Honesty, Corruption: Vizol-Hokishe era and 2023

This piece can be taken as a humour or a piece that offers some lessons and also provokes angry reactions. 

New Delhi 

This piece can be taken as a humour or a piece that offers some lessons and also provokes angry reactions. 

The first round goes to Neiphiu Rio for the electoral win but the second round to some of us who have been batting for a firm 'No' to the so-called opposition-less government. 

Nagaland scripts history on the swearing-in day.  Salhoutuonuo Kruse, Western Angami NDPP legislator breaks the male bastion, makes history by becoming first woman legislator and also first woman minister in Nagaland.

The 72-year-old Neiphiu Rio storms back to power as he was sworn for a record fifth term. If the decision to confine the ministry making only to BJP and NDPP was Amit Shah's the Union Home Minister needs to be congratulated and also thanked. The so-called opposition-less dispensation did little to provide governance and also help expedite the peace talks.

Instead they ended up achieving the opposite in both the cases. In terms of development, the Eastern Nagaland thought it is better to move away from the influence of Kohima and in terms of Peace and Solution, the less we speak about it is better. Now the centre is understandably still keen to resolve the Naga issue.

The real question is what will the new Assembly and the new government want. The craze and hurry displayed even by parties such as LJP (Ram Vilas) to join the ministry shows everybody is keen now for the bigger slice of the cake --- come what may.

Understandably all candidates and parties have spent huge amounts and it is the natural affinity of men (and also women this time) to 'recover' the losses. "Ki koribo na?" is a helpless cry vividly visible on the face of all legislators and their masters including the big brotherly sponsor.  

Before we go into little details to talk about the corruption pandemic, it may be worth sharing an Indian folk tales parable here. This story recently figured in the Supreme Court and was raised noted counsel Harish Salve.

'Nagaland Page'

The story goes -- during the 'honest era' a farmer finds a pot full of gold coins in a land he was tilling.  He rushes to the land owner and tells him the pot "belongs to you as it was found in your land and my job is only to grow crops and fruits". The land owner -- also honest - says the pot should be taken away by the farmer because it's God's wish that he found it.

Now the story moves to the modern era (Kalyug as Hindus say). The farmer now says the pot "belongs to me because I found it". The new era land owner also counters and says - "How come? It's mine, the land belongs to me".

Does this surmise the difference between Hokishe-Vizol era of Nagaland politics and the later stage ? In the 1990s, Late Hokishe Sema used to tell me that "Often I think I was not prepared for this generation of politics. I just do not have enough money to play games others are playing".

Almost on a similar line, Vizol used to say, "We never came to politics or contested elections to make money".

What would the honourable politicians of 2023 and of course 2018 (experience) tell us about the pot of gold coins and the land owner's tale? Can you guess? 
 

My guess will be -- firstly the farmer will pick up the pot and secretly run away from the land owner. He could even say, "My father in law has expired, I have to go to his village".  And for his part he would vanish into some other lands.

What would the land owner tell the media when confronted? Scared of ED raids he would simply deny that the pot ever existed in his land.

 

But most interestingly, what would the farmer tell if he is confronted by the media after some years when he has become a rich entrepreneur himself, "I am too busy I have to go the neighbourhood school to give away Teachers and Students awards for honesty".

The second chance could be -- he will tell his friends. "Well, I have not much to advice for you all. The best job in this world is to play facilitator. I am trying to help establish a Facilitator Forum and the membership is for five years".  
media --- once a thief always a thief.

Wrap up

Whom should we call a model politician?

Someone who is detached from ideology and principles, intolerant of criticism,
hungry for money and more money, fond of gimmicks and spins and eager to
be assured about the 'continuation' in corridors of power and occasionally
contemptuous of media but laud sycophancy. 

Over to the new government and new legislators. 

ends