Time to Move Past the Topper Narrative
Each year, the announcement of results by the Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE) follows a familiar script. Headlines focus on toppers, pass percentages, and the number of government schools…
Durable Roads Remain Elusive in Mokokchung
Mokokchung’s roads tell a familiar and frustrating story. In mid 2022, several youth organizations raised their voices over the deplorable condition of the IMDH Road, a key stretch from Police…
What Do We Mean by Development?
In Nagaland, everyone speaks of development. From politicians and their loyalists to government officials, from civil society leaders to grassroots organizers, the word is everywhere. It dominates political speeches, policy…
Who will carry the conversation forward?
When Amba Jamir remarked at Fazl Ali College that “just because we are in the corner of India does not mean we cannot contribute anything,” the statement resonated beyond the…
At the Edge of Continuity: The Question of Naga Civilization
Naga society did not begin as a unified political entity. It emerged from village republics, self-governing and bound by customary law, where identity was inseparable from land and tradition. These…
Biometric verification may be inevitable step towards cleaner elections
The decision of the Supreme Court of India to seek responses from the Centre and the Election Commission of India on the introduction of biometric voter verification marks an important…
Stuck in Lodi Again
The song “Lodi” by Creedence Clearwater Revival tells the story of a musician stranded in the small town of Lodi, unable to move forward, trapped by circumstance and misfortune. “Oh…
No Clean Rolls, No Clean Elections
There is no perfect society, and Naga society is no exception. Yet, acknowledging imperfection cannot become an excuse for accepting decay. Today, apart from the longstanding Indo-Naga political question, corruption…
The Ritual of a Broken Ballot
Politics is the process by which people make decisions about how a society is governed. Politics is meant to be the quiet, dignified exercise of collective choice. It is where…
Is Corruption in Our Genes?
There are times when the scale and persistence of corruption appears so routine, so deeply embedded, that one is tempted to ask whether it has become part of our inheritance,…