Dr. Salikyu Sangtam
St. Joseph University
It is said that we make our own history; that history is made. This adage seems appropriate if we are to think of the future path our society ought to take. But before I go any further, I would like to clarify what I mean by the term ‘youth.’ By “youths,” I am here referring to those below the age of 30, for anyone above this age is already a mature person (certainly our society’s copious students’ organizations and federations are filled with old, immature, parochial individuals who are way past the glorious days of their youth and are more or less the minions of present-day politicians and political parties).
Dear students, History must be made; it must be made anew every generation. Your generation cannot dwell in the past of the old generation. You must make your own history. The history of the past, no doubt, ought to be appreciated, but it should not be at the cost of holding your generation back, for the society has changed so much and so has the societal—social, cultural, economic, and political—realities in which you live. The old norms, values, beliefs, and principles should no longer resonate with your generation for they are the residuals of a past primitive society that is no longer in sync with realities of this highly globalized, highly advanced world. Your generation needs to move away from our society’s tendencies to blindly submit to our past history and willfully dance to the tunes of our tribal and political masters without questioning and raising our voices even when we know that they are wrong. Such propensities, implicitly, will hold you prisoner to the past, thus hindering you from making your own history.
Sure, the existing societal conditions have much influence on our behaviour—whether we are good or bad, deceitful or honest, courageous or cowardly, etc. This is why we can surely appreciate the fact that people in Nagaland are not naturally inclined to be corrupt, immoral, deceitful, resentful, wicked, tribal, etc.; rather the prevailing societal environment makes us behave in such manners. The existing circumstances in our society are such that it turns good people bad. Indeed, most people in our society are good; it is the society in which we live that compels us to do things which we would not otherwise do. However, it is not enough to simply accept that the societal environment affects our behaviour and leave it at that and do nothing; that there is nothing we can do about it. Instead, you must change society’s conditions so that a good person remains good, and a bad person will begin to do good deeds. By having the knowledge about the conditions of one’s society and how they affect us, it must instead make you see the problems and find ways to correct those problems. The question you must ask is: if the societal conditions make us tribalistic, corrupt, selfish, deceitful, must we not change the conditions so that people are longer tribalistic, selfish, etc.?; viz. how do you change the existing societal environment so that it turns bad people good and where good people will remain good?
If you have been observing our society astutely, you would have realized that the environment of any given society also depends on its leaders. In any society, ours included, the leaders through their activities create societal conditions that either make people good and industrious, or bad and inactive. They can also create a condition in which good people find it exceedingly difficult to remain good. Does it remind you of any society? Now the point here is how to change the present leaders who have created such an environment where honest and good people turn deceitful and bad; where it pays to be wicked and selfish; and where it is tremendously difficult to do good, be good, and remain good. If our leaders and elders have created such an environment, then must you not correct the way leaders are elected so that some of the main causes of the problem are rectified? Or must you simply accept and play along with the established ways of doing things?
There is no point listening to present leaders of our society for they have got serpent’s tongue, where sweet words flow like water to deceive you. In the end, you end up selling your dignity and self-respect. Change the existing political leaders (including the leaders of the various organizations and federations), who lure and manipulate you by asserting what you want to hear most, by promising better future. If the existing norms, values, principles, customs, and ways of doing things are turning good people do bad things, then must you not change the societal conditions so that it will not turn good people bad?
Remember, you must construct your own future, your own history. Nobody, especially the leaders of and from the past generation, can and will give you better future, for they do not understand your innate aspirations and dreams. The aspirations of your generation and their generation are miles apart. Only you can guarantee your own future. This is why your family and elders continue to compel you to seek government jobs, seek backdoor appointments. Most of the older generations, including teachers, can never understand if you tell them you want to be an IT engineers, chefs, sportsmen/women, artists, etc. Instead, they’ll think you’ve probably gone mad.
Yes, in our society, government jobs are highly valued not because it is something prestigious, but because there are no other alternatives. No wonder, the societal conditions induce our society to value government jobs. Nevertheless, it is not enough to simply accept the way things are and leave it at that by justifying, “This is Nagaland, what can we do about it. As long as we live here, we must go along with the way things are. There is no point changing the existing system.” This has been the attitude of most people in Nagaland and this has been the mantra behind the older generations. Don’t let this be the slogan for your generation. Rather, it is up to your generation to change the societal conditions so that our society will encourage forms of occupations other than government jobs. Why should you follow the ways of the past generation? Just because they have created such a toxic society, why should you mimic them and make our tiny, insignificant society viler? If your generation blindly follows the ways of the older generations, they will very easily manipulate you as they have done many times, best recent example out of many is the ACUAT rally few months ago (the reasons of which I need not divulge for any person with a speck of common sense know how ordinary citizens, especially the students, were fooled and manipulated by the infantile leaders for their immature political gimmick).
When it’s all said and done, what I want you, dear students and youths, to remember is that you are special, you are unique. Remember this always. Students and youths in Nagaland are very gifted and talented, they are second to none. Yet, you are unable to fully develop and apply your talents because our society is backward and is in such a socio-economic shambles that your potentials are wasted. You were born and have grown up in a society where even small words of encouragements, such as “you did a good job”, “you can achieve your goals,” “no matter what, you can do the impossible,” “we believe in your talent,” are exceedingly rare; where genuine goodwill and prays are too scarce; where people are always ready to jump on your failures; where people resent you and are jealous simply because you have achieved something small even at schools, colleges, and universities; and where societal conditions prompt you to carry on the old ways of division, suspicion, resentment, jealousy, and toxic antagonism over state resources by masking it under the ill-understood cultural axiom: ‘traditional customs and practices.’
I am sure that there have been times when you might have felt discouraged and disheartened to find students and youths across India and the developed world attaining honors and accomplishing achievements—be they in a technological field, or securing academic scholarships to study abroad, or securing jobs with MNCs, etc. However, remember that given all the resources across India and abroad, it is only typical to expect such honors and achievements—whatever they may be—from those who have access to it. It is Easy for anyone—given enough interest—having access to world-class resources, facilities, and services to accomplish something. But, it is a whole different issue when you have no resources and facilities, such as in Nagaland. When students and youths have no access to appropriate facilities, how can they accomplish anything? Yet, the most powerful and beautiful thing is that if you, dear students and youths in Nagaland, can achieve something, even small achievements, despite having no access to suitable facilities and resources, now that is something Admirable, something Great. It is Greater than those achievements made by students and youths in India or anywhere else in the developed world because you have done and achieved something out of nothing. That is Special, that is a Gift. And only you, dear students and youths, have that potential, that special gift to do something impossible; to correct the mistakes of the past generations and to create a society that could have never been imagined by your elders. Go and create your history, your society.
Dear students and youths, it has fallen unto you to preserve our society. You now have the ultimate responsibility to preserve not just the society, but most importantly to preserve the people living within this society. The task that awaits you is indeed herculean, but the reward is that much greater. You were born and brought up in this society that is not of your own making, but the makings of others. The societal conditions in which you find yourselves are created by generations that placed self-interests and divisions above the well-being of a society in which we call Home. Don’t fight over wrongdoings you did not commit, against those who weren’t even alive to be offended when you were born. The past animosities, as well as the ancient hatreds and grudges, are not the doing of your generation, nor should your generation add-on to the injuries of the past. Make a new history and hence new relations among people in our society.
Ultimately, have courage, patience, modesty, honesty, understanding, and, most importantly, Love, for the task is not easy, and the road is arduous, filled with insurmountable obstacles, potholes, and alluring temptations (for the present politicians and societal leaders will surely entice you, implicitly or explicitly, with money, political power, status, etc.; so that you may become their newest recruits of minions). Don’t be a passive observer, be an active participant to make history, to make your own path, your own future. Don’t be part of history that is not of your own making. Create a society that is better than at present. May the Heavens bless you with wisdom and knowledge and guide you in this difficult journey ahead. Students and Youths in Nagaland, UNITE and create YOUR HISTORY!
