An inter-college debate competition in Kohima on September 28 ended on the note that Nagas are not self reliant. The award winning moderator of the debate Neichute Doulo, a successful entrepreneur by profession, commented that dignity of labour and hard work was necessary for self reliance. On another occasion a few days back, the Governor while speaking on the inauguration of a town council had lamented that despite having rich and fertile land with abundant natural resources, the people tend to lack hard work and depend on outside resources thus disabling them to be self reliant.
So after more than a century Nagas are finally being told that they are indeed not hard working after all. It is either that Nagas were never hard working or they have become lazy over the last few decades. Even though the observations and statements made may have some generalisations but nonetheless are not to be ignored. A time for some retrospection indeed.
Nagas are not self reliant in the sense that the state is unable to produce and export products and earn revenue commensurate with the money spent in the state. Thus Nagaland always has a deficit budget that increases every year. However to actually translate it into words for the sake of the stakeholders, the people of the state, to understand has eluded the leaderships and the policy makers for the last 3 decades. It is still harder in the case of Nagaland because since statehood the state had special financial provisions for lump sum aid from the centre for development and also fixed recurring sums to meet administrative costs, only to be stopped in the early nineties. This was followed by special waive-off of deficits. It is a sad state of affairs looking at the way the Nagas have progressed over the years, especially in handling funds of the state; it would be apt to say that the concept of ‘free-loading’ was always there in the form of a political agreement that created the state.
At present issues like scarcity of food, hunger, malnourishment, and poverty have either become negligible in the state unless it has taken the back burner which is quite unlikely. Science tells us that the best that a species adapts to changing environments it is the best for its survival. Nagas are no doubt survivors that have managed to survive and also keep their distinct identity over the centuries. So probably hard work along with some traditional ingenuity were the traits that made it possible for a headhunting tribal population to survive for so long.
However now, even though the state is going through financial crises the population is still quite comfortable with the status quo. On ground level there is still no immediate threat to their existence to prompt them to work harder. Nearly half of the population of the state is dependent on government salaries and pensions. The innumerable central schemes and benefits that come into the state is up for grabs for all though majority are ineligible. Nationalism has also become a good source of income for many. The only immediate fear is not the fear of losing their existence to poverty and hunger but mostly the fear of immigrants and outsiders whose entry into the state will deprive them of the present comfort that they are enjoying.
