Lemwang Chuhwanglim,
PhD Researcher, Mon Nagaland
No one to blame or to be blamed for what they are now until the time of change comes. The existence of corruption is the birth of backwardness which erects as the two sides of a coin in the Naga society. Corruption is a normative inevitable factor in society that can be abrogated, however, for the Nagas it remains invincible due to their backwardness. The intensity of backward mind is a prodigious factor that derailed the Naga people from the path of progress in every aspect. They remain backward since the inception of the Naganess. The essence of backward in words and deeds continues to hover in the manners of the Nagas in this postmodern world as it was in their genesis. The people build their minds within four walls with no determination to explore beyond. Little things they have accessed to, remains unprofessional with a subjective of fully acquired. Nagas can see and hear but cannot read and write. Their migration from the early lives in an attempt to adapt the growth of forward people remains elusive in the midway with inevitable sufferings mentally and physically. This suffering promulgates hunger for divisions of forward and backward among own brothers and sisters in every field to grow as more backward people together. "The higher the level of living to be attained, the greater the need for organization. (Edward C. Banfield. 1958, 7.) whereas for the Nagas, the greater the need for organizations, the lower the level of living to be attained.
The chain habits of corruption and backwardness from old minds remain inerasable among the young minds. Despite verbal against corruption and backwardness among the young people, they remain frozen in the old minds culture. They live in an imaginary world by imitating others in the form of wannabes, in pursuance of forwardness. Nevertheless, no words can replace words such as imitation, copycat, xerox, duplicating and so on that Naga people possessed in day to day lives. Their own weaknesses limit themselves from being professionals in every sphere that leads them to darkness than leading to light. Hardly they remember traditional festivals, the rest are abandoned in pursuance of wannabes through imitations.
Everything among the Naga people is imitation, in politics, religion, social unrest, education, entertainment, sports, language, groups and so on. As Christianity can reconstruct culture (North, 1986, p. 7), the emergence of Christianity haphazardly affected the Nagas in numerous ways. Christianity was more of an outsiders approaches and understanding to imposed upon the insiders than the insiders understanding Christianity, that leads to a copycat Christianity. Unlike the neighboring states like Meghalaya and Mezoram, Politics in Nagaland, which plays one of the major roles never grows for it remains a copycat and wannabes, with no genuine innovations to build the common hope but just to imitate.
The Lack of creativity, competencies, innovation, self reliance and sustenance captivated them to backward people and the backward society. Such weaknesses direct them to social fragmentation in all aspects. The society is in turmoil with no hope and no scope for the younger generations in many basic fields. They no longer give importance to hard work and agricultural culture as they migrate to urban areas in search of jobs. However, the agony is that, the undeveloped and backwardness have nothing to offer to job hunters due to the downfall of the Naga society with the birth of the highest corruption in the entire systems and policy makings.
In an attempt to explore the outside world, few Nagas have toured abroad and adapted forward cultures in a short span of time just to become meaningless when they return home in the midst of their backward brothers and sisters. Countable educated young people remains captivated for they find no space to activate their perspective of educated minds. The escalation of unemployment becomes an opium as many young people opted education for the sake of fearing social stigma as uneducated, with no genuine personal commitment and determination towards achieving goal and vision, which is a clear imitation and wannabe performance.
Birds of the same feathers flock together, a significant reference to people of the same habits of thinking, behaviors and so on meet together, similarly, the entire Nagas remain backward people from time immemorial culture and tradition. The essence of living with pigs in a kitchen culture is displayed today everywhere in the Naga society. The invisible backwardness are visible on streets, offices, institutions, churches and every far and near surrounding. Until the time of eradicating the wannabes and imitations arrive, Nagas will remain as the backward people.