Features

~Vishü Rita KrochaThe COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare many things. Things we have taken for granted, rights we should have fought for, issues that should have been addressed, and things that we were probably never aware of, before the pandemic. It came upon us, as unprepared as we were as the rest of the world. And life, as we know it, was never going to be the same again.In a closely knitted community that Nagaland is, journalism, at least for me, took a direction that is revealing of many 'bitter...

(QuoVadis: Naga Christians) S C Jamir(Former CM & Governor) The present-day state of affairs in Nagaland leaves much to be desired, it saddens the heart to see the web of greed and deceit being indulged with impunity and with scant regard for the rule of law. The writings on the wall are evident today as Nagaland has become like a ship without a rudder. This has ultimately given birth to all forms of social evils resulting in Violence, killing, gun-culture, hatred, divisive forces and massive corruption which seems to be...

Buno Iralu As though we don't already have our hands full this pandemic season, every other day, our sensibilities get shaken by some horrible news originating right from our localities and front yards. The stories, sadly and shamefully, range from sexual abuse, domestic violence, abandoned babies, rape, kidnapping, big-time theft to cold and bloody murder. Is our Naga society turning sick? Are the dire occurrences, happening at such alarming frequency, indicative of some festering conditions that need attention and redressal? Is it enough to catch the culprits and put them...

Kekhrie Yhome On 28th February, 2020, Union Ministry of Law and Justice issued an Order to 'readjust the division' of State Assembly and Lok Sabha boundaries in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, the States of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Nagaland-with 2001 Census as the base year-although the cacophonic resistance everywhere is for 2011 Census. A week later, the same Ministry announced the formation of a Delimitation Commission-with Justice (Retd.) Ranjana Prakash Desai chairing the three-member commission, for a period of one year. Then came Coronavirus. At the...

Abhishek Dayal, Director, PIB Imphal The National Education Policy announced this year is very specific in its goals: it aims to make the Indian education system inclusive and accessible to all. It seeks to unleash the true potential of the nation's human resource by raising the literacy levels, cutting across class and regions. It directly addresses the critical issues that are plaguing a system that ignores the unique requirements of our country. It seeks to take the competency, skill and knowledge levels of the students to global standards so that...

Elika Assumi As a student, my decision to pursue higher studies was influenced by a desire to escape Dimapur, an obscure, hot, humid city of formless urban confusion. I enrolled in a university in Hyderabad, a place which fulfilled my sense of what a city should be. Coming from the vertiginous hills of my homeland in Nagaland thousands of kilometres away, Hyderabad was a dramatic change, in terms of language, food, people, and culture. However, I was not alone and I developed a sense of community with the other students,...

The NEP is a recipe for unenlightened over-centralization Sugata Bose The new education policy comes cloaked in pious platitudes and ostensibly progressive pronouncements. It is only by peeling away the layers of obfuscation that we get a clear insight into the ways in which it is poised to blight the future of our younger generation. The announcement of the policy bypassing Parliament and any real consultation with the states is one more brazen and cynical attempt to advance the ruling configuration's ideological agenda under the cover of COVID-19. It is...

Abili T Wotsa, Dimapur (This letter won the first prize at the National Dhai Akhar Letter Writing Campaign, envelope category (1000 words) North-east level,2019-2020) “Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.” “The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.” ~ Bruce Lee. Dear Bapu, you inspire me, I am spell-bound. You spoke the Universal language of love. You are a beautiful star that never stops twinkling. Generations have come and gone, still your...

Dear Diary, It's the last minute of the football match and one could feel the blood rushing through the beating heart as the striker moves closer to the edge of the post and makes the winning goal. The thunderous cheer from the packed stadium makes you tremble in sheer joy, weakens your jaw muscles making way to unleash a victorious cry. For that one moment, you become the happiest person on earth. On the 34th day of institutional quarantine, after being tested negative 5 times, the same overwhelming sense of...

Mongshai Longshe Has the Coronavirus relegated other viruses and diseases to triviality? Did the Government/administration think that non-COVID patients can survive anyway when they actuated District Civil Hospital, Tuensang, into a COVID-19 hospital? I cannot help but wonder what would have happened had there been no professional private clinics like Poly Clinic in Tuensang Town to meet people's health emergencies. Grace Hansen's quote "Don't be afraid that your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin." has been Dr. Benjung Lam's guiding maxim. And who is Dr. Lam?...