Channel vision

Reflection of the socio-political environment today does seem to indicate that Naga polity has been befuddled by those who propagate a myth of the past and then offering an opaque vision birthed by those, who seem to think that they’re forward looking when in fact they’re backward thinking. Such mindsets don’t meet the demand for a progressive and enlightened environment. One that is abundantly is not the voice of the enlightened and wise or those who love the people that plods society but the voice of those who see everything through the prism of tribe and politics. The emotive social and political narratives only create a cacophony of noises that drown the sane and rational voices. People need to ask themselves as to how long are they willing to remain muted under the present circumstances? The mindset of medieval concepts are today over riding factors that destroy the nutrients for a healthy growth of the society. One common feature in Nagaland has been rhetorical politics which has increasingly pushed socio-economic narrative into bedlam and where real issues so often get drowned out by the din of distraction and deprecation. Reams can be written on the pulls exerted on society, but what needs to be pondered is why have things have gone wrong and how to correct the total drift? The mass-based institutions like the church should play the role of mediator, provider of safe space for open dialogue, identifier of common ground, and promoter of truth-speaking. This is to enable that issues that are crucial to the interests of the people of Nagaland can be deliberated with an open mind so that a consensus and informed opinion is arrived at while looking at and planning the future road map. Standing up for what is right and what is true irrespective of the race or community of the other, will be testimony of the genuineness of the faith and bond of Christian lifestyle that helps bind various people together. Society is hurting and the environment exudes a fissiparous uncertainty which could prove disastrous in the near future. The bond is being removed and replaced by tribal hegemony. Today, affiliation to tribe or any organization is a password to so-called “free speech” and even ‘free action’. The polarized environment means ‘tribe, clan or followers’. The calls for peace and unity are mouthed with glaring regularity but which have gone unfulfilled and inactive. Peace and unity without truth and mutual respect will be reduced to pursuit of tyranny and only promoted fear and hatred that has enabled self-seekers to dominate the society. Meaningful development can only come when society understands the times-tested and proven practical principle, that there is a time for everything under heaven. The commitment on the part of the government is directly proportional to the dictates of political interests or serving the interests of power brokers and lobbyists flooding the government corridor. Nagaland has had a quantum leap because of political circumstances but unfortunately society feeds on the past and people need to realize it is time for catching up. Societies across the world are proud of their unique identity or history and the pride is sustained by a sense of responsibility to build a strong foundation for sustenance. It is therefore, a time to accept there is a need to work for the culture of development and progress and not fixed on a culture of looking to the past.