Thomas Paine once said: “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it”. The essence of this powerful message lends credence to widely accepted dictum that economic freedom or self-reliance is regarded as a necessary concomitant of political freedom. Without one, the other is incomplete and meaningless and people who rely on their own strength and know how to help themselves cannot be held in bondage for long. Conversely, a nation which, though free, depends on other nations for anything it needs, whether it is food, weapons or machinery, must always be subject to pressures, and so, stands perpetually in danger of losing its freedom.
It may be difficult to swallow this fact but it is true that good laden heavy vehicles enter Nagaland carrying most of the essential commodities required for our daily consumption which we are procuring and buying from other States. Sadly, our State has nothing much to sell in return and most of the trucks go back empty. Our local economy is today solely dependent on imports, which is not a positive sign. Even food grains, meat products and other agro products are being imported. In economic parlance we are living beyond our means and reflects poorly on our poor management of resources.
The Dignity of Labour awareness drive that was organised by the Government of Nagaland in collaboration with the Labour Association of Nagaland is a much needed exercise given that Nagas have a serious problem of attitude when it comes to work ethics. The remark made by the Chief Minister himself—that Nagas yearn only to be masters, of hankering after easy money schemes and eating up the seed money under programmes such as PMRY and CM’s Corpus fund meant for self employment—speaks volumes about the problem we face.
Judging by the extent to which we have allowed ourselves to become dependent, we have a long way before we can become self reliant. We need to lift ourselves up virtually by our boot-straps. In the final analysis, the attainment of self-reliance mainly involves ridding ourselves of the dangerous attitude of dependence. That the need for it has been realized augurs well, but the path is certainly beset with difficulties, and only sustained and well-directed efforts like the recent seminar taken up can pave the way.
Be it making, selling, thinking—all of this creates a space where a healthy work ethic is instilled. Once we realise the extent of this vision, we will not be dependent on others to make our dream a reality: that of a well sustained, self-realised society.
