Imlisanen Phom
There is no greater heart than the heart of a volunteer. The brave hearts have finally decided to take the stand. The History of Nagaland is finally being re-edited. The Public of Nagaland has awakened from their long slumber. The dark, powerful and crafty spell of the politicians has expired. The people have finally decided to not be pushed around by the ideologies or their elected politicians. Tribalism has taken a good beating as all tribes are working together for a common cause. Nagaland not for sale is slogan. The Chief Minister’s resignation is the demand of the people. After a long time the politicians have come to realize that the voice of the people cannot be ignored as in the past days. In these few days the politicians in Nagaland have learned to appreciate the value of a good night sleep. Above all they have learned the true meaning of freedom, that it is a gift from LORD almighty and is guaranteed by the ‘public’. Anytime this gift of freedom can be take away by the public and that their position as politicians would not matter at all when they find themselves helplessly imprisoned behind the their own residence/hotels/resorts.
The quicker the politicians learn that the ‘do anything and get away ticket’ which was enjoyed abundantly by many politicians in the past 1970’s and 1980’s has found it place among fairy tales like Cinderella and snow-white and stop fantasizing over the past glory and slap themselves to reality of the 21St Century the better for all.
I fell sorry and sad for the precious lives lost and those who got hurt. I also feel sorry for Chief Minister and the NPF party. The people who lost their precious lives must have not seen it coming. The Chief Minister could be finding it difficult to imagine that fate can change so fast. It is a tragedy that NPF party has be branded as “anti people party” by their own people.
Even BJP is being dragged in for the current mess and all the Cabinet ministers have landed in the same frying pan where our Chief Minister is already deep fried. The speaker is also in the firing line. Even Mr. Rio and Mr. Imkong Imchen are being chewed by their own former NPF party. It is unfortunate that T.R Zeliang has become a serious political liability for the BJP as well as for its own party.
It is clearly visible, the biggest threat for NPF at the present situation is not from the outside but from within its own party. The public of Nagaland has already started calling NPF as “anti people party” because of the present Chief Minister’s refusal to listen to its people. If NPF do not listen to the demand of the people, the NPF could end up being ‘permanently’ branded as the anti people party. This permanent branding of anti people party could cause irreparable damage to the party than the chief minters resigning from his post. It may be too late to save the Chief Minister however there is still time to save the brand image of NFP. If the Present Chief minister is a real gentleman and has concern for his Party image, fellow legislators and above all the voice of the public demanding his resignation then he should voluntarily steeped down by now.
President Richard Nixon voluntary resigned as the president of the United States of America. Yes, he resigned over a completely different issue however the point is he listened to the voice of the people. To top it all, he had the guts to go live on TV and admit his mistake and apologized by giving a heart moving speech. Now that’s a real gentleman. Richard Nixon resigned as the president of United Sates but he did it with all his dignity and honour intact. That’s one way the Chief Minister can go too. Of course one can always improvise.
T.R. Zeliang could be living his nightmares. Yet he must consider himself fortunate and be grateful to God as he is not being asked to reign over corruption charges like PDS(Rice) scam, oil(Kerosene) scam, fuel adulteration, misuse of Government funds, sex scandal, etc. It should also comfort him greatly because he is not the first one to step down as Chief Minister of Nagaland and he won’t be the last one either. It would be naïve to think that he did not know what he was getting into when he took the seat of Chief Minister. He must have known that times like this would come. Now, it is upon the Chief Minister if he has the strength to suppress his ego and listen to the voice of the people or continue to grab unto his position as Chief Minister and behave like a stubborn kid refusing to listen even to his closest friends.
It would also greatly benefit all; if the NPF media cell could tone down their use of vicious words against the Naga tribal bodies by calling the Tribal bodies ‘non-governmental players’ and ‘delusional’. The NPF media cell went to the extent of referring the Tribal bodes as “they.” Here are some questions to the NPF. Did “they” not vote you to power? Did “they” not trust you when you made big promises of peace and prosperity? Did “they” not put their lives at risk when they went campaigning for you? Did “they” not go door to door to win voters for you? Did “they” not begged and lied for you just so that you could win? Back then “they” were so very precious, now “they” have become “non- governmental players” and “delusional.” Remember “they” will be much needed in the coming election, and yes “they” will determine your party’s fate. The party that’s stands for Naga People’s Front should not treat its own people like trash.
The recent T.R Zeliang’s radio speech lacked the Spirit of regret although it contained the words. Not because his speech did not contain the lines which said “I immediately resign as the Chief Minister of Nagaland” but because his speech went something like first he tried to justify his actions and only at the end of his speech he brought up the matter of the precious lives lost. By all means he could have started his speech by apologizing for the loss of lives yet he did not. The way he placed the subject of lives lost at the end of the speech shows his lack of concern for human souls and his stubbornness.
Like the story of Jonah in the Bible. The NPF ship is caught in a divine storm and is about to sink. The question is will the chief minister like Jonah say ‘throw me over’ to save his fellow sailors or will he drag all down together. Even more curious is what the other legislators in the sinking NPF ship thinking? They know this man has to go or they all go down together. What will they do? May God give the legislators the wisdom to do what is right and not fight over who is right? Looks like the Chief Minister got less than what he hoped for, but more than he expected.
The volunteers are doing a great job. It is no fun to be sitting the hot sun and protesting for days. It takes discipline, dedication and Sacrifice to achieve such goals. Yet what has to be done has to be done, for the heart problem of the people, is the peoples heart problem. Let the present people’s movement be a lesson for the present as well as the next Government which will be soon in charge that the voice of the people can no more be ignored at any cost or else they too will be brought to justice by the people. The will of the righteous people is the voice of the righteous people and guess what? The ‘will of the Righteous people’ always prevails. God bless our Nagaland.
