Every once in a while, we ought to flip through the pages of history to remind ourselves of where we come from. Mokokchung, up until the late 1980s, as history suggests, was a fast growing township. Of course, Mokokchung is still progressing as a major urban center in Nagaland but it is now common knowledge that we have a lot of catching up to do. To compare ourselves with the other districts is alright but the focus should not be on the others but on ourselves if at all we should compare. Instead of asking why the other districts are advancing, it would be healthier to ask why we are stagnating or why we are not progressing as fast as we would have loved to.
There was a time when Mokokchung was an education hub, thanks to the American missionaries. People from all over the Naga country came to Mokokchung for their schooling. And then we gave ourselves the first college in Nagaland. We also had the first and best hospital back then. We produced a galaxy of luminaries. Road system and connectivity improved and the local economy flourished. Mokokchung was even dubbed the political nerve center of Nagaland and rightly so. We produced the best in the fields of sports, music and the arts and we even learned to deal in business, trade and commerce. This is not an attempt to romanticize the past but a cursory glance at what Mokokchung was like back in the day.
Fast forward to the present and lo! The brightest among us are leaving us in search of better opportunities elsewhere. The brain drain is huge. Those who stay back and run their businesses here, not that they are not capable of leaving but because they have a symbiotic attachment with Mokokchung, are struggling as if they were swimming against the tide. A student of sociology could better explain it but to the layman, it is unfathomable to understand why or how our society has become so spiritless.
No doubt, there are sincere citizens who are genuinely doing their bit for Mokokchung but the overall scenario is not too promising. Come to think of it, we are a town where we can’t even have an adequate supply of a commodity as basic as potable water! It is nobody’s fault but everybody has a role to play if we are to bring Mokokchung to the mainstream again. Ultimately, it depends on the people, the citizens.
To bring Mokokchung to the mainstream or forefront, we will need to support each other. We will have to revisit our culture of community support and engagement. If you support someone or their ideas or aims, you agree with them, and perhaps help them because you want them to succeed. Therein lies the strength of our community. By mainstream, we mean what is viewed by most people as normal, like the mainstream view that everybody should go to school or get a job. Mainstreaming Mokokchung means making it “normal” for Mokokchung to be at the forefront.
Mainstreaming Mokokchung is going to be a process and it will require a multi-dimensional effort on our part but there is a sure shot strategy to achieving it – harnessing our community spirit. Each contributing to the community, and the community supporting the individuals in return was and is our life-force.