March 30, 2017

6

opinion/EDITORIAL

Nagaland Post

Between The Lines

Vol. XXVII NO. 113 Dimapur, thursday, March 30, 2017

Financial report card

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agaland chief minister Dr. Shürhozelie Liezietsü couldn’t have wished for a worst time to present his maiden budget as the finance minister because the current financial year 2017-18 is the last for the present DAN-III coalition government before facing election in 2018 and he has to contend with another huge deficit projected at Rs.1437.84 crore at the end of the financial year 2017-18. That means, the recently installed chief minister will only have to manage the finances and ensure it does not rise further.

As things stand today, special category states like Nagaland and other north eastern states are not going to experience any benefit under the NITI Aayog as they did when the Planning Commission was in existence. The common refrain from finance ministers of the special category states was that the recommendation of the 14th Finance Commission would increase devolution of Central taxes to the states from the existing 32% to 42%; yet their requirements would still fall short of demand by 50%. In the affairs of any state, the first that needs to be dealt with is finance; without which, all dreams and visions are meaningless.

Financial health as it is, can be made healthy only through proper care and handling. Politicians have a problem with financial discipline, because they are on a five-year tenure and need to please their voters who care more about financial benefits then the need for fiscal responsibility. Thus, though Nagaland has received the highest allocation under the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission; yet there has been no fiscal discipline and as a result of which the deficit continued to hover at around Rs.1400 crore. The deficit cannot be reduced to a large extent as desired since there is hardly any revenue income from the state and therefore, it will need a huge interest free loan or a grant from the Centre to wipe out the deficit. That is farfetched since the parameters of central funds to the state are clearly dependent on where the chief minister decides to allot as per the guidelines of NITI Aayog. The return on investment is not a likely possibility. Dr. Shürhozelie had told media persons after presenting the budget on Tuesday that his government plans to spend 39% of the budget for social sector such as - education, health, water supply and 19% for rural development and 13% for agri and allied sector. After all, at the end of it all, some practical steps are needed in order to escape dire financial strait. Each financial year, deficits show in the budget and eventually grow if uncontrolled as may be evident from the current situation. The demand for implementation of the 7th RoP for government employees will also open another huge hole in the state finances.

Currently, the options are too few even if the state government thinks it could tackle the problem by increasing revenue collections since this would hardly be able to make any dent on the deficit figure. How long can the politicians simply expect the Centre to give them money to spend without responsibility when infrastructures are in deplorable condition? A good financial health is achievable only if the government is serious about good governance and which continues to be the criteria of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

DailyDevotion Our Lord’s Surprise Visits You also be ready… —Luke 12:40 A Christian worker’s greatest need is a readiness to face Jesus Christ at any and every turn. This is not easy, no matter what our experience has been. This battle is not against sin, difficulties, or circumstances, but against being so absorbed in our service to Jesus Christ that we are not ready to face Jesus Himself at every turn. The greatest need is not facing our beliefs or doctrines, or even facing the question of whether or not we are of any use to Him, but the need is to face Him. Jesus rarely comes where we expect Him; He appears where we least expect Him, and always in the most illogical situations. The only way a servant can remain true to God is to be ready for the Lord’s surprise visits. This readiness will not be brought about by service, but through intense spiritual reality, expecting Jesus Christ at every turn. This sense of expectation will give our life the attitude of childlike wonder He wants it to have. If we are going to be ready for Jesus Christ, we have to stop being religious. In other words, we must stop using religion as if it were some kind of a lofty lifestyle— we must be spiritually real.

If you are avoiding the call of the religious thinking of today’s world, and instead are “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2), setting your heart on what He wants, and thinking His thoughts, you will be considered impractical and a daydreamer. But when He suddenly appears in the work of the heat of the day, you will be the only one who is ready. You should trust no one, and even ignore the finest saint on earth if he blocks your sight of Jesus Christ.

Quotes

Problems are only opportunities in work clothes. ~ Henry J. Kaiser

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e are back to square one. The Supreme Court has advised the two parties, those who want the Babri Masjid to be reconstructed and those who claim that the site is that of Lord Rama’s. In its judgment, the court has advised the different parties to sit together and sort out the problems through negotiations. One surprising part of the advice is that the Chief Justice of India is willing to mediate for an out-of-court settlement. He has said “give a bit and take a bit. Make an effort to sort it out.”

He points out that these are issues of sentiments and he can even step aside and let his brother judges to decider. How can the chief justice or, for that matter, his brother judges mediate because their very office is supposed to be above controversies? Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu icon, who has been elected as the leader of the Uttar Pradesh legislative party with a huge margin and installed at chief

Nagaland Post, Dimapur thursday, March 30, 2017

Back to square one

minister. Whether the credit for securing this majority in UP goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi or to the Yogi, who has the reputation of being a hardcore Hindu leader, it shows that Hindutva is sweeping the country. Obviously, the RSS is behind the move. In the past, the RSS always stayed distant although it was the final arbiter. But now it is so confident of the Hindu majority, particularly after the BJP swept elections in UP, that it doesn’t mind coming out in the open. It is already preparing for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Its chief Mohan Bhagwat minces no words when he tells the swayamsewaks to be prepared to meet the increasing attacks on the RSS and get ready for the next Lok Sabha polls. In the face of what has happened in recent assembly elections, the RSS fears that the opposition parties might join hands together to fight it out. In such a scenario, the BJP-led NDA may lose ground. The RSS,

or for that matter, the BJP to snap ties with the RSS. knows that despite getting Subsequently, L.K. Advani 42 percent of vote share in walked out and founded a UP, the combined efforts separate party, the BJP. Libof the other parties fetched eral elements in the party 55 percent of vote share. like Atal Behari Vajpayee, It means that the non-BJP too, left the Janata Party. parties would have to come It turned out to a blessing together. This doesn’t seem in disguise that his soberpossible at ing influence present. did not allow Kuldip Nayar The bigthe hardcore ger danger may force them elements to take over when to sink their differences and the party came to power. fight the saffron brigade. As It, however, shows that Nani Palkhiwala, the late secularism has not taken eminent jurist said, when roots in the country. It is the house is on fire you unfortunate that the indedon’t not think whether to pendent struggle, aimed at a save the drawing room or secular democratic country dining room. You want to that included this noble save the entire house. He thought in the preamble was referring to the loom- of the constitution, seems ing threat of the erstwhile to have gone awry. The Jan Sangh getting a ma- Hindutva elements, slowly jority in parliament. It is and gradually, swept the another matter that Janata country. Today, you can Party, comprising most Jan see that soft-Hindutva has Sanghis, came to power at spread even in Kerala where the centre in 1977. But the the BJP, for the first time, sticking point was to sever has made inroads. As it relations with the RSS. is, the party has captured However, the Jan Sangh ele- the imagination of people ments which are now a part and has brought to power of the ruling BJP, refused in over dozen states. This

also means that the secular party like the Congress has been losing its grip in the states which it ruled once.

Even the regional parties are losing their relevance as it happened in UP. Obviously, the BJP has been able to influence the minds of most people. The Rajya Sabha elections look like strengthening the BJP’s hands. The assembly elections in states Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will really show whether the Lok Sabha would be captured by the BJP or not. However, the future is ominous. The revival of Ram mandir issue could shape the future of the country and would polarize the nation further.

Yogi Adityanath has repeated the Modi words of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas.’

But the content of the party cannot change overnight.

Though the UP chief minister may not be saying it in as many words, he will have to follow the RSS and the BJP agenda of the Ram temple at Ayodhya, sooner or later. If the all-powerful

Yogi has been installed as chief minister by the BJP high command, it must be with a clear-cut intention.

Whatever may the outcome, the court cannot decide on what is apparently a matter of faith. That is perhaps why the CJI has offered to mediate for an out-of-court settlement. But then there have been several attempts since 1986, involving five governments of different colours. It was mainly because both parties seem to be adamant since they don’t want to make any compromises. Under the circumstances, another attempt by the CJI may not help. Except for the BJP, none of the other parties is enthused over the offer by the Supreme Court bench.

It looks as if the apex court also is not clear in its mind how to settle the dispute.

This long-ranging issue needs a quick solution for the comforts of all parties concerned. But, unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to coming, at least in the near future.

Post-mortem

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Naga common customary laws vis-à-vis uniform civil code

any intellectual Nagas aspired of having a common customary law for all the Nagas could be a well thought-out but the challenge ahead seems to be bigger than ever thought-out for the fact of technical implication in various tribal custom and practices that’s akin to my headache pill is useless for your stomach pain.

If that is the fact that we really wanted uniform customary laws then that’s not different from the unsuccessful “Uniform Civil Code” proposal being shelved indefinitely for wants of civil society’s supports.

Whereas, the uniform civil code is a term originated from the concept of civil law-code that envisage administering the same set of secular civil laws to govern different people belonging to different religions and region that ultimately superseding the right of its citizens as to subject themselves to different personal laws based on their religion or ethnicity.

A common area intended to cover by this act includes; 1. Personal status 2. Rights related to acquisition and administration 3.Marriage, divorce and adoption was ardently opposed by Muslims, Christians, INC, CPI(M) and in consonance to that “The Time of India” said on 13 Oct. 2016 “A Uniform Civil Code is not good for the nation” Now, considering the historicalbaggage of the Naga tribal culture, custom and tradition where each Naga tribe has its own set of unique custom that may not be relevant to other Naga tribes. No wonder, the ancient Nagas lived in a sovereign status of nation, undiluted from any external influence or force.

Similarly, retrospection shows that our forefather embraced the faith of paganism; believer of nature “Animism” started setting their own

ethical rules and regulation. The evolvement of most custom and practice were heavily laced and infused with fear psycho factors more of natural phenomenal recurrence such as curse and rewards for the bad and good people. These laws are purely verbatim and the elders who administer know them like the back of their palm and apply what is appropriate for a degree of crime so committed and deals accordingly without any prejudice since time immemorial. The institution of customary law is basically based on the fundamental of village authorities comprising of G.Bs. and trusted elders who are not necessarily trained in the profession of handling laws unlike those LLB in the Indian conventional laws nor do they charge fees for dispensing the cases but in a nutshell the customary law dispensers are not less than lawyer themselves.

However this doesn’t mean that those customary laws are flawless in nature but it has survived the test of time where, till date most rural folks opting for this simple but effective set of customary can be attributed to just and fair settlement in time with less or no expenditure. More so, when the country India recognized our intrinsic culture and custom through the ordinance sanction article 371A in consonance with our probity of custom and practice it will be prudent on our part to zealously protect them in the best interest of communities and Nagas as a whole.

Therefore it is the right time that all those verbatim records of our forefathers be put to book form in hard and soft as I did for my people and some other few tribes as well.

As for the common customary laws being endeavored by some intellectuals who might as well come

NUN and ARK Foundation rejoinder on state TB status

up with a set of rules that can raise more question than the answer as “Customary law-review needed?

Nagaland Post, Post-mortem on 28-03-2017. Remember, I have certain inherent rights in my own custom and practice which cannot be dispensed by the Ao or Lotha or Angamis nor do can I to them but if person/s from those tribes committed a crime in my jurisdiction they would be prompted with my customary laws and vice versa. However, at this juncture it will be a suicidal to jump to a conclusion with common customary laws for that would create more confusion than solving. Many Nagas tend to jump into bandwagon without understanding the pros and cons but in practical they are more complicate than you ever think and if haphazardly redrawn with a set of common laws and push me to the wall surely there would be counter reaction for the worse.

Therefore, it is my humble suggestion that should there be any remedial needed in their respective customary laws; it should be squarely put through remedial process represented by the D.Bs. G.Bs. Hohos and the author/compilers should there be any. True, there are certain outdated and obsolete laws dying out a natural dead which are no more in use, many more can be rectified and put to codification within that particular tribe if required but I am death sure that no sensible tribe would ever surrender their rights for others’ pleasure for the asking.

Our ancestors were good in practicing but poor in preaching and vice-versa we the Nagas today.

N.Haisoyi Ndang, Author; Naga script & Zeliang customary laws; Lower Bayavu Kohima, (haisoyindang@gmail.com)

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he Nagaland Users’ Network and ARK foundation, in a further rejoinder to the press statement made by the State TB Officer, has stated that Bedaquiline was approved in India in 2015. Based on a letter sent to the Prime Minister of India by Civil Society Organizations and Community Networks on 13 January 2017, to immediately scale up Bedaquiline program and registration of Delamanid in India, the Director General of Health services (CTD) has on 21 March 2017, replied about the efforts to make the drug available under the program more so as a result of the Delhi High Court’s Judgment. In this regard, NUN and ARK Foundation stated that these agendas are beyond the capacity of the state RNTCP and therefore suggested them not to make unnecessary rejoinders but to follow up on the suggestions put forth, which was called upon them to propose the need for these drugs to the central TB division in Delhi, in their Annual Action Plan.

On the issue of the year of RNTCP being launched, NUN and ARK foundation stated that the year is not a primary concern. However, the source of 2001 was based on the earlier website of the RNTCP Nagaland which webpage has been changed and now shows as 2012, as the year of launching. In this regard, the two NGOs suggested the RNTCP not to create more confusion but to work on updating their source.

Regarding the CBNAAT clarification, NUN and ARK

Leader of the people or leader of the organization?

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f late, it has become pretty tough to get in touch with most of our leaders—our phone calls are ignored, our text messages are ignored, our mails are not no paid heed to, forget about getting our job done. And they say. “I was too busy!” The fact is that, if a leader is too busy to keep in touch with people, he or she becomes a leader of the organization at the expense of the members of the organization. This is a terrible reality we’re facing in our society today.

Of course, there are wonderful leaders in Naga society. They’re people persons. They’re helpful people; their goal in their career is to extend help to anyone who may need their humble service.

There are medical doctors who keep the communication open even in Operation Theatre without switching off their mobile phone. There are leaders who would receive your phone call even in the middle of the night and still not be annoyed. We need to be truly grateful to these Good Samaritan leaders. Hats off to them! This article is for people who occupy important places in the offices, be it a tribal body,

student community, government establishment, or any organization, but have not yet learned to act as leaders.

After you become a leader, if your contact with people becomes selective instead of expanding, something is wrong with your leadership because you’re not just the leader of leaders but the general public (no matter how insignificant they are) although you need to coordinate with your subordinates more often. It’s extremely vital to be sensitive to the needs of even the least among the bonafide members of your organization. If your contact is only with people who can benefit you than render your service, you become an egotist, not a leader. Many leaders among the Nagas today are becoming too self-centered. Mega-events are becoming more important than helping people or equipping people at the grass-root level.

These leaders put more attention on the events or organizational reputation than meeting the needs of the people. This leadership sickness is called “Egogratification.” Becoming a leader does not make you great; it only

brings you greater responsibility; the higher the organization, the greater the responsibility. If you’re not aware of this fact, you better revisit your attitude.

In spite of too many leaders leading to leadership crisis in Nagaland, we still experience famine of leadership. Leaders who are truly for the people they lead are still rare. People who head the organizations are not necessarily leaders in the real sense. Leaders are who plan with people, organize people, lead people, and facilitate opportunity, all for the welfare of the people. They are leaders who are accessible, approachable, and responsive to people’s needs. Alexander Strauch believes that the organizational changes that occurred during the early centuries of Christianity were disastrous.

Christianity, the humblest of all faiths, degenerated into most power-hungry and elaborately hierarchical religion on the face of the earth. Nearly everything Christ had taught and lived was distorted; the pristine character of Christianity was lost. The principles of humility and servant-hood are at the very heart

of Christ’s teaching. And his teachings were directed not only to the clergies but to all Christians who occupy important leadership positions. In fact, Jesus himself was not a religious professional.

He was a carpenter by trade, not a clergy. For Christians there’s no difference between sacred and secular service. All are expected to serve him by serving people with utmost humility and dedication. A leader who lacks humility will find hard to serve people but only look for opportunity to be served and honored. Max Depree says, “Above all, leadership is a position of servant-hood.” And, Laurrie Beth Jones opines that, the principle of service is what separates true leaders from gloryseekers. Blessed are you if you’re a leader of the people. May your kind of leader increase! But, if you occupy the chair of an organization and still not a leader yet, it’s time that you start leading people today than remain in your chair at the expense of the people.

Hoping to meet more accessible, approachable, and responsive leaders in the years to come!

Chekrovei Cho-o

foundation mentioned that they are very well aware of the limitations with the department at Tuensang and Zunheboto district, however suggested that the RNTCP cannot be laid-back but further work with the Govt and its machinery to getting the machines installed. The lives of the patients in these districts cannot be sacrificed to suffice the high case load of Kohima and Dimapur. Further, the NGOs questioned, why the STO chose to clarify only on this and not make any mentions on the absence of the District TB officer at Tuensang.

Though the IPT and 99 DOTS were launched in December 2016, the clarification failed to highlight on the IPT service uptake of the total HIV reported case of 2663 in Kohima and 7607 in Dimapur as of April 2006 to March 2016 which stands to be of concern.

Therefore the two NGOs has urged the state RNTCP to aggressively work on reaching out, counsel and linked PLHIVs to the services (IPT & 99 DOTS), not only in these two districts but even in the other districts as well.

In conclusion, NUN and ARK foundation has made it clear that the purpose of the press statement was to serve as a means of strengthening the partnership resulting to a collaborated effort between RNTCP and NGOs, and advises the RNTCP to be open for constructive criticism. The two organisations would be open to a discussion, if required.

Ketho Angami, President, ARK foundation

Reader’s Post

Appointed backdoor

Sir,

Once all their parents were appointed through backdoor that gave the opportunity to raise their kids to go through front door today. Affordability background matters a lot. All the socalled backdoor appointees were none other than once educated unemployed youths. All were capable in one way or the other: money capable, politics capable, exam capable in both backdoor and front door appointments. Referring to ACAUT demand to terminate all backdoor appointment is just an impossible dream. Only few hundred posts were advertised but several thousands were appointed every year. I assume two-third of the present government employees were backdoor appointments. So at this juncture to cancel all illegal backdoor appointment is same as to kill them. What will happen if you kill one? Instead we have to make strict law with a union of voice from all spheres of legislators, bureaucrats and politicians to check further illegal procedures.

Besuta Venyo, Phek town

Reader’s note: Articles or letters published in any of the columns do not reflect the view of this newspaper nor that of the Editor in any manner.