Benito .Z. Swu
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hatever the differences, the Labour and the Conservative party along with the other smaller parties in Britain should have looked at the bigger picture. Sir Winston Churchill played a larger than life pivotal role in the Second World War to defeat Nazism. He surely could not have invested the time and efforts as he himself and his party would have liked and wanted in the General Election of 1945. But prudence and insight should have dictated the Britons to bring Churchill back to power. Had some weak-kneed personality been the Premier of Britain at that time, we may not be incorrect to safely assume that Britain would have capitulated even after only a week of intense continuous bombing by the German Air Force. The morale of the general British public and her armed forces were at an all time low as wave after wave of death and destruction flattened city after city with London taking the brunt of the German air superiority. But Churchill stayed put. He dived and delved deep into the unknown, not bothering about his future but only about the future of his people and country. As much as London was being bombed, that much was Churchill’s life giving, moral boosting and inspiring speeches being aired and heard through transistor radios big and small by Britons of all walks of life. He was there personally too in every possible situations and infact was the main interlocutor from among and in between the Allied leaders.It was not Sir Winston Churchill who lost when his Conservative Party was defeated by the Labour Party in the General election of 1945. It was Great Britain that lost in the world arena. It marked the beginning of the end of Britain as the superpower of the world. To bring a long story short, Britain would have been in America’s shoe today and the ‘iron curtain’ which Churchill nicknamed Soviet Russia would not have descended across the European continent as it did. Had Churchill retained power in 1945 he would have very legitimately kept for Britain the Lion’s share of all and everything negotiable post war besides the coverings for the damages that Britain endured. Let me not go about beating around the bush but straight to the point. We are faced with a similar situation here in Nagaland as well. At this point of time we cannot afford to make a mistake. We must not let history repeat here in our Nagaland. We cannot afford or even risk to throw away the gains the DAN government has made in clearly projecting the identity of we Nagas to both the national and the international political arena and more importantly to their collective conscience. We Nagas are but just a drop in an ocean of humanity from even within the geographical boundary of the Indian nation. A show of disunity just for the sake of a localized political advantage can prove to be too costly for the Nagas. It can turn out to be a historical blunder, a term used by Late Jyoti Basu the former Chief Minister of West Bengal, to describe the lost opportunity when the CPI(M) politburo disallowed him from becoming the first and maybe the last Leftist Prime Minister of India. At this point of time Nagas have to be magnanimous and display the ‘united colors of Nagaland’ and God forbid not otherwise. Knowingly earning a very expensive infamy is not something which many will find palatable. Nagas, and more pointedly the people who hosted the Second World War in Nagaland should be knowing better. Good sense must prevail and the same reciprocated.
Actually it is indeed sad that in Nagaland we, more often than not, do not leave either room or options for our leaders to work upon or maneuver. The attitude has become more or less “damned if you do and damned if you don’t.” And the alternatives suggested are either impractical or downright impossible at that point of time. It helps nobody but only in leaving a lingering bad taste in the mouth. It is more or less like that televised national news channel interview with that Kashmiri Hurriaht leader Yasin Malik not long after he and his cronies hijacked a boat carrying provisions, courtesy; the Congress party, for the flood victims. Inspite of hard solid video and audio evidence, the interviewer was directed to either get in touch with the police station up there somewhere in Kashmir or to pay a visit to a psychiatrist. And kept repeating it, stubborn and emotionless. Shame. And we too are many a times even worse than that. Is it not so when, right or wrong, the judiciary comes under the scanner! It is in itself a big letdown but to be conclusively proved to be involved in a crime of such proportion where an unknown innocent person is subjected to such harassment of unknown quantum just for some monetary consideration takes the cake. It is the height. Does the fact that the victims are not our own but unknown from other states justify the crime to be less severe? Not just an SIT for the Zunheboto judigate but another extra special SIT for all the districts of the state must be set up too, and its step by step progress report made known to the people. One never knows. It might be just the tip of the iceberg. It also raises some food for thought. Is two individuals consummating their love before marriage the only criteria for expulsion for a period of time from the register? I do not know. But here we have no less a sin if not more.
On the positive side, look at how things and events are shaping up, all for the common good. We the public are not blind to it and in fact very happy for it. When all the other Governors have fallen by the wayside, our respected and revered figure Dr S.C Jamir still remains walking tall. Is this not unity in motion! The NPF, the Congress and the BJP, all three coming together for the greater good, is this not God in motion! It is for the first time ever in India where a super strong regional party (led and nurtured by the Superlast NPF President Dr. Surhozelie and the Superglue Neiphu Rio), and the two principal national parties the Congress and the BJP, all three coming together for the greater good. Is this not divine intervention? This is definitely the cry of the Book of Ecclesiastes chapter 3. Yes, praise God for this and lets keep praying and thanking. Everybody cannot speak, and as such, from them “thank you” the three.
Lastly, we Nagas are not hypocrites and must not be. We do not change the tune of our hymns just because our instruments are a little off tune. We have been led and are led by leaders who dives into the unknown to save the unknown. Just as sweet Jesus has shown the way, we too in the least can atleast try to imitate Him.
N.B
The old superglue feviquick from the brand name ‘Pidilite’ might have lost a bit of its potency lately but the same company is now retailing the same glue much, much more potent and efficient for any type of surfaces by the name of ‘Flex Kwik’. It comes in a bigger, rectangular plastic bottle with a long cylindrical crane neck accompanied with a needle cap. Earlier you could use it just once. But now with the needle cap you wouldn’t ask for anything better.
