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Dr S C Jamir (Former CM & Governor) What does the future portend for Nagaland? This question looms large as we approach the reality of a final political settlement that has eluded us for so long. The optimists amongst us envision a brave, robust, united and peaceful Nagaland embarking on the path of progress and seizing the opportunities that have been lost. Others may not be as sanguine. And they cannot be blamed given the bitter experiences of our past. This article makes an honest attempt to provide some answers...

Fr Paul Lelen Haokip In earlier times, a man would say, 'my wife is pregnant.' Now, with more inclusive words, a man says, 'we are pregnant.' An inclusive word like 'we' sounds authentic and more participatory in the process of pregnancy, childbearing and child-raising. International Fathers' Day reminds the world about the participation of 'fathers' in raising families, forming children, and contributing to society and the world. This day does not merely praise 'fathers' but critically scrutinizes their role in societal growth - politically, religiously and socially. Political Fathers In...

Jack T Chakhesang The most important lesson in life is to have values Sixty years ago, an American newspaper columnist wrote about how, as a child, he was terrified by thunder and lightning and would hide, trembling, in his bedroom wardrobe. But his mother would come for him and lead him by the hand down to the front porch, where the display of heavenly violence could be seen in full force. He wrote his masterpiece on the day his mother died. He captioned it “She Taught Me to Love the...

Dr. Salikyu Sangtam North East Christian University, Dimapur In the most recent NITI Aayog's reports on India's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), we see the glaringly poor performance of Nagaland in almost all the vital indicators, and in some cases, our State even outperformed all the other States and Union Territories in the country for all the wrong reasons. When we look at the numbers or figures published, Nagaland's performance is below the par in 9 out of 12 indicators, that also in some of the...

An Act: A revisit to the past amidst lobbying Rev. Dr. Zelhou Keyho, General Secretary, NBCC Nagaland has a long history of bringing the NLTP Act to black and white. The movement began in the early 1960s wherein the church and the civil society fought for almost 3 decades and finally NLTP Act came into being in 1989. In the ’70s and ’80s, the Nagaland Baptist Church Council and the Naga Mothers Association spearheaded the movement, supported by civil society organizations. This they did because they saw the evil of...

S C Jamir (Former CM & Governor) Time for Brutal Honesty: The time has come for Nagas to wake up from our self-imposed state of hapless inertia and be brutally honest about what has been happening to our beautiful land and its people. The past may teach and inspire us, without holding us captives; the present messy conundrum may awaken us to the stark realities that ruthlessly stare at us and the beckoning of the future should inspire resolve in us to stand up and goad us to undertake the...

Dr. Aniruddha Babar, Dept of Political Science, Tetso College “Ahh, you know Aai what happened today?” I entered Home with excitement, thrown my college bag and entered kitchen. Mother was preparing Dinner. “Don’t you dare to come in kitchen with shoes you idiot, go remove them”. Aai shouted at me. “Ooops, sorry, sorry”. I was really guilty as shoes were dirty due to rain and mud, moreover mother has given certain rules which supposed to be followed by papa and me without any question. “You look so excited, tell me...

M A Niphi Of late, with the construction of 4-lane highways and widening of rural roads, improved connectivity has been ensured across Nagaland. Likewise, the number of vehicles plying on the roads also seems to be doubling by the day. A significant portion of Nagas now own a 4-wheeler (if not more).Today, vehicles have become the lifeline because commuting from point to point (whether for official or personal jobs) is becoming almost impossible without one. A rough mental count on the total number of vehicles in Nagaland can be gauged...

An international team of astronomers has taken a step forward in understanding the evolution of galaxies, and in so doing, told a story written in the stars. It has long been a mystery how some spiral galaxies obtained their central black hole. By combining visible and X-ray observations, astronomers have now discovered traces of what was probably once a small sphere-shaped galaxy, seen falling into a spiral galaxy and delivering what is thought to be the right-sized black hole. The facts make for a cosmic romance, a similarity not lost...

Dr. Tumbenthung Humtsoe Every governmental policy action ~ especially of far reaching implications and ramifications ~ must be guided by just political principles, sound economic logic and with the end of promoting social cohesion and harmony; and the entire process of policy making should be characterised by accountability and transparency. What we perceive in the recent creation of the two districts in Nagaland, Niuland and Chumukidima, is prima facie devoid of all the aforesaid canons of sensible and good governance. In a tribal State infested with the myriad inimical manifestations...