Rise against ‘ills’ in Naga society, Guv dares students

DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 14 : Governor PB Acharya on Friday challenged students to find courage in the electoral process of democracy and employ it to relay the message “get lost” to people in positions of power who have held the State of Nagaland to ransom through their “greed for money.”

The Governor described this particular group of people as “most treacherous”. He was speaking at the graduation ceremony of the first batch of Master of Social Work students from North East Institute of Social Science & Research (NEISSR) here at Dimapur as the chief guest.
“Friends, students, we need to rise up. And unless you look the most treacherous people in the eye and tell them to get lost, we cannot get up,” Acharya said in his address. Though the Governor has been very vocal about his concern for the ills in Naga society even on earlier occasions, this however is the first instance where he has used such harsh words. “Everywhere there is greed for money. We have condemned ourselves,” he said while stating that crores of money meant for the people has been pocketed by those “treacherous people.” Acharya, however, reminded that the greed was not limited only to those in positions of leadership.

He said that the construction of the 90.5 km long Broad Gauge (BG) line connecting Dhansiri and Zubza, which was launched on August 1 this year, was yet to start due to problems with land compensation in Dhansiri area. The greater good, according to the Governor, has been relegated to the backseat due to the Nagas’ greed for money.

Even the “educated, empowered students”, after graduation from colleges and universities, follow the same path of greed, he lamented. “Money is our god. There is no spirituality in our education system. Your education, empowerment is not meant for you. You have to use it for the society, to help the poor.”

The universities and colleges in Nagaland must wake up to the danger of commercialization of education, the governor said. “They must come out of the ivory towers. Churning out graduates is not the ultimate goal of universities. The first and primary duty of the universities is to convert the resources (students) into wealth.”

There should be dialogue between universities and industries that would enable them to strike balance between job demand/requirement and production, he said.

The Governor also reminded the new graduates that the field of Social Works was not a profession but mission. “Earlier it was the doctors and teachers who were regarded as messengers of god. But that has changed with commercialization.”

The first batch of NEISSR included 43 students who graduated with specializations in Community Development, Peace & Conflict Transformation Studies and Youth Development. Guest of honor, Prof. A Lanunungsang Ao, former pro-vice chancellor of Nagaland University, also reminded the graduates that their field of work calls for commitment and sacrifice towards the cause of society.