Close on the heels of another election some political parties are, once again, making lot of promises and assurances just for electoral gain, although none of them can really implement them. On political agenda, the same old agenda, notably the Naga political and integration issue are in apparition which has grown stale and like the graffiti on the walls, they have been there so long, they have ceased to attract the attention of people as they have ceased to believe in their capabilities of solving them. As such, these two issues should be consigned to oblivion as none of the party can solve them. Don’t be wishful thinking. Don’t waste your mental muscle dreaming an effortless way to win success. Don’t count on luck for victories.
If any effort is to be made to bring a change and build a better future for ourselves, then we shall have to take another road- not the path we are treading now. The path where we are treading is full of deceits and snares for the unwary travelers. We need catchy labels, not those worn out political ideas and antics which do not respond to the fast changing of time just as medicine to patient. I know for sure that the present generation will not want to continue to live under the kind of situation that have today. They all say that change should come. Let us therefore talk about what are the things practical and pragmatic in our quest for better future. Why are we trying to build our future on groundless hope? But let me tell you honestly that, the future I am talking about has to be based on the enlightened political leaders. Do we have even one among us?
In our political agenda, a law and order should get top- priority, then only development will come in the fore front. The political agenda of any party should, therefore, focus on how to put an end to anarchy; for, we cannot remain silent spectators when the entire society is heading towards a near-total-collapse. What should we do to resuscitate rotting to the core?
From whatever angle we look at, the situation ahead of us looks grim with no sign of changing for the better. For years, the Nagas have been praying and fasting with tears, and at long last we could have it. But the kind of peace we have turns out to be farce and deceptive with more blood oozing. The kind of peace we have is something like a scarecrow in barren field, waving a stick to drive away all our pleasures. The general public is weary of the protracted insurgency problem persisting in the land. There are simmering voices everywhere that the exhausted society of ours must be rescued from anarchy and threatened dissolution. They are not even longing for sovereignty but a change of situation which guarantee permanent peace because to live free from fear is the basic human right.
But it should also be understood that, men cannot live by peace alone any more than solely by bread. Peace and economic development are inter-linked, and neither can flourish without the other. If peace is not accompanied by cultural revival, the intellectual and cultural activities would inevitably come to a standstill; for neither there is security to encourage it, nor the means to support it. The inevitable consequence is that the country would decline along with political fortunes. As a matter of fact, the present situation evokes a sense of frustration and desperation with no sign of a brighter future in offer for the Nagas.
As such, the political agenda of any party should be seriously focused on how to put an end to the present anarchy in the state so that we can build a truly modern democratic and prosperous Nagaland where our children can smile in the sunshine of justice and equality.
Z. Katiry Keyake, Kohima.
