The B20 summit that is underway in Kohima brings back memories from last year of the Union Finance Minister’s visit to Nagaland in August. Last year, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was in Nagaland on a three-day visit when she attended the CSR and Investment Conclave. More than 100 corporate delegates and investors from various parts of India participated in the event. Meanwhile, more than 60 overseas delegates from at least 29 countries are attending the B20 summit now.
The two events are very different from each other and both events are first of their kind in Nagaland. However, there is one thing in common to both events – no one from Mokokchung is directly benefiting from it. It is not even clear if anyone from Mokokchung has been invited to attend the B20 meet. While it can possibly be true that Mokokchung, or the rest of Nagaland for that matter, have been left out in the cold by the Kohima-Dimapur cabal, it is also now high time for us, those of us often ignored and sidelined by the Kohima-Dimapur centric powers-that-be, to stake our claim for a place at the table.
Maybe it would bode well for us to stop blaming them and start asking ourselves why we are always at a loose end. It is a competitive world and where only the fittest thrive. Maybe we are not fit enough to compete in this survival-of-the-fittest game. It is not like the whole universe conspires against us. We simply are in need of leadership. For decades, we have been led by the same people with the same mindset and look where we have ended up. For once, give us leaders who understand the changing world and what it means. For Mokokchung’s sake.