The pages of our newspapers should be a good indicator of the moral character of our Naga society because newspapers report about real events and incidents. Newspapers try and report the truth. The last few days and weeks of our front pages is splashed with negative news ranging from rape, murder (even of your own kith and kin), kidnapping (for ransom), extortion, corruption, prostitution, encroachment etc. While it is not uncommon for a crime to take place, what is of concern is the regularity with which such criminal activities are taking place and thereby getting reported in the local media. In particular we need to urgently take steps to cleanse our commercial hub of Dimapur from all the ills associated with this place. Dimapur is a cosmopolitan trade hub with immense potential to become a regional gateway linking India to South East Asia. All of us are already aware about the Government of India’s Look East Policy and the importance of Dimapur is only going to grow as new frontiers are explored. The kind of place that we want Dimapur to be—as a cosmopolitan city with peaceful coexistence of all communities, vibrant business hub having world class infrastructure, security and rule of law—will need collective effort of all stakeholders so that we get things right and turn Dimapur into a success story. And as much as we would want to blame poor policing and the surge of crimes, yet the ills of Dimapur is also about our moral failings—the culture of greed, easy money, violence etc. The level of extortion (in different garbs mind you!) carried out by not only the various underground factions but also the myriad of recognized and illegitimate unions explains the free for all loot and our hypocrisy. We should not forget that there is an immoral dimension to the ills of present day Dimapur, also disgracefully dubbed as Nagaland’s Sodom and Gomorrah synonymous with shameless sin and waiting to invite God’s wrath.
To go about our task of cleansing Dimapur of its ills and making it a city of peace, order and prosperity the first thing that is needed is a unity of purpose among the people inhabiting this historic city. We often complain (and rightly so) about government’s failure to provide security, illegal taxation by armed factions just to name a few in the long list of our grievances. However there is so much of ill will, envy, misunderstanding and plain disunity among the Naga public and civil society of Dimapur. How can we therefore expect Dimapur to progress and improve when there is so much of tribal politics and group-ism. Our civil society of Dimapur has been weakened by disunity and mistrust and this has split not just our hohos or councils but even our students. Clearly the division of our civil society is going to have an adverse effect on the well being and health of Dimapur. We have today so many groups and unions each wanting to lead and assert its authority. While no one is against diversity, yet the grave concern for our future is that for Dimapur and its people there is no common agenda or unity of purpose. We expect our government or police to do their job. Similarly the people of Dimapur and civil society are also expected to do theirs. Maybe this could be the reason there is so much of problems facing Dimapur and our inability to overcome or triumph. We have failed miserably to do our job i.e. to unite our hearts and minds. Unless we get this right, it is unlikely that Dimapur will ever find its place under the Sun.
To go about our task of cleansing Dimapur of its ills and making it a city of peace, order and prosperity the first thing that is needed is a unity of purpose among the people inhabiting this historic city. We often complain (and rightly so) about government’s failure to provide security, illegal taxation by armed factions just to name a few in the long list of our grievances. However there is so much of ill will, envy, misunderstanding and plain disunity among the Naga public and civil society of Dimapur. How can we therefore expect Dimapur to progress and improve when there is so much of tribal politics and group-ism. Our civil society of Dimapur has been weakened by disunity and mistrust and this has split not just our hohos or councils but even our students. Clearly the division of our civil society is going to have an adverse effect on the well being and health of Dimapur. We have today so many groups and unions each wanting to lead and assert its authority. While no one is against diversity, yet the grave concern for our future is that for Dimapur and its people there is no common agenda or unity of purpose. We expect our government or police to do their job. Similarly the people of Dimapur and civil society are also expected to do theirs. Maybe this could be the reason there is so much of problems facing Dimapur and our inability to overcome or triumph. We have failed miserably to do our job i.e. to unite our hearts and minds. Unless we get this right, it is unlikely that Dimapur will ever find its place under the Sun.
