EMN
KOHIMA, OCTOBER 5
IF you are one of those who hold a view on the annual Hornbill Festival that descends on the state every December the place you should have been on Saturday was Sazolie College, Kohima.
For its 8th Inter-College Debate Competition , the college posed the topic “Hornbill Festival is promoting the Nagas”. The event drew response from twenty two students from seventeen colleges out of seven of the eleven districts in the state. The debaters gave a closer view of the Hornbill Festival and its growing impact on the Naga Society. The treasury bench described the Hornbill Festival as the ‘festival of festivals’, an umbrella which brings the different tribes of Nagaland together, providing opportunity for cultural extravaganza. The opposition bench counteracted the motion by describing hornbill festival as an ‘evil backbone’ of the Naga Culture which is demoting the Nagas morally and ethically.
The first prize was bagged by Mr Meribemo Kikon of Sazolie College, the second prize by Mr Imkongsangba of Unity College and the third prize by Mr Kanang Bangmei of Japfü Christian College. Five consolation prizes were also distributed
The programme was graced by Mrs Rano M. Shaiza, Former Member of Parliament, Nagaland as the Guest of Honour.
In her address the octagenerian painted a vivid picture of her childhood for the students. She spoke of a time when there was no electricity, no newspapers, television, news of the world was through the radio, the occasional letter by post or telegram. She said her generation grew up in difficult and trying times and it meant that they had to be “responsible and accountable for all that they did and they did not blame anyone else for their actions or failures” a message still relevant today, if not more so.
The judges for the programme were Ms Bano Haralu, Editor, Eastern Mirror, Dimapur, Mr Viyelo Doula, Tourist Officer, Directorate of Tourism, Government of Nagaland, Mr Topongchuba Chang, ENSF, Executive Member, and Mr Yanpvuo Kikon, Senior Software Engineer, e-governance (Accenture), Founder, The Naga Blog. The critic for the Debate was Dr Buno Iralu, Lecutrer, Shalom Bible Seminary, Sechü-Zubza.
