Let us take a break from all the negative energy and pessimism growing within and give a round of applause to all young Naga achievers taking us to the Global stage within a span of just one week! They have proven the fact that one should stop waiting for a pot of gold to fall from the sky, that one should stop whining and complaining why the Government has not done enough, to stop wasting time and just do it yourself! Cheers to the New Naga Generation!
Chekrovolu Swuro, from Phek district of Nagaland qualifying for the London Olympics after winning the silver medal in the world archery championships with her compatriots. As Al Ngullie puts it - while both the sportspersons T Ao and now Swuro, are hailed as Naga heroes, they represent more competitive states than their home states, Nagaland. Most people in Assam state still attribute Dr. T Ao’s representation in 1948 Olympics as Assam’s very own while Swuro has represented Jharkhand state
Nagaland Adventure Club for organizing the biggest Motorsport event in North East India and enthralling both the young and old with their adrenalin filled machines and inspiring the new Naga generation to dream beyond the conventional Government job outlook to be successful!
Opangtongdang Jamir, from Nagaland who will be representing India for the third edition of international Mister Earth Worldwide Pageant 2011 in Guatemala City, Central America. From the age of sixteen, Opang has been campaigning for creating awareness in preserving our beautiful planet in every little way he can. He also believes that Nagas have the talent and potential to climb high in the glamour industry and says, “It is achievable for Nagas and Northeast people. Sitting idle at home will not bring any change. It will make our society stagnant.”
Naga Film Makers Liyo Kikon, Kele Yhoshu, Sesino Yhoshu, Sophy Lasuh and Myingthungo (Ababe) Lotha for being the first Naga film makers to get invited to Rochester University, New York. The group led by the Naga Headhunters, a small film making group who taught themselves the art of 3D film making and special effects to create short films with 'zero budget' will showcase their work and interact with American film makers. They distribute their films and videos for free in their website www.nagaheadhunters.com
Tails: Proud to be corrupted - A Blog's perspective
Vikehielie Mepfhu-o: Some time ago I was talking with my cousin over the phone and this was something that caught my attention. He talks about a friend’s brother, a ‘Government official’, who got mighty rich after getting involved in a central government sponsored project. This is what he had to say “Bro, seeing is believing man, his house is now palatial!”. Then a few days ago my dad mentions about this guy who was even so blatant so as to point out proudly that he was able to swindle money out of a government project to build his house. Apparently this is what he openly admitted “Because of this scheme only I was able to build my house”. By now most of you would’ve guessed where I getting to. Let me summarize my observations anyway.
1. Being corrupt and being able to swindle money out of public funds is the 'In' thing and some people are even proud of it!
2. The public, in general, are in awe of the ill-gotten wealth of corrupt officials instead of being filled with disgust.
We often hear and also say "What can we do? Everyone is like that". Well, I’ll tell you what will happen if we go down this road. One fine day we will all wake up in our palatial homes but once we step out we will be in a place which is worse than a 3rd world country; all roads potholed – mostly kuccha road, dysfunctional civic body (Not that it is any better now), don’t even talk about security – Texas will be right outside our doorstep and if we are really lucky UN will recognize us and declare us as a ‘Failed State’!
Time and again I hear Nagas proudly mentioning that we are a ‘Hot-blooded’ brood of people. I don’t understand why the heck we are so proud of it? Is it because in a physical standoff we’d be willing to fight and even kill somebody? Seriously? If we truly are ‘hot-blooded’ we should’ve been able to make these incompetent/corrupt officials scared to shit even to think about taking away a morsel of what rightfully belongs to the public! But no, we can’t and don’t want to do that cause we’re all chicken hearted when it comes to doing what is right.
We call ourselves Christians and also boast about our Christian state but I would think twice before I let an outsider come and live with us as guests. To learn good things from us because I’m pretty confident he/she will leave with less respect for our people because of what we represent. We are not living the talk! I am a Naga and I am proud to be a Naga but I am ashamed of the Nagas. I’d rather be a timid and self-conscious Naga than a hot-blooded Naga with no moral and ethical sense!
Azhoni Krichena: Indeed hopeless society. But its encouraging to see that atleast some are beginning to speak up.
Thungpamo Patton: God Bless those who are getting rich by honest gains. As for those with ill-gotten wealth, the Bible says thus “Ill –gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death” (Proverbs 10:2), “Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow”(Proverbs 13:11), “A good man leaves inheritance for his children’s children, but the sinners wealth is stored up for the righteous”(Proverbs 13:22)
And to sum it up this week, our very own poet Arsashi Ozukum puts it:
Reservation oh! Reservation,
we like you if you don't accept chits, chickens and envelop
we like you if you don't accept back door policy
we like you if of all things, if educational qualification is not compromised,
we like you if you are not meant for creamy layers,
we like you as long as its not more then what you are now,
oh Reservation, what thou has for me?
Chekrovolu Swuro, from Phek district of Nagaland qualifying for the London Olympics after winning the silver medal in the world archery championships with her compatriots. As Al Ngullie puts it - while both the sportspersons T Ao and now Swuro, are hailed as Naga heroes, they represent more competitive states than their home states, Nagaland. Most people in Assam state still attribute Dr. T Ao’s representation in 1948 Olympics as Assam’s very own while Swuro has represented Jharkhand state
Nagaland Adventure Club for organizing the biggest Motorsport event in North East India and enthralling both the young and old with their adrenalin filled machines and inspiring the new Naga generation to dream beyond the conventional Government job outlook to be successful!
Opangtongdang Jamir, from Nagaland who will be representing India for the third edition of international Mister Earth Worldwide Pageant 2011 in Guatemala City, Central America. From the age of sixteen, Opang has been campaigning for creating awareness in preserving our beautiful planet in every little way he can. He also believes that Nagas have the talent and potential to climb high in the glamour industry and says, “It is achievable for Nagas and Northeast people. Sitting idle at home will not bring any change. It will make our society stagnant.”
Naga Film Makers Liyo Kikon, Kele Yhoshu, Sesino Yhoshu, Sophy Lasuh and Myingthungo (Ababe) Lotha for being the first Naga film makers to get invited to Rochester University, New York. The group led by the Naga Headhunters, a small film making group who taught themselves the art of 3D film making and special effects to create short films with 'zero budget' will showcase their work and interact with American film makers. They distribute their films and videos for free in their website www.nagaheadhunters.com
Tails: Proud to be corrupted - A Blog's perspective
Vikehielie Mepfhu-o: Some time ago I was talking with my cousin over the phone and this was something that caught my attention. He talks about a friend’s brother, a ‘Government official’, who got mighty rich after getting involved in a central government sponsored project. This is what he had to say “Bro, seeing is believing man, his house is now palatial!”. Then a few days ago my dad mentions about this guy who was even so blatant so as to point out proudly that he was able to swindle money out of a government project to build his house. Apparently this is what he openly admitted “Because of this scheme only I was able to build my house”. By now most of you would’ve guessed where I getting to. Let me summarize my observations anyway.
1. Being corrupt and being able to swindle money out of public funds is the 'In' thing and some people are even proud of it!
2. The public, in general, are in awe of the ill-gotten wealth of corrupt officials instead of being filled with disgust.
We often hear and also say "What can we do? Everyone is like that". Well, I’ll tell you what will happen if we go down this road. One fine day we will all wake up in our palatial homes but once we step out we will be in a place which is worse than a 3rd world country; all roads potholed – mostly kuccha road, dysfunctional civic body (Not that it is any better now), don’t even talk about security – Texas will be right outside our doorstep and if we are really lucky UN will recognize us and declare us as a ‘Failed State’!
Time and again I hear Nagas proudly mentioning that we are a ‘Hot-blooded’ brood of people. I don’t understand why the heck we are so proud of it? Is it because in a physical standoff we’d be willing to fight and even kill somebody? Seriously? If we truly are ‘hot-blooded’ we should’ve been able to make these incompetent/corrupt officials scared to shit even to think about taking away a morsel of what rightfully belongs to the public! But no, we can’t and don’t want to do that cause we’re all chicken hearted when it comes to doing what is right.
We call ourselves Christians and also boast about our Christian state but I would think twice before I let an outsider come and live with us as guests. To learn good things from us because I’m pretty confident he/she will leave with less respect for our people because of what we represent. We are not living the talk! I am a Naga and I am proud to be a Naga but I am ashamed of the Nagas. I’d rather be a timid and self-conscious Naga than a hot-blooded Naga with no moral and ethical sense!
Azhoni Krichena: Indeed hopeless society. But its encouraging to see that atleast some are beginning to speak up.
Thungpamo Patton: God Bless those who are getting rich by honest gains. As for those with ill-gotten wealth, the Bible says thus “Ill –gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death” (Proverbs 10:2), “Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow”(Proverbs 13:11), “A good man leaves inheritance for his children’s children, but the sinners wealth is stored up for the righteous”(Proverbs 13:22)
And to sum it up this week, our very own poet Arsashi Ozukum puts it:
Reservation oh! Reservation,
we like you if you don't accept chits, chickens and envelop
we like you if you don't accept back door policy
we like you if of all things, if educational qualification is not compromised,
we like you if you are not meant for creamy layers,
we like you as long as its not more then what you are now,
oh Reservation, what thou has for me?
(The Naga Blog was created in 2008 by Yanpvuo Kikon & Alem Ao. This column in the Morung Express will be a weekly feature every Saturday)
