Allen Imsong
Ancient Israel plunged into a deep national crisis due to moral degeneration among the people and prophet Hosea lamented, “…my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6). Knowledge comes from God but is acquired through reasoning. C.E.M. Joad came to conclusion that the advancement of human civilization was made possible through ‘free thinking’. Though every ‘hue and cry’ concerns corruption and lack of infrastructural developments, our people need to open their minds and aspire for higher goals and virtues. As a matter of fact, despite the presence of potentials, Nagas are yet to excel. One reason is lack of focus and discipline - drifters never succeeds. Man is a rational being and his thoughts are reflected in actions. Inferior behaviour such as selfishness, nepotism, corruption, lack of civic sense, lack of reasoning and loose talks are begets of ‘inferior mindsets’. Man is a ‘social animal’ but narrow-minds seldom look beyond there own domains or contribute towards the well being of the society. Unfortunately Nagaland is infested by many of such people. To make progress, we must come out from our own nutshells of self interests - self, family, clan, village, tribe, church and so on. We must broaden our scope and platform. Another barrier that hampers our progress is absence of courage to dare, and our adamancy and fear of change (for better). Be it in the social setup or Church, there are certain values, ideas, beliefs, and rules, that are no longer relevant and should be done away with.
Since no system or culture is devoid of defects, taking a rigid stand without reasoning is unwise. Progress takes place when ‘new ideas’ are developed and implemented and leaders at all levels play an active role. “A leader is someone who helps improve the lives of other people or improve the system they live under.”(Sam Ervin) Personality and mental attitude of a leader greatly determines the destiny of a society. When scope of the leader and people are at par, the society stagnates. Thus, to lead is also to think ahead and usher in changes. Daring and visionary leaders rise above rejection, discouragement and opposition to ‘good ideas’. For instance, when President Kennedy announced that America would send man to the moon before the end of the decade (1960s) many rejected the idea as impossible. Finally when they succeeded, America was catapulted to a position far above the others. The achievement boosted the morale and led to its emergence as a great superpower. The Renaissance Movement that ushered in the modern era was due to the ‘enlightenment’ of the mind. Man was set free from the bondage of many false beliefs, superstitions that held him from moving ahead. If drastic changes were brought about on every front then certainly visionary and daring leadership were behind it. Introduction of ‘good ideas’ and its successful implementation greatly affect the fate of a society.
Every problem has a root cause, and unless identified and attended accordingly, it will only aggravate. The crisis Nagaland is going through is not alien to human society. Others succeeded when they soared above the problem and took control. We have done enough reasoning. Two of the main causes that halt our progress are rampant unhealthy behaviour and lack of courage to dare for changes, and all these have got to do with the mind. If we agree to these views, then we are simply suffering from ‘inferior mindset syndrome’. When we acquire a ‘sound and superior mindset’, we will move forward naturally.
