December | Troubled Conscience

December

The twelfth and last month of the year is upon us. It is December. For most of us, the last 11 months of the year have passed away like a fleeting shadow. Another year is passing away, taking us mortals a year closer to the grave. December’s wintery breath is already obscuring the summer’s memory already. There is something unmistakable about the month of December that brings out the reflective side in us. December is not only the beginning of the winter season, the most festive month of the year, but it is also the beginning of the end of a year. As we enter the last month of the year, we are reminded to reflect on the year that was, even as we look forward to the festivities the month promises us.

The weddings, fellowships and gatherings. Spending time together with friends and family, sitting around the fire and sharing cheers over a cup of tea, singing carols as Christmas is in the air – the kind of scenes that bring warmth to the heart is synonymous with December. The sight of children exchanging Christmas gifts – in all their innocence – or simply curling up around a good book and dreaming away the cold is what sets December apart. It is hoped that the days ahead are merry and bright, that the last month is also the best month of the year.

Troubled Conscience

The news of the Urban Development Department informing the Deputy Commissioner of Mokokchung that the ‘required amount’ has been released by the government for repairing the hospital road is welcome. It is, however, difficult to understand why it took so long for the government to release the fund that was pledged by the Chief Minister himself in the floor of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly. It can be argued that the fund would never have been released had the four youth organizations not resorted to the extent of announcing to block the road. It has become a normal practice in Nagaland today where the government performs only when the governed resort to protests and agitations. While the government of the day is to be held accountable for this ridiculous practice, we are also made to realize that the system of governance itself needs a complete overhaul. Why can’t the people running the government simply do what’s right and just? Is it really that difficult to do the right thing when you are in the system? There are a good many people in the government who are genuinely concerned about the plight of the people. However, there is hardly anybody in the government who is ready to do the right thing. If the system constrains them, they meekly comply without speaking out in the interest of the people. So many good people must have retired from service knowing fully well that they could have served the people better; so many of them must be regretting not mustering up the courage to speak up. The people in general can at the most protest when they are denied their rights but those in the government can actually do what is the right thing to do. Being in the government must be like feeling the quicksand under your feet. The burden of a troubled conscience must be heavy.