Is Nagaland Shining?

Nagaland like the rest of the Northeast Region has tremendous scope for economic development. More than 50 years of State hood and the reality on the ground however do not give us the confidence to project Nagaland as a developed State. Many times we hear our politicians complaining about meager funds being given by the Centre i.e. the Government of India. In fact the truth is that we get enough or even more to actually build our State—schools, roads, hospitals etc. But it is embarrassing to actually learn that we still lack even the basic infrastructure. A startling revelation recently published in the local media pointed to everything that was wrong in Nagaland. According to a report, some villages in Mokokchung District still do not have roads of their own and in fact they have to travel from Assam. Similar picture of neglect has been time and again highlighted in the local media such as the pitiable condition of the government hospital in Kiphire or the condition of primary education in places like Peren where most of the schools are run with single teacher. We can list out many more cases which clearly shows disconnect between the State and the ordinary people especially in places beyond Kohima and Dimapur. The level of development in Nagaland clearly does not measure itself to the money pouring in for the same and it is this statistic that needs to be changed.
It is in this context, of the state that Nagaland is in, that we need to measure our progress with the rest of the Northeast States. Many a time we argue that our State is an exception—being small with resource constraints etc. Agreed it will not be fair to compare ourselves to say a Punjab, Gujarat or a Kerela. However we should be able to test where we stand in relation to the other seven-sister NE States. It is embarrassing to note that Nagaland is a senior when it comes to the years of Statehood we have enjoyed. Younger States like Sikkim, Meghalaya or even Mizoram are all moving ahead of Nagaland on almost all fronts. It is worth recalling that during the Agri Expo 2006 held at Dimapur, Nagaland many prospective investors showed greater interest for States like Sikkim and Meghalaya besides Assam.
The answer that many people want is this: Where is the Development? It is clear that there are enough funds available to drive development in Nagaland and the backward regions thereof. And it is not that development funds are available only now—they have been flowing in since Statehood and even after more than fifty years nothing has changed much in terms of economic progress and development. And if the decades of fund allocations had been used in a judicious manner our small State should have reached a higher level of economic growth that is at par with some of the more developed States in the country. But all of us know that this is not the case. We should hang our heads in shame. As the old year leaves us behind, we need to look to the New Year with more sincerity and learn from our failures. Otherwise the future well being of our State and its people will remain a mere illusion.