The Greek philosopher Aristotle in his book Politics written in the year 350 BC states: ‘[e]very state is a community of some kind, and every community is established with a view to some good; for mankind always act in order to attain that which they think is good’. That leaves us with the question: what is good? Good simply means that which is morally right, that which is to be desired or approved of. In today’s Nagaland and Naga society, the ‘good’ has become a rare commodity while the bad and the ugly are having their heyday.
Of all that is good, what Nagaland so desperately need today is good governance. Like the desperate gasps of fish out of the water, Nagaland desperately needs good governance right now. Good governance commands approval, bad governance invites protests. The fact that the state government had to wait till today to concede to the demands of various organizations is just mind boggling.
Why did the state government have to wait till today? Why is it that organizations have to resort to protests and agitations every time their grievances are left unattended by the government? Or, why does our government almost always give the opportunity to the organizations to protest and agitate only to succumb to their demands later on? Is it mere incompetence on the part of the government or is there a trick in the art of governance that we the common people are not aware of?
The state cabinet today made three decisions where it conceded to the demands of various organizations. It conceded to the demand of Nagaland In-service Doctors Association on the superannuation issue, albeit with a rider. Doctors are supposed to be members of the intellectual and professional section of society and even them, the doctors, were made to go on strike. It is very clear that the doctors were left with no option but to agitate. The cabinet also approved the inclusion of exempted departments in the Nagaland Staff Selection Board after the Eastern Naga Students’ Federation began their agitation at Civil Secretariat, Kohima. Why wait till there are agitations? The cabinet also approved mainstreaming of SSA and RMSA teachers of 2010 and 2013 batches as demanded by NSF and ENSF.
No organization would protest against the government for a policy decision that is good. The common people wonder why the state government fails to do that which is good. If there is any dissent, debate or disagreement, it ought to be on the question of how to achieve the good. There could be several means to an end and the debate should be about the means and not the end. The end is always for the good of the people. Yes, governance is a complex affair but that is not the reason to make it even more complicated by not doing that which is good. This is bad governance.