Infested by unemployment (not for those who know how to pull the right string), bad roads (getting better now), corruption, road accidents and news of someone or the other being detected with cancer, kidney ailments, blood pressure and diabetes, Nagaland sleeps like a giant.
The Clean Election Campaign was started by Nagaland Baptist Church Council to bring ethical and moral values to the electoral politics. But the question is, how far the initiative of 'Clean Election' is/was successful? Some people are of the opinion, Church should stay out of politics. No doubt, the church has its own significance, but the bitter truth is, forget about the Church or the clergies, people are not even taking God seriously. Marx once said, religion is the opium of the masses. I say, these days lots of synthetic drugs are available in the market. Church being the institution for one's spiritual growth has its own share of problems, and we know, the Western notion of secularism and India version of secularism are different in written and in practice.
As of now, the election fever is going on in full gear, new drama unfolds each day. The usual screenplay is being witnessed which give a space for the public to question the efficacy rate of the Clean Election campaign. However, it does not mean the 'Clean Election' campaign has been a total failure. Any kind of change whether it be in ideologies or practices, take time. And here we are, aiming to bring a structural change. The foundation has been laid. Now, the ground is us, yes, we the public, we can either be rock solid or sandy shaky. Hence, instead of mocking the initiative of Clean Election, why don't we question the social animal in us before we act like political mascots.
Some of us might not understand the importance of Clean Election, for we fail to understand the literal meaning of the word, 'election' itself. We elect, we don't bet, we don't gamble, we don't get paid to be entertained. While buying a personal car, we don't wake up on a random day and head out to the car shop. We take time to select the best one which aligns with our need and budget. We do our little homework; we do our research. Election is the time to elect which is bigger than select. Clean Election might not be of everyone's interest, but adult franchise is one right which empowers us to elect a person even if he/she is poor to be our representative (not using the term, leader) because we see in him/her a person who is filled with wisdom, integrity and empathy.
Muscle power, money power, identity card can be displayed by the intending candidate, but we have the power to turn the table. I hope for the best.
