The Russian revolution of 1917 was a grand success. And so, after the First World War, many European nations became wary of the threat of communism. And a person like Adolf Hitler rose to power by taking full advantage of this fear of communism by propagating himself as a messiah against Communism. Indeed, Hitler’s hatred and disdain for communism was obvious right from the start. Moreover, from the early years of his political career, Hitler became fascinated with the vast Russian lands lying to the east of Germany. And he was also fully aware of the huge number of Germans who died in the First World War due to starvation and malnutrition. Over 2 million Germans died in the First World War. Out of this, around eight hundred thousand (8 lakh) died due to starvation and malnutrition rather than from actual combat in battles.
Therefore, one of the primary reasons why Hitler launched the invasion of Russia in June 1941 was because he wanted to use the vast Russian lands as a “bread basket” for his people. Yes, he wanted to conquer these lands so that his people could use the lands for agricultural purposes and produce products that could feed his so-called superior people both in times of war and peace so that his people would not have to die again from starvation and malnutrition. So, in a way, Hitler’s Russian campaign was fuelled by his quest for the bread basket.
There is also a saying, “an army marches on its stomachs”. This saying is attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte. If we are to take things on face value, one may be tempted to think that the success of an army is dependent on the quantity and quality of its armaments, equipments and weapons. But actually, food turns out to be more important even in times of war. To be effective, an army relies on good and plentiful food. This idiom means that soldiers, workers or anybody expected to perform task cannot function effectively unless they are well fed. During the Kohima battle of 1944 also, one primary reason why the Japanese could not succeed was because their supply line was cut off whereas the supplies for the British soldiers was replenished on a regular basis. All these remind us of the importance of food in our lives both in times of war and peace. And as such, what we consider as our bread basket in any given situation becomes extremely important and vital.
There is another saying which goes “the easiest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”. And I do believe that there is a fundamental truth in this statement also. Women (or for that matter anybody) who can cook well or prepare delicacies fantastically certainly have a greater advantage in winning the heart or support of others. This is so because, at the end of the day, food is everything. We begin our day by nourishing ourselves with food and so those people who go out of the house in the morning with their physical bodies well nourished and fed have a greater advantage of achieving success in the day. Moreover, before we retire to bed in the night, human beings have a natural tendency to wind up their day with sumptuous meals. Therefore, women who are good at these things certainly have a great advantage and they can contribute to the society either directly or indirectly through these skills.
Therefore, this idea of the “bread basket” becomes extremely important in a person’s life, his family and society. This is so because, at the end of the day, the man, his family and society are totally dependent on food and they will prosper only to the extent their bread basket is able to feed them.
So what is the Nagas’ idea of the “bread basket” or what does the Nagas consider as their “bread basket” today? In the olden times, our bread basket was certainly our agricultural lands and farming activities which we did to feed ourselves and our families. For many centuries, we lived incognito of the outside world and did not care whether there is even a world beyond our villages and hills because we were able to sustain ourselves through our lands. In other words, we were able to survive on our own because our bread basket was full and our idea of the bread basket had not been contaminated.
But the Nagas’ idea of the bread basket has undergone a drastic change in the recent times. Today the Nagas no longer view their lands, paddy fields or farming activities as their bread basket. Ever since Nagaland attained full-fledged statehood and Indian currencies started flowing unabated into our lands, Nagas began to view the statehood status and the state government as their bread basket.
This is why government job is all that we want and can think of. This is why thousands upon thousands of our youths sit for competitive exams every year. This is why, though we criticize the state government every now and then for its many failures and shortcomings, we still want to be part of this state government so that we can also bite our share out of this bread basket and live contented and gratified without laboring much.
But in doing so, many a time we tend to forget about the struggles and hardships that our parents and grandparents had to go through to bring about this statehood which has today become the most sought-after commodity in our land. But we need to remember that this so-called Naga statehood status was bought with the blood and tears of many Nagas and also that we were able to survive for many centuries on our own even before we knew nothing about this statehood or the existing state government.
And so, if we had been able to survive in the past even though we knew nothing about this statehood which we consider our bread basket today, there is no reason why we cannot survive today also without this state government. It would not be wrong to consider the state government as a part of the bread basket or as one of the bread baskets available in our lands. There is also nothing wrong in wanting to be a part of this Nagaland state government to be able to feed oneself and one’s families or considering it as a career option to serve our society. But there is something really wrong if we are to start considering the state government as our only “bread basket” without which we cannot survive.
Of course, there is no denying the fact that the state government today is the most vibrant and plump bread basket in our land today. This is why everybody is after it to get their share of the bite out of this bread basket. But we seem to be forgetting that life is not all about biting our share out of a bread basket but also about making a contribution towards that bread basket. And there are so many ways through which we can contribute and create a “bread basket” or become a “bread basket” ourselves for somebody else.
Nagas today may not be dying of starvation and malnutrition. But that does not mean we are doing well or that we have nothing to worry or strive for. Probably, many things in our land today are not what it should be because our idea of the “bread basket” is tainted and misconstrued.
Many people in Nagaland today are crying for positive and drastic change in our land and they go around yelling at the top of their voices that it’s time for the Nagas to wake up from their slumber. Similarly, many Naga politicians, especially during elections, go around promising to bring change to our society. It does not matter to them that they have been at the helms of affairs for many years and that they are the ones actually responsible for the sorry state of affairs visible in our lands today. Every time elections come, they go around parroting the same slogans promising to bring change to the society.
But I believe that real change can come to our land only when we change our idea and notion about this bread basket. As long as we continue to view the state government as our only bread basket, real change will continue to elude us. As long as we continue to run up and down trying to bite our share out of this bread basket, we will continue to fall into the trap set by others. Therefore, real change can only come if we make a shift in our thinking about this idea of the bread basket and learn to find a bread basket beyond and outside of this state government.
