Stand up, assert your voice of dissent and reason: Merentoshi

Staff Reporter
DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 24

WHILE serving a reminder that Naga society, over the years, has been plagued with ‘social evils and divided along tribal lines’, Minister for Youth Resources and Sports, Merentoshi Jamir on Thursday underscored the need for Naga youth ‘to stand up’ and assert their voice of dissent and reason.“There is an urgent need for the young people to stand up and say, ‘this is wrong.’ Every day we read in the papers about crimes which were never heard of before,” the minister said in his inaugural address at the 22nd Biennial General Conference of Diphupar Naga Students Union (DNSU) here at the Agri Expo site.
The DNSU, as a student organization, has the “bigger responsibility to look at the society, to see where things are going wrong and try to address the problem,” he said. “You are the voice of the youth. You represent their aspirations.”
The kind of crimes which were never heard before, but which currently plagues Naga society, includes crime against women and child abuse, Merentoshi said. “These issues need to be addressed very urgently. And unless we address these problems, it is only going to get worse and further divide our society.”
Another issue which the DNSU, or any student organization, could do well to tackle is the violent gang fights between students in and outside school campuses, the minister shared. “I feel that it is only through the student organizations that this issued can be tackled properly.”
He pointed out that this “sad and new trend” of gang violence among students were largely due to the influence of movies and the internet. “And you can use this platform to discuss on how to educate the students on the correct use of technology,” Merentoshi said.
In a word of advice to the student leaders, Merentoshi cautioned them against mixing politics with their office. “You should leave your political affiliations when you represent the student organization,” he said.
Also informing that the department of Youth Resources and Sports is “coming up with some schemes to generate employment opportunities” for the Naga youth, Merentoshi sought cooperation from the student organizations in order to help the department achieve its goal.
It may be noted that the 22nd Biennial General Conference of DNSU is being held under the theme “Empowering Human Resources.” An anti-tobacco awareness campaign is also being promoted in the conference.