Good news like that of the inauguration of Language Translation Center at Fazl Ali College are few and far between. The administration of the college and those involved with the Center deserve to be applauded by one and all. Apart from physical infrastructure, it is developments like these that indicate real progress and advancement. One would like to wish that such a Center was instituted long ago, considering the fact that the college is now more than 60 years old.
The Language Translation Center is led by a team of highly proficient individuals and it is safe to say that it will soon become an unmistakable landmark in the Ao literary and intellectual landscape. Equal measure of appreciation should go to the sponsor, Jemti Mollier Foundation for Development of Ao Language and Literature. There is ample scope for this Center to become an autonomous institute in itself in the long run.
The importance of language translation is underrated in the local context. Almost all English to Ao translations have been in the field of theology. Meanwhile, it is difficult to remember a single Ao piece being translated into English. The reason for these shortcomings could be because there was not much need for it then, or because there were simply not enough people up to the task. Language translation, as much as it is important, is not an easy task. Besides, the translators have to be proficient in both the languages – that is, both Ao and English in this case. Therefore, the establishment of the LTC suggests that we are now past that phase, when we lacked proficient translators, and that we are slowly but surely progressing.
Apart from the LTC, several other components including a College Resource Center, a Child Care Center, a Biotech Lab, a Mini Soil Testing Lab and an Internet Browsing Center spread across different locations within the college campus have also been inaugurated. An essay on how all of these innovative developments were brought to fruition would make an interesting read. Even more interesting would be to see just how far the government or the Higher Education department was instrumental here. Credit must be given where it is due. If the government was not involved here and the college was left to fend for itself , then there are questions to be asked.
Fazl Ali College is the premier college in Nagaland. The people should be reminded from time to time the history of the college, of how it came into being and how it is faring today. No doubt there are people and groups readily supporting the college in their own ways, for which they must be lauded, but there certainly is much that can be done by the community. It is not about whether the college needs our support, but it is about whether we owe anything to the college. And we owe so much. Never was so much owed by so many to a college.