The continuous task to collectively envisage imaginatively a better relational society is by no means a recent attempt; it has been the ideal yearning of all who contemplate in thought and in action to lead a people to this realization. It is the inspired hope born out of an imagination to break the vicious cycle of bondage in search for a creative vision; one which enables political movements to grow out of the hopes and dreams of solitude political thinkers. It is the prophetic imagination for a just society that threatens those who feed consciously or unconsciously upon an unjust system, perpetuating domination and marginalization.
It is an ironic empirical truth that the silent majority of our society are men and women, who pass through life without questioning or critically thinking about the conditions that surround their own lives or of others. As a result, they perceive their conditions to be in a normal condition, during which they accept what each day brings, without much thought beyond their immediate present needs. They remain satisfied with the needs of the moment, without quite realizing that with some conscious effort, they could in effect change the conditions of their life and the world around them.
The cynical mood and complacent attitude of majority of the people living in situations of oppression and injustice is further complicated by an air of ignorance, indifference resulting from excessive tiredness and monotonous fatigue; fear of punishment and rebuke; and most tragically, they become ethically unreliable owing to loss of self-respect and self-worth as a result of protracted degradation. In such conditions, the feelings of the people become vulnerable; inevitably feelings mask the truth of their conditions and they are manipulated to conform to the status quo.
Any effort to create awareness and consciousness in situations such as this requires the consistent need to be fully aware of the peoples’ feelings and the need to move from feelings to revealing the factual truths of their conditions. It is evident that when any individual or group of individuals is in pursuit for transformation, they are quickly (mis)judged and categorized into different dehumanizing labels; intended to discredit their personhood and are conveniently projected as de-stabilizing the peaceful status quo. Those seeking transformation are often misunderstood because they view the existing situation from the outside, which allows them to think critically.
The apolitical exercise of labeling and branding individuals has political consequences and it induces a situation wherein many well-intended youths begin to shy away from the responsibility of creating consciousness. It presupposes that to be accepted as one, within the mainstream, they begin to build relations with those at the helm of affairs. This unfortunately provides the State powers a sea of opportunities to use youths and youth organizations to pursue its own interest in maintaining and furthering the status quo.
Of late, the Nagaland government has become very unbecoming of any government to indulge itself in the various facets of youth life by stretching itself too far as a youth friendly government. Rather than empowering youths, its activities through various youth organizations, has only been disempowering and indicates that it wants to undercut the independent voices of the youth by causing herd-mentality and youth cooptation under State influence. Unless consciously resisted, this could perhaps result into a tragedy of today’s Naga youths. This is one of the most crucial dilemmas and it cries for the freeing of the liberating truth!