a job or become successful in life. And that is why there has to be a mindset change even in policy formulation when it comes to education. According to the findings of the research group, the other factors required for peaceful societies are: a sound business environment, acceptance of the rights of others, good relations with neighbors, free flow of information, and low levels of corruption. We need to be honest about how we measure up against the indexes mentioned. There’s still much room for improvement. We obviously need to allow the rule of law to prevail; improve our work as well as moral ethics; be good citizens; know that rights and duty go hand in hand; encourage dialogue and discussion; create checks and balances and promote transparency with accountability in public life. Nagas need to reflect on the above so that we can reap the political, economic and social benefits of peace.