Along Longkumer
Consulting Editor
Good Economics and Good Politics
Now that Assembly Election is over and our State returns to some normalcy—the usual traffic jams, power cuts, pothole roads, extortion and the things that we all are used to—can people look forward to some relief and better days ahead? Perhaps not, going by the usual post-poll melee for power and pelf as our elected representatives, and their coterie of die hard supporters, look to share in the spoils of war. One can already notice campaigning and frenzy over government formation by our leaders perhaps not realizing that they have been elected to serve the people and not themselves or their supporters or constituency alone. Maybe a word or two about the principles of politics will be in order so that all of us can be educated about the common good.
The August House of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly should not be seen only as a gathering of leaders from different and hostile interests but ought to be treated more as an assembly of one State, “with one interest, that of the whole where not local purposes, not local prejudices, ought to guide, but the general good resulting from the general reason of the whole” (Edmund Burke). When one is elected and goes on to become a Minister or a Parliamentary Secretary, that person cannot work only for his party, tribe or constituency but for all the people of Nagaland. This is the kind of attitude that our leaders must carry when they go on to form and run the government. Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio is a known exponent of unity, reconciliation and oneness among the Nagas. His government should therefore both reflect and perform keeping in mind these virtues and those under him should inculcate this mantra of commonality while undertaking development, which should be fair, equitable and just.
Rio has already mentioned about making the road sector and connectivity a priority. There is no doubt that each and every person in Nagaland want to see good roads. This should become the effective parameter for people to measure the performance of the next government. In fact the failure of our development strategies ought to be seen in large measure to bad roads. If we want to improve our economic situation, then transformation in the road sector must come first. Besides building roads, the other common need of the public is improving power supply. To drive economic activity and thereby ensure growth and prosperity, we need constant electricity. If these two areas can be addressed in a sincere manner, it is going to translate not only into good economics and also good politics for the Rio government. Good roads and electricity will pay dividends in terms of Nagaland’s trade, commerce, industries, agriculture and improving all round development. Besides, by developing these two sectors, it is going to benefit not just a few people in power but it will address the common needs of people across Nagaland. And therefore the next government must give top most priority to road connectivity and power supply since this is a basic common need for everyone.
Finally, it is a fact known by all that Nagaland is financially dependent on the Centre to meet its development objective. But are we using the funds given to us judiciously? A new government is an opportunity to start afresh and learn from our past. Perhaps the Chief Minister can list out a people centered plan of action towards meeting the common development objectives as mentioned above. Why not start by improving and strengthening basic services like road, electricity, water, health and education through a mission mode plan of action. As it addresses people’s needs, this would be a perfect gift for the huge mandate given by people of Nagaland to the new government under Rio’s leadership.
(Feedback can be send to consultingeditormex@gmail.com)
