Flashback 2018: Nagaland goes through a rollercoaster ride

Eastern Mirror Desk

Dimapur, Dec. 30: Political uncertainty ushered in the new year for Nagaland in 2018 even as a state-wide movement demanding New Delhi to supply solution to the Indo-Naga political talks before the Nagaland assembly elections early this year threatened (briefly) to throw the state into a constitutional crisis.

Ahead of the elections, politicians were actively engaged in swapping party allegiance. The most-telling of such political crossover was Neiphiu Rio’s leaving of the NPF, only to return to power AS the chief minister once again with his newly formed NDPP.

On the political front, this year also saw the resurrection of BJP in the state with the party winning 12 seats to cement its influential position in the ruling collation of People’s Democratic Alliance. An ugly exchange of verbal toxicity between the BJP and its one-time ally NPF provided another source of headlining news items to the local newspapers prior to the elections.

The most high-profile visitation came in the form of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s electioneering at Tuensang town on Feb. 22 where he announced a string of packages for Nagaland worth nearly INR 13,000 cr. Also, he assured a ‘respectful solution’ to the Naga political issue ‘in the next few months’—which, sadly, never arrived.

 ‘Naga Day’ celebrates peoplehood

Calls for ‘healing of wounds’ across the Naga spectrum, and reaffirmations that Nagas are one regardless of where they were, resonated across Khouchiezie ground in Kohima on Jan. 10 as the first ‘Naga Day’ was observed in the capital town.

The event commemorated the day in 1929 when the Naga Club submitted the historic Naga Hills memorandum to the then British Statutory Commission headed by Sir John Allsebrook Simon. The representation sought safeguard of the rights of the Naga people. The memorandum is considered to be the first written record that establishes the Naga people a singular socio-political entity. The event was organised by the Forum for Naga Reconciliation.

District demand boomerangs

Close on the heels of the state government announcing the upgrade of Noklak sub-division to a full-fledged district and the Rengmas’ demand for Tseminyu sub-division to be elevated to a district headquarter, people of Aboi under Mon district started pressing the government for upgrade of Aboi to that of a district headquarters on Jan. 11.

Another demand for district returned with Pughoboto rallying for district status on Jan. 30 while justifying their demand by way of pointing out that Pughoboto was one of the oldest sub-divisions in the state after it was accorded the status in 1986.

INR 1630.67 cr. deficit budget

Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio presented an estimated deficit budget of INR 1630.67 cr. for the fiscal 2018-19 without proposing any new taxes, during the first session of the 13th NLA.

Third lowest in countrywide crime update

Nagaland was ranked third among 29 states and seven union territories  in the list of lowest crime rate under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The list was released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

Awards and recognitions

After winning the distinguished Golden Beaver Award at the 7th National Science Film Festival in 2017, ‘The Pangti Story’, a 26-minute film about a village’s conservation efforts, won the Best Environment Film (non-feature film) at the 65th National Film Awards which were announced in New Delhi. The documentary was directed by Kohima-based filmmaker Sesino Yhoshü.

Also, Nagaland received the ‘best horticulture state’ award at the 11th Global Agriculture Summit 2018 held at Hotel Hyatt Regency in New Delhi.

No to ‘chief guest culture’

The PDA govt. announced fresh directives to its cabinet members prohibiting them from attending events as ‘chief guests’. The ruling legislators were asked to refrain from making donations and announcement of monetary grants while attending public programmes and functions. Government officials and employees of the state government were also told not to attend functions as chief guest.

Only 37% of ‘qualified’ government-teachers

Professionally qualified teachers in the state comprise of only 37.81%, revealed a Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2016-17 report. Among the 19, 618 teachers employed in government-run schools, only 7418 are professionally qualified while the 12,200 are professionally ‘unqualified’.

Health is wealth

July saw safety checks initiated by the Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) on formalin-laced fish, and Nagaland Food Safety Cell training guns on bakeries and carbide-laced fruits. The DMC team inspected the fish markets in Dimapur and collected samples for testing. Consequently, fish laced with formalin were banned in Nagaland.

The state Food Safety authority also destroyed over 5000 kg of adulterated ‘fresh’ fruits, which were seized after testing positive for a carcinogenic artificial ripening chemical agent. The disposed fruits included mango, pomegranate, watermelon and tomato. Mangoes comprised the bulk of the impounded items weighing in at around 5000 kg.

Monsoon havoc and public transport

The monsoon havoc began on the latter part of July that continued for whole of August during which Nagaland suffered loss of lives, properties, and displacement of families. Kohima and Kiphire suffered the most even as road leading to Kiphire was cut-off from the rest of Nagaland. The central government had to intervene even as the Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, and governor PB Acharya appealed to the centre for assistance.

September saw the launched of Pink Bus and City Bus services in Dimapur and Kohima.

One tax, one government

On Oct. 31, Dimapur observed a massive rally against corruption and extortion at the Khermahal traffic intersection in Dimapur. It was organised by the Public Action Committee of the Naga Council of Dimapur. The Naga public’s resolution of “One government, one tax” was reaffirmed exactly five years after the resolution was passed at a public gathering at the clock tower junction.

Ranji history

The first ever match of the national domestic cricket front, Ranji Trophy, was hosted by Nagaland on Nov. 1 at the Nagaland Cricket Stadium in Dimapur. Both Nagaland and the visiting Mizoram team made their Ranji debut. Nagaland created history by defeating the visitors by an unforgettable margin of an innings and 333 runs.

Safety first

To ensure security and a friendly environment to visitors, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio launched the Nagaland tourist police at the state police headquarters (PHQ) in Kohima prior to the Hornbill festival on Nov. 26. Nagaland is the 16th state in India, and the second in the Northeast, to have such facility. The unit earned glowing feedback from the tourists.

NSCN (K) split; death Khango

The year also saw the split of NSCN (K)—each led by Khango Konyak and Yung Aung. Since then, Konyak’s group has expressed willingness to engage in talks with New Delhi. The NSCN-IM vice-chairman, Khole Konyak, passed away at a hospital in New Delhi on Dec. 12. The 87-year-old veteran Naga freedom fighter died after suffering a stroke.