Aheli Moitra
As men in Dimapur came out in drones on the night of Tuesday, January 31, 2017, they collected at multiple points within the city. The Government of Nagaland had announced polls to 12 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) around the State out of 32 ULBs in all. On January 30, the Government of Nagaland had signed a joint pact with the Joint Coordination Committee in the presence of the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) to defer the polls ‘in principle’.
Even before people could fully absorb the meaning of the pact, the Government had spun a googly on them. The pressure had been let off a steaming cooker. The difference was the steam had no direction it was to follow.
As men of all age groups poured out despite the 144 Cr.Pc in place, complete chaos ensued. Leaders who had fueled the ‘anger’ were not to be seen. Rumours spread within fraction of seconds throughout the state. When a bomb went off at one of the locations, it created panic throughout town; it later turned out to be an ‘aloo bomb’.
At one junction, as the youth piled up, someone shouted, “Who is the leader here? What is our command?” With no answer on the horizon, someone else shouted, “Chalo!”
There is no one and everyone to be blamed in this tragedy of epic proportions. The leaders of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly are all men that the people have brought to power through elections. The JCC consists of similar men who represent the people based on a tribe based mandate.
Yet few people today fully comprehend either affirmative action on one side or resistance to it on the other.
Most men on the streets remained unable to articulate on the issues involved, or even core concepts, instead repeating rhetorics they had heard over the past few weeks. Without the core in place, a lack of moral conduct, barring rare instances, on the part of ‘volunteers’ who were meant to help the public during a bandh became widespread. The whole meaning of resistance towards perceived unjust laws was lost.
What of the Government’s role to educate the people on the merits and demerits of reservation? The issue has been in the public domain for a decade. Every dispensation in power has not just played politics over the issue but left the education of the public on affirmative action for the women instead of taking an active part in it.
During the 1960s civil rights movement in North America, leaders embarked upon an important exercise before taking up acts of civil disobedience of specific unjust laws. People, both men and women, who were part of the resistance, were thoroughly trained in nonviolent techniques—cleaning up the act as well as the soul, and responding in a manner so derived when faced with violence of oppressive structures. People understood the full meaning of injustice not only as a word to be used often but their impact on daily life. They similarly understood how their methods were shaped, and what they entailed.
There is no dearth of capable leaders among the Naga people—it is time these leaders, of all genders, become more active in public on an urgent basis. Without them, the difference between justice and injustice will increasingly become a googly, and social reform an unfathomable exercise.
Suggestions & ideas may be sent to moitramail@yahoo.com
