Imliwabang Jamir
Rain and thunderstorms come almost every monsoon in Nagaland, and they will continue to do so as long as the world exists. It is monsoon time of the year again, and people are happy to receive the much-awaited showers providing respite to its residents, particularly in Dimapur, from the scorching heat. However, the irony is, when there is heavy rainfall for an hour or so, Dimapur roads and houses get submerged in water in no time. Why? It’s because of the absence of a proper drainage system. Added to the lack of drainage, the other menacing factor contributing to flood-like situations constantly during the monsoon is the mismanagement of waste disposal- dumping waste and trash freely in our small streams where the drainage flows in. When asked some of the Dimapurians, “Why do you throw garbage freely into the streams?” The response is, “The water current will carry it down the stream when it rains.” Uh-huh. But sooner or later, this pile of garbage is carried down the stream, where they get piled up in narrow passages. That’s when accumulation happens to result in flooded roads, footpaths, and houses. Here is an example. In Dimapur, the trash pile is dumped freely into the streams near the Popular Bakery (Nyamo Road) water-stream. Slowly they get piled up near the Khermahal Tata Parking water-stream where the water gets accumulated, resulting in flooding of houses inside the NST colony. This example is just one case in point.
The above-cited example shows a sense of lack of civic vocation among the Naga public. It makes me raise the question, “Where is the sense of civic vocation in our Naga Christian calling?” Paul’s letter to the Philippians exhorts the Christians at Philippi to make “their manner of life” (the verb means “behave as citizens”), their engagement in the political conversation for the good of the city, “worthy of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27). What is a Christian vocation? We know that the term “vocation” refers to one’s occupation or job. But “Christian vocation” implies God’s calling to obedience, honesty, responsibility, and accountability at one’s workplace (government office, secular job, business, and commerce, etc.), social environment, and at home. Christian vocation also means devotion to the love of God and loving one’s neighbor (neighbor in the biblical sense of the “good Samaritan” implies loving even people of other faiths without any distinction).
Up to the medieval period, people popularly understood vocation as a secular occupation or job. Christians in medieval times believed that the highest calling of God implied detaching themselves from the world and residing inside monasteries. Monks and nuns separated from social, political, and economic commitments and attachments dedicated themselves to a holy life of devotion to God. Martin Luther, the sixteenth-century reformer, resisted against such a medieval notion of elevating the monastic orders to a divine vocation. Luther redefined the concept of vocation to show that ordinary positions in life, such as a common citizen, parent, farmer, teacher, soldier, milkman, and milk-woman, could be a means to glorify God if one remains faithful in obedience to God. Like in medieval times, a sound theological understanding of civic vocation as a Christian calling is still lacking in our Naga society. Unfortunately, many Nagas do not consider one’s occupation seriously as a calling of God, be it a teacher, doctor, nurse, government employer, or a business-person. Such a complacent attitude of simply working for earning salary becomes a disservice towards stewardship of the civic environment.
What is the understanding of vocation in our Naga context? If we look at our political scenario, it is rather pathetic. During my high school days, I remember learning about local self-government, village panchayat, and municipality. What I learned about local self-government is that it is self-governed, self-maintained, and self-sustained by the community, legally established by the people to fulfill the shared needs of the village or the state. In current times, citizens pay tax for governance and maintenance of roads, bridges, drainages in cities and towns. Even Jesus paid tax to Caesar (Matt. 22:21) and Temple tax (Matt. 17:27). In Nagaland, taxes, royalties, and funds go inside individual pockets from the highest to the least, which is unfortunate. Our elected representatives run to the center to beg for more and more money. The same holds with our so-called freedom fighters. The big question remains: “Where is our Christian responsibility, integrity, and accountability?” “Where is our Naga common sense of civic vocation?” Our Naga way of building houses in Dimapur, especially in commercial sites, aims at covering every inch of our land. There is no master plan for a proper drainage system between walls and between buildings, resulting in excessive water clogging, causing numerous health hazards. Besides, dumping wastes and trashes freely into our small streams by our citizens have resulted in flooding and environmental pollution.
Here are some humble suggestions for the Naga Christians concerning their Christian vocation: 1) Right from kindergarten, inculcating responsible ownership into the young minds should be a priority. A civic sense that the streams, drainages, trees, mountains, streets, and parks in the city are not simply public or government properties to keep unattended, but it is the responsibility of every citizen to care for, maintain cleanliness, and safeguard those properties as our own. 2) Continue to raise awareness among the public that governmental/public properties are equally essential as private properties. 3) Awaken the public consciousness that while building commercial and residential houses, enough space between each building needs to factor in for a proper drainage system. 4) Make citizens aware that dumping wastes and trashes freely into our small streams results in flooding of houses and streets. 5) Conscientize the public to make proper toilet sewages instead of letting the human wastes directly flow into the streams.
It would be a wise choice for educational institutions (both secular and theological), student bodies, NGOs, and tribal bodies to take the lead in making aware of those guidelines to the public, serving as an exemplary model for the rest to follow. Abiding by those guidelines and remaining answerable to our Christian vocation, the Naga public would significantly make our city a better place to live and a safer environment free of health hazards.
