Imkong Walling
The public sector in Nagaland seems to have a knack for grabbing awards. For a state that lacks much in the development and performance parameters, it has bagged some prestigious ones over the years. The most iconic would be the ‘Communitisation’ programme, a grassroots governance innovation accredited to the Indian Administrative Officer of the Nagaland cadre, RS Pandey, who served as the Chief Secretary, Government of Nagaland, back in the early 2000s.
Communitisation, in essence, translated into sharing of governance functions with the community at the grassroots. While it covers a spectrum of “local public utilities and services,” it has been most visible in managing primary education, rural health and electricity.
This innovation was responsible for Nagaland, and by extension, India, winning the UN Public Service Awards 2008. The UN citation was said to have lauded the Communitisation programme for aiding Nagaland move towards achieving the UN’s Millennium Declaration or Millennium Development Goals set for 2000-2015.
The internet comes up with quite a few others.
The same year Nagaland got the UN prize, another award landed home called “India’s Most Picturesque Destination of the year 2008.” Guess it was more for the landscape than tourism amenities.
Before this, Nagaland was also a recipient of the Indian Innovation Awards 2005. The award was for the Department of School Education (DoSE). The DoSE was one among 7 short-listed as “Indian Innovative Organisations.”
The most recent would be the Agriculture Leadership Awards 2024, handed away on July 10, where Nagaland got the Best State in Horticulture Award 2024. As per the media handout, the award was presented to Nagaland for what was touted to be “outstanding work in introducing innovative programs and policies for horticulture development.”
Now, the accolades have not been confined to public undertakings alone. Electoral stalwarts have also got a fair share. One in particular, TR Zeliang, one of the two present-day Deputy Chief Ministers, stands out. He famously received two international awards in 2016 when he was the Chief Minister.
The two awards, as dished out to the media that time, included a Lifetime Achievement Award in Transformation at the 6th Global Leadership Awards 2016 (Indonesia) and one other called the Pangkor Dialogue Award 2016 (Malaysia). The latter was reportedly for efforts made by the people of the state for environmental preservation and promotion.
Minister for Tourism and Higher Education Temjen Imna Along Longkumer, has atleast two leadership awards under his belt. The first happened in 2017 when he was handed an award for Leadership Excellence in Social Entrepreneurship at the 7th Middle East Business Leadership Awards 2016. He was then a budding electoral contender. Another leadership award came his way in 2020 at the 16th World Education Summit in Hyderabad. There was another waiting for him in December 2023 called the Minister of the Year Award.
The internet also came up with another name, a prominent one, who once received a young and rising leader award and was allegedly a workaholic Minister in the DAN regime. Other names and awards could have been missed; all of which, if archived, would make for a great trophy showcase.
The question is, however: How have the awards translated into bettering the state of affairs?
Communitisation, in particular, was initially credited for improving the management of government-run schools, health centres and power utilities, including billing, in the rural areas. Some 20 years on, its contribution to alleged transformation and impact on meeting the UN’s Millennium Development Goals or even the state’s own SDG 2030, is, at best, paper accomplishment.
The writer is a Principal Correspondent at The Morung Express. Comments can be sent to imkongwalls@gmail.com
