In the olden times when violence rule the day, almost everything was decided by wars. Empires were forged and expanded by wars. So, in times and eras when wars played the most crucial part in deciding the fate of people, war was the most important engagement of the people apart from other sustenance activities like farming/agriculture and commercial activities like trade and commerce. So, in those times, it was natural for almost every king to have a separate war department or ministry headed by a war minister. In our times, the most coveted portfolios may be that of finance, home, industry etc. But in the olden times when wars decided everything, the war ministry was the most important and prestigious department.
But today, most modern governments do not have a separate war ministry to cater to the needs of wars and conflicts. Why? It is because war departments were created to meet the demands of the times when wars and violence decided everything small and big. But in times like ours when the world has become wiser and when we no longer believe that “might is right” but that “right is might”, we no longer need a separate war department or war minister like in olden times.
During the Second World War, Hitler also set up an armament ministry whose job was to oversee the production of war weapons like tanks, warplanes, bombs etc which were in great demand for the German war efforts. Accordingly, Hitler appointed a man named Albert Speer as his armament minister and entrusted him with the task of overseeing the productions of war weapons on a massive scale so that the German war efforts were not debilitated in any way. Albert Speer was actually Hitler’s architect who had designed and built many impressive massive Nazi structures for Hitler. But as Germany got engaged in wars in both the eastern and western fronts, Speer who was a trusted confidant of the dictator was made the armament minister.
Likewise, after getting its Independence in August 1947, India was faced with the horrific migration fiasco. When the British granted India her freedom, they also had to create a new country by the name of Pakistan for the Indian Muslims as the Muslims felt threatened by the majority Hindus and did not wish to live in an India where they had to exist as a minority community. So the consequence was that Muslims living in India were forced to migrate to the new country Pakistan and the Hindus living in that new country had to migrate to India.
There were large scale violence and many lives were lost. And the biggest problem staring in the face of the new Independent India was how to rehabilitate these Hindu migrants pouring in from Pakistan. So the Indian government established a “Rehabilitation Ministry” to look into this urgency and make sure that the Hindu migrants pouring in from Pakistan were welcomed and recuperated honorably. And after the matter was solved, this Rehabilitation Ministry was abolished and today India no longer has a Rehabilitation Ministry because it was set up only for a specific purpose and so after the purpose was served there was no reason for the ministry to exist.
And today, like this Rehabilitation Ministry which was abolished after its purpose was served, most countries also do not have separate war department or war minister because wars no longer play a dominant and crucial role in international politics like in the olden times. So, my point is that it is completely normal for any government to create a new ministry or department to cater and look into the contemporary needs of its times or to abolish any department which has served its purpose and is no longer relevant.
Today, the affairs of the Naga people are manned by the Nagaland state government. Though we are only a state within the Indian union, the GOI, through various constitutional provisions, has given us much autonomy and freedom to decide our own matters and fate. Over the years, the Nagaland state government has created many departments to meet the needs of the people and to keep the Nagas at par with the rest of the country. And recently someone from within the government sector itself has mooted the idea of creating a separate Enforcement Directorate department for implementation of the Inner Line Permit. Upon hearing this I feel that the present government is now, at last, on the threshold of creating a tangible legacy for itself.
The most challenging and enduring issue that the Nagas face today is the unregulated and unchecked influx of outsiders into our lands. These outsiders are having a heyday in our own backyards because of the easy availability of job opportunities in our lands which are caused by the reluctance of the Nagas to take up manual works. And this issue will only escalate like a ticking time-bomb.
We often make a big deal about the ILP protection but this protection seems to exist only in papers as Nagaland has failed miserably when it comes to its practical implementation. We need sufficient manpower, resources and incentives to tackle this menace. As long as we are dependent on some NGOs, student bodies or volunteers to check and implement ILP protection, it will never work because when there is no reward, incentives or security in doing a work, nobody can always be available and volunteer to carry out these mammoth tasks even if one is genuinely concerned.
So, I am also convinced that now the only way to effectively safeguard ourselves and our future through the ILP protection is to create a full-fledged, exclusive and independent department for the implementation of the ILP. And this ILP department should have branches in every district and the staffs and manpower of this department should be endowed with all that are entitled to govt. servants like timely salary, job security, provident funds, pension benefits etc so that they can carry out their assigned works uninhibited without any fear or pressure from any quarters.
It is said that politicians only think about the next election while true leaders think about the next generation. And I guess the time has now come for our politicians also to think and do something tangible for the coming generations. And today an opportunity presents itself to our state leaders to leave behind an indelible footprint. If the present government which claims to be an opposition-less government can indeed bring about the fruition of this ILP department, it will be tantamount to creating a tangible legacy. This is so because the unabated influx of outsiders into our land has no end in sight and there will be no need to abolish this ILP department (if created) since the telltale signs are obvious that this issue is going to be an enduring thorn in the Naga flesh for many years and decades to come.
Important departments like education, industry, police, agriculture, home etc have been in place since the inception of our statehood. But I have also come across some nonsensical govt. departments in Nagaland. So, if we can create departments which do not have much relevance to our situation or which could have been easily submerged into other bigger departments, why can’t we have a full fledged separate department to deal with an issue which has the potential to annihilate the very fabric of our society and make us strangers in our own lands.?
Some of our state leaders like to mention about the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act of 1873. But more than a century has passed since this act was formulated. Our world and society is an evolving one and we cannot keep on harping on past laws or events. We need to find practical solutions to the contemporary problems with realistic approach. And the fact remains that neither the so-called BEFR Act, 1873 nor the much hyped ILP will serve any purpose in this 21st century unless drastic measures and actions are put behind these historical documents.
And the good news is that the Nagaland state government has the power, resources and mandate to create this much needed department. Some of the seasoned politicians manning our affairs have practically been in power for decades but apparently without much tangible contributions for the public other than amassing wealth for themselves. So this write up is an appeal to our state leaders to leave a tangible legacy to the future by establishing this much needed machinery.
We all want to be remembered for the right reasons and we all want to leave behind a legacy that would continue to speak for us and touch lives long after we are gone. And today, such an opportunity offers itself to the so-called 60 elected members of the NLA to ink the paper that would bring about the establishment of this much needed department.
