From Naga issue to bigotry, SC Jamir urges people to seek change

Mokokchung, April 29 (EMN): The governor of Odisha, Dr SC Jamir, on Monday sought to clear speculations following reports about his being a possible nominee to being the country’s vice president. If asked to serve the nation, he would but for it he did not ask, the former chief minister of Nagaland said during interactions with the media on Saturday.
“I don’t have any intentions. I have not asked anybody,” the Odisha governor told media persons when queried about heading for the post of vice president of India.
Dr SC Jamir reached Mokokchung this evening to attend Moatsu, the premier festival of the Ao people, at his native village Ungma. He will be leaving for Odisha on May 3.

On Nagaland
When queried about his observations about the situation in Nagaland since his leaving the state, Dr Jamir said, “The hard breaking part is derailment of governance in the state–it looks like everybody is onbroad but it seems like there is nobody; all the system is paralyzed; the government is like stuck in a pool of sticky mud.”
Dr Jamir lamented that the bureaucracy in the state was not committed or disciplined like those in the past ‘because political leadership in the state from A-Z are harassed by the people and they are not given a chance to think.’ He attributed the problem to the electoral process: ‘selling of vote.’
In this connection, Dr Jamir asserted that the public turning their vote into a commodity had brought the government and state to the current position.
“There is nobody to blame but ourselves. The public should not judge why the harvested seeds are bitter but should realize that the seeds that we sow are harvested by us,” the veteran Congressmen remarked.

On ULB elections
“What was the outcome of the agitation? TR Zeliang resigned but there is no result. By now we should be having an alternative solution but it is completely silent today,” Dr Jamir said. There is nobody to provide a prompt answer about what the alternative should be.

On clean elections
As a Christian state, the governor opined, Christians should first understand ‘honesty’ and what is that which are free from ‘negativism.’ They must ‘know God’; only then God’s plan will be understood by the people, he said. “It’s an era of realizing ourselves that we are Christian. If it is realized, then we will understand both the government and its governance,” Dr Jamir said.

On youths
The governor said dwelling on the past won’t bring any change to the society. In this connection, he observed that the youths ‘need a revival in all aspects to rejuvenate their thoughts and way of life to catch up with the rest of the world if the youths want a vibrant Nagaland.’

Modi government and intolerance
Dr SC Jamir observed that the BJP had not only a political ideology but ‘more agendas’. He referred to the attempt to impose Hindi and Sanskrit as compulsory languages but was strongly opposed by Indians pointing to India being a secular state where varieties of languages are spoken.
“It is not necessary that we should impose anything that we are in a position to legislate,” the governor remarked.
On the issue of ‘cows’, Dr SC Jamir said that he had spoken with some leaders why they were interested in ‘anti-cow slaughter’ when “we got more human problems then cow problems.” The priority is in the wrong direction, he implied. He lamented also the attempt to infuse RSS ideology in Human Resource Development by adding yoga into the curriculum. He asserted that if anybody wants to learn yoga, it should not be made compulsory.
In this regard, Dr SC Jamir advised caution saying that it was ‘not a good trend.’ “Education should be left free,” he said.
Dr SC Jamir also cautioned about ‘forceful conversion, religious intolerance and the ‘Good Governance Day’ which is on December 25. He said it infringed upon fundamental rights, Freedom of Religion, enshrined in the Indian Constitution. ‘It is not good for minorities.’

On the Naga political issue
Dr Jamir made it clear that the Naga problem was a political problem. Before India’s independence, the Nagas have been ‘asking for independence,’ he said while citing the representation by Naga leaders to the Simon Commission. He added that Nagaland state was created through a political agreement.
Also, Dr Jamir said that the talks were on ‘sovereignty and integration’ but maintained that even the prime minister, Home minister and the Interlocutor have said that in the framework ‘there is nothing written about integration or borders that disturb the neighbouring states.’
In this connection, he asked, “If there is no integration, why Nagas are carrying others’ luggage so long?” Dr SC Jamir opined that ‘if we want Nagaland political settlement, the government of India should discuss the Manipur problem with the Manipur people, Arunachal problem with Arunachal people and Naga problem with Naga people.’
“Boarding everyone in the name of Nagas will not bring anything to a conclusion. The time to chalk out a settlement for the Nagaland political problem has come,” he said.
Others’ political problems cannot be solved by the Nagas; likewise, ‘Nagaland’s political problem’ cannot be solved by others, Dr Jamir said and called upon the people to put their heads together to discuss the future of the Nagas.
When queried whether he was in support of the “Framework Agreement,” Dr SC Jamir replied, “I do not know anything about the content of the agreement. How can I support an agreement which is unknown to me?”