In Nagaland, and possibly in the rest of the Northeast too, many items have disappeared from shop shelves — some are not even available online
Monalisa Changkija
Life has a way of upending human plans, dreams, and schemes. Never had we imagined the war in West Asia, much less its impact on every nook and cranny of the globe. And the war isn’t even over, although military operations on land have stopped. But for how long, we cannot predict. So much is actually out of our control. Take, for instance, COVID-19, which changed us and the world in numerous ways. We may have forgotten the epidemic, but we will always live with the changes it wrought. The war in West Asia too has already started the process of change, and we have started living with it.
The most palpable effect is the scarcity of cooking gas and soaring prices. Perhaps it is not so noticeable in the rest of the country, but here in Nagaland, and possibly in the rest of the Northeast too, many items have disappeared from shop shelves — some are not even available online. Items we use regularly, such as toiletries, hardware, etc. Items we always took for granted would be available at any time. But when there is no oil, no energy, and other requirements to manufacture goods, this is a natural corollary. Food is indispensable for human survival, but when fertilizers are in short supply, farming suffers, and so do we.
To be sure, our governments are assuring us that there is nothing to worry about because the country has adequate stock. The markets and prices say otherwise. Black-marketeering can only be the explanation for the contradictions in government assurances and the non-availability of commodities — unless stocks are actually depleting. There are two aspects to this: (1) there will always be elements that will make profit out of traumas and tragedies. This has happened throughout history. (2) Based on our shopping experiences, government assurances seem hollow. Then there is the matter of market volatility across the globe sinking trillions of investors’ money. Surely there is something rotten in the state of the global economy?
From all accounts, things are not right, and the war in West Asia has compounded and magnified them. The question now is who will take ownership of resolving this situation, and how will it be done? By imposing more taxes? These are the issues our governments need to address post haste, for soon there will be no stomachs left to tighten the belt. This will be starker and direr in the Northeast because, despite proclamations of development in this region, we continue to be a dependent economy. The advantage of the Northeast is that we grow our own food, but with development and urbanization, our traditional home food-growing habits are disappearing, as much as our little backyards that once saw lush kitchen gardens. In any case, in the absence of oil, fertilizers, etc., large-scale farming is impossible. Besides, even with modest yields, when food produce, including organic food, cannot reach the markets, our plates will remain empty.
It is the governments’ job to call for calm, for no government likes a panicking citizenry — not so much because it cares about panicking citizens, which of course is most inconvenient — but because it puts governments in an unflattering light. Still, citizens ought to avoid panicking because it doesn’t help in any situation. Instead, citizens must demand answers, action, and transparency. True, our governments at the Centre or in the States didn’t start this war, but we are affected, so it is our governments’ job to minimize the impact of its effects. Instead of panicking, it is this we need to constantly remind our governments.
We are told that the war in West Asia appears to have the potential to change the political and economic systems we have known hitherto — along with them, all that we have known socially and culturally too will change. We are likely to wake up to a very different world with new systems and alignments unimagined so far, though some of them were already in the making in the past couple of decades or so. Perhaps our world needs a change, a new look, and a new feel — we can only hope that these changes will be for the better. In whatever form or shape or volume, perceptible change will happen, if it has not already begun. So it is moot that we assess our preparedness. Are our governments prepared to face these changes? Are our governments preparing citizens for these changes? Are citizens aware that changes are inevitable and our lives may become unrecognizable? How do citizens think we could best prepare ourselves for these changes?
But is anyone really ready for change? A lot of people, in fact. People who study the past, the present, and assess future possibilities. You will find them in governments, universities, markets, media, even in our villages. People, who study human nature and trends across the broad spectrum of human behavior. These are not fortune-tellers and soothsayers. These are people who study human beings and society. People who listen to what’s being said everywhere but do not rely on words, speeches, and conspiracy theories, but base their projections on logic and scientific study of developments in every aspect of human activities, including technology. But we, the masses, go by what’s being said the loudest and the most. Change then hits us the hardest. This underscores the need for solid education based on logic and science, not myths, lore, and legends.
However, all is not lost because human beings have the capacity to adapt and adjust. That is how the human race has survived through the ages. But history also says that not everyone survived and thrived. Powerful civilizations came tumbling down and the mighty are forgotten, even debased now. Perhaps change is discriminatory. Not necessarily, though, because human resilience is immovable and unstoppable. Having said that, it is also true that change occurs due to equally impactful internal and external factors. So while the former is constant, at this moment, the change that the external factor of the war in West Asia will wreak needs focused attention because it will create (or is already creating) another world. Our governments must ease the transition to this changing world and make our lives livable in it.
(Monalisa Changkija is a Dimapur-based veteran journalist, poet, and former Editor of Nagaland Page)
