Are Young Nagas the Future or the Past?
Pakinchapbo (Advocate)
NOW is the time to ask ourselves, are the young Nagas the Future or the Past? Here, the term “future” implies whether the young Nagas can overcome all petty differences and come under one banner to lead the Nagas into the future or as in the past will the ignorant youths be used again as a pawn by their respective Naga leaders to fulfill their agendas. And in studying the present scenario, it is likely that the latter might happen again.
In order to make the young, vulnerable Naga youths understand this sensitive matter, let me put it this way, no organizations/factions can survive without the solid physical support of the youths whatever be the cause, just or unjust. Any Individual must, first and foremost, cross-checked oneself of the intentions as well as of the consequences, be it good or bad, such actions are likely to bring before one blindly show loyalty to one’s tribes by following its destructive propagandas.
The role of the youths is immeasurable in Nation building due to the tireless energy of the vibrant youths and this example can be seen in the historical developments of Countries such as United States of America, Russia, Germany, China, etc. Too much of comparison with other society is not healthy, yet Naga youths have no option but to study how youths elsewhere have contributed to the growth and development of their respective Nations and lead their country into the future. Conversely, here in Nagaland, the practice of groupism and mental intimidation among youths of different tribes have left me with no option but to suppose for now that the present Naga youths will not lead us into the future. The following are some of the factors to substantiate my humble opinion:
Societal Environment: Family and social environment affect an individual’s mentality. Likewise, the present family and social environment are not capable of producing a refined reasonable Naga youths. Rather it only produces youths of raw and wild characters who take pride in bragging about himself, family, clan, and his tribe. Adding more woes, such youths are active bloggers in social networking sites like Facebook, where hateful, nonsensical, and provocative comments are manufactured and supplied ceaselessly. These kinds of youths are very useful for creating havoc everywhere and they had created havoc; plus they always think they are doing the right thing. If youths have been doing the right things, like they think and do, Nagaland would have been saved a long time ago. And seeing today’s reality, it is not wrong to assume that in case the youths failed to reform themselves, Nagaland will not be saved from what is coming for them. In fictional Westeros Continent, a television series, Game of Throne, all the warring houses of Westeros unite at last to fight the “White Walkers, an army of the dead,” the fight between the living and the dead. In our case, it is exactly the opposite. For us, all the Naga warring houses, instead of fighting the outside enemy, are doing their best to fight among themselves. When winter comes no one will be spared.
Habits: By habits, I mean here the drinking habits of some 60-70% of Naga youths from the high school to college/university level. The figure may not be accurate but on average 6-7 out of 10 Naga youths do consume alcohol. The tones of alcohol supplied during election present the facts and figures. When more than half of the youth populations are habitual drinkers, the youths would never be productive nor have protective and forward thinking. Another degrading habit of young Nagas is that they can only discuss/debates on Politics after consuming few pecks of whiskey or beer, not when they are sober. Being a reliable eye witness, even self-styled ‘up-and-coming youth leaders’ are not exempted from these habits. The result of these habits is that young Nagas continue to engage in useless unhealthy debates in the virtual world as well as in reality. Another irony is that most young individuals are not against the institutionalized system of corruption, but are only against some leaders on the basis of tribes alone. Past or present, both the public and elected leaders are equally responsible for the mess we face now. We must use the same scale in measuring every leader. These destructive habits, not forgetting gambling habits, unless corrected will aid in totally destroying the very fabric of our Naga society.
New Ideas: Though the literacy rate of Nagaland is high, the graduates of Nagaland are not fed with new ideas to practice it, but are fed the same old destructive ideas of individualism. Though many young student leaders outwardly speak on ills of tribalism/corruption, they continue to play with the same old rules instead of breaking the wheel of tribalism/corruption that had enveloped the Nagas from day one. As long as we failed to break this wheel and build a new Naga society with fresh ideas, the young vulnerable Nagas will be the first victims of the chaos and destruction which the wheel of tribalism will bring to our land. In this manner, the Young Nagas will not get the opportunity to lead the Nagas into the future; rather they will lead us down toward violence and chaos. Within ten years starting from now young Nagas has to initiate reformation era within Naga society if youths do want to lead the Nagas into the future, old ideas and practices cannot guarantee any reformation but the end.
Entertainment Factors: The undeniable truth of our traditional ways of life is the rich Folk songs and dances. Present Nagas may be living in the 21st century, but the same blood flows through our veins; however, the present Naga Youths have overdosed themselves on entertainment (singing, dancing, fashion, concerts, watching TV shows, etc.) and a majority of the young populace has neither the patience for reading nor listening. These two habits, reading and listening, is most vital for growth and development of any individual and its society, non-stop entertainment is not. Since we are obsessively engrossed with entertainment, Nagas are now a means, a tool of entertainment for other economically advanced communities. With regard to the reading habits, let me cite an example of the Mizo youths: around thirty thousand copies of a book on Mizo National Movement written by Mizo Nationalist leader, Zoramthonga, was sold off like hot cakes within its first week of publication. Whereas, in Nagaland, various books written by Naga leading figures remain unsold and stockpile in many bookstores. Alas! A modern Naga tragedy.
The younger generation must always remember that the future lies in their hands alone, for there is no other who can build our society but them. Very many have destroyed our society by promising us a better future. We can only save ourselves by following the principle of Non-Violence in spirit and in letter. However, the end is inevitable if we, like in the past generations, zealously take comfort in one’s respective tribe’s numerical strength, in comparison with other Naga tribes, by resorting to violence and intimidation. If we decide every issue by looking through the lens of a tribe and regional angle alone, such an outcome is not impossible, where our state will soon be overrun by neighboring states’ populace after we annihilate each other.
Violence is a disease, it spreads.
