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Even frogs do not drink the water in which it lives, so for all Nagas and particu-larly for Nation-builders to overlook this simple fact of life would be a collective attempt towards national suicide. The rate at which politicians, bureaucrats,

technocrats, businessman and all at the helm of society are hording and amassing wealth is not only being immoral but is a reflection of the short-sightedness of the present genera-tion. My wish for the New Year is therefore for all leaders at all levels to imbibe the virtue of self evaluation and measure oneself against the best in the world. A democracy which en-courages voice of dissent and promotes trans-parent governance is a cultured society and reflects the quality of its citizenry. My wish for 2013 is to see the Naga Church become the “conscience-keeper” and to lay-out the twin rails of justice and equi-ty, on which it would set all its members on this journey of introspection and openness

to change. Through all the early years of my Church career, I regret to say that I have never ever been mentored, guided or encouraged by my seniors. I wish the Church becomes a plat-form which would provide mentorship and become a breeding ground for producing dy-namic leaders for the future. I wish the Church would speak of Christian citizenship, because we seem to be all ‘heaven bound’, not realizing that in essence the intent of the Lord ’s Prayer is about establishing His kingdom on earth and making Nagaland like heaven. Someone said the roads reflect the kind of Government we have and yet it is easier to blame the politi-cians, not realizing that it is we who have al-lowed them to become demi-gods and have set them above God the creator. My desire for the New Year is to see all Nagas grow out of the hang-over of the past head hunting days of our fathers. Our sense of identity seems to derive from our tribal iden-tities and this is further ghettoising and en-capsulating ourselves from the fast emerging world. Unless we understand the present plu-ralistic world and engage ourselves with the

cultures of the world, we might just miss the bus and be redundant sooner than later. I wish we speak more of ‘naganess’ as a virtue and not ascribe exclusive value to this paradigm. The day we grow beyond our tribal and clan boundaries and imbibe virtues of inclusiveness, than we would have arrived and this will help broaden our world view. Adaptive behaviour comes only with time and I pray this year 2013 will lead us into becoming more open and be-gin the process of unwrapping the many lay-ers of inhibitions and the pent-up suspicions towards our ‘other’ tribal neighbours. The two principle stumbling blocks in our tribal percep-tions are ‘tribal self-righteousness’ and ‘tribal self-indulgence’ and this is sadly fuelling the idea of ‘we’ and ‘they’. What scares me at times is that we are so united but for all the wrong reasons. I Hope some of us in 2013 will decide to climb the tall tree of conscience and shout, ‘hey guys! we are all doing fine but we are headed in the wrong direction’. This 2013, I wish we all resolve to tag along with us those considered the ‘bottom of the heap’ and envi-sion a shared future of peace and prosperity.

Despite 65 years of our struggle, we have still not defined what kind of a nation we wish to gift ourselves or to our future genera-tion. The future is very blurred because self-in-terest and personal agendas have become par-amount. This is making our philosophy of life very narrow and ‘living for today and for my-self’ an unconscious ambition by all. This per-ception is like Jesus said, ‘building on the sandy soil’. Even at 65 we seem to be like a troubled young teenager, struggling through adoles-cence and at best behaving spoilt. I sometimes wonder when will we deal with other funda-mental issues like corruption, right to vote, is-sues of gender rights, when will my daughter own property, when will women have equally status etc. I wish 2013 will bring about a sea change in bringing to the forefront all social concerns and thereby debating issues that are ailing the society and driving the discussion towards social transformation. The larger con-cern is the sin of ‘collective omission’ and hope 2013 will become the beginning of the year of affirmative action by all.

Chingmak Kejong

Wabangla

E

JANUARY2013

Opinion is a theme-based supplement published on the third Saturday of every month. here you are the artist, the writer, the photographer, the storyteller and the creator of your own opinion.

hope for the blue mountains. When one contemplates about hope and looks back at the history of the naga people and discerns how far we have come as a people, one is reminded of the many things that we take for granted. hope, indeed does not come from calculating, nor is it a strategy. hope is simply a choice to take pro-active actions to change the conditions and realities that surrounds us. hope is to ensure that the values of justice do not get lost in the many sophisticated things that have enveloped our lives. hope is to ensure that we do not borrow the future of our children; rather it is to empower them to become fully self-determining in the circle of interdependence. To hope for a future of freedom can be meaningful when the most basic of needs and infrastructure is made available for our children to develop to their fullest capacity. (Imkümra)

Visions, hopes, dreams and fantasies.You have it, so did I.Now I half wish for it.Now I’m convinced it’s futile to harbour dreams in Nagaland.Talk and wish for peace for Nagas,We’re still lost fighting for military control.Naga leaders failing to link diplomacy and development.I’m sorry to say, you’re not worthy for a salute.I had long wished issues will be resolved.With this huge sovereignty gap, Will it be possible?It’s a shame.When working minds, build nations and communities.Ours is a different story.Do we work together to find solutions? It should be seeped into each mind.I had harboured this dream of spreading goodwill,long gone...Will you prove me wrong this 2013?That will be my hope for the Nagas.

My hope for Nagas in 2013

My wish to see the Naga Church become the “conscience-keeper”

illUSTRaTiOn by SÜngKÜM

2

Jaga

DR. E. REnphamO Lotha

maziE naKhro

My Hope For Nagas 2013

My Hope For Nagas In 2013

Wish of 2013: That We May Choose Persons Who ….In the last dec-ade, the peo-ple of China wanted devel-opment more than anything else. No won-der, today they have a disproportion-

ate number of politicians from engineering backgrounds. In Af-rica, the military is the favored route into public life. This is un-derstandable since ethnic clashes have remained to be a huge con-cern there. In the West, people are faced with increasing legal battles at every level and corner. And so, they’re seeing a growing number of lawyers-turned-politicians. In the case of Nagas, what are our biggest problems and thus our greatest needs? And what kind of leaders do we need to help us address them? Perhaps disunity is a num-ber one problem for us. To solve this, we often appeal to our com-mon Naga-ness or insist on coming under a common political ideology. The question is, Will this work? In my view, only God alone is strong enough to bring us together. We need to use our common faith in God to unite us as does Commu-nism for China, Islam for Muslim countries, and Hinduism for most of India. Another problem many are disgusted with is the authori-tarianism and the tyranny of our underground groups. Today we’re very afraid of them because speak-ing anything negatively about them could spell death. Not sur-prisingly, our people are waiting for the emergence of courageous

leaders—people who will fear no man but God alone. All of us want more, if not complete, political autonomy from India. We speak of our rights, but we’re afraid to self-assert them. We speak of negotiation, but we give India the power to control the agenda. The other side seems to know more about us than we know about them. And they don’t seem to be under the same kind of institutional pressures and time constraints we feel we’re under. Where is our negotiating power when our freedom is mostly re-stricted to existence within the confines of our designated camps? How can we speak with authority when our survival seems to depend on rations from India or forced taxation from our own people? Can we not find any outside body to apply pressure on the Govern-ment of India? Don’t we have any-thing at all to bring to the table, say, something which India could benefit from, and which we could use to leverage our negotiating position? These hard questions are not out of malice, but for mutual concerns. For those who have lost all hope in our Naga movement, they see development as our best alter-native solution. This is especially true of our state politicians. For all they do is this: always defer to India’s dictates and depend only on Delhi for funds. Can’t they do better than this? Surely, we Nagas have the human potential and the natural resources to become an envy of the world. So, what sort of leaders do we need? And how do we go about selecting them? In the Book of Deuterono-my, God gives us some very specific

qualifications required of a ruler: First, he should be a member of the community. Second, he should have God’s stamp of approval. Third, he should not run after power, wealth, or women. Fourth, he should depend on the laws of God and be guided by them so he may rule well. As Christians who are proud to call Nagaland a Chris-tian State, it only makes sense that we apply Biblical guidelines. Having been driven by these concerns, I went to Eastern Nagaland about two years ago and met with a gentleman. Some-time later I encouraged him to consider getting into state poli-tics. I offered to give him my full support and said, if possible, I’d very much like to see him serve as our Chief Minister. He’s a man who has been serving others as serving God himself. And much more than that, he’s exceptionally bright—he understands the needs and chal-lenges of the modern times. Then four months ago, I heard that someone from my West-ern Angami constituency might be contesting in the election. I know him as a God-fearing leader who has much to give to our society, like many other great potential candidates amongst us. Anyway, whoever we vote for, my prayer is that we’d elect servant-leaders who will truly serve our people. Very soon we’ll have an-other opportunity to choose our leaders. This time around, let’s carefully make decisions which we won’t regret later. Let’s watch out for those so-called “public serv-ants” who are basically driven by self-interests. It’s high time that we are wary of opportunistic po-litical parties that are ever ready

to sacrifice principles in exchange for positions. And let’s not al-low any government to sit on our head—crushing our aspirations, suppressing our voices, and keep-ing us stuck. When we follow God’s way of running the government, our institution can become an instru-ment of eradicating corruption and all other social evils. Accord-ing to the prophet Isaiah, God has given us his Son and “the govern-ment will be on his shoulders,” that is, the government will be based on and supported by his righteousness. In other words, a righteous government is possible through God’s Son. A government which has Jesus as the Ruler will be charac-terized by justice. For example, the Bible speaks of Melchizedek (who serves as a figure of Jesus), as first of all King of righteousness, and then King of peace. Likewise, when Jesus rules, peace will fol-low justice. He wants government to be an agent of justice and pun-ish the wrongdoers. This is how he brings order so as to ensure secu-rity and peace in society. A Christ-centered govern-ment will not exploit the weak or the powerless. Its leaders will have the priority of their Lord. They will live in proximity to the poor as their Master did. They will not neglect to meet the needs of “the least of these.” Rather they will serve the poor and the oppressed as though serving the Lord because he identifies with them and often sacramentally appears as them. As for those who have no God to fear and no moral absolutes to follow, they believe in a world-view called “the survival of the fit-

test.” For them, the end justifies the means. Naturally, they may not feel guilty about exploiting oth-ers. But those who really believe in God, they see everyone—male and female, rich and poor, Christian and non-Christian—as possessing exactly the same intrinsic value or worth because each person is made in the image of God, imago dei, and has the breath of God in his or her being. For these reasons, they respect every human being, including the unborn and the dis-advantaged, as having the right to live in dignity and to receive fair-ness of treatment. Someday when the rule of our Lord Jesus is received on earth, people will have decent houses and rewarding jobs, children will not die in infancy, old people will live out their lives in health. And there will be no more need for war because peace will come at last. Although this is a prophecy pri-marily about a future time, it also has a certain applicational intent for us now. That’s why Jesus came to earth; and he spoke of good news to the poor, healing for the broken-hearted, freedom for pris-oners, and the returning of sold property to the original owners. And he told us to pray, “Our Fa-ther in heaven…may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” So my wish for our people in 2013 is this: that we will choose God-fearing leaders who will lead us toward a more just society and a more prosperous future. And as they look up to God as their ‘North-Star,’ he can also use them to safely steer our ‘national-ship’ in this long, winding, and life-losing voyage of ours toward our own “Promised land.”

The Nagas are going through a critical juncture in her history during 2013. They are in a cri-sis situation so-cially, economi-cally, culturally, politically, and

religiously. They are in a confused state religiously despite 95 percent Christian population. They could not distinguish between the church and state despite the existing doctrine of separation between the church and state. Politically, they are thor-oughly confused whether to go for election or felicitate for Naga politi-cal solution. Culturally, they are in a confused state whether to preserve the traditional values or adopt west-ern culture. Economically, they are fully dependent on the Centre with as high as 97 percent of Central Fi-nancial assistance. Socially, they are totally fragmented by individualism, clanism and tribalism. In the given circumstances, my hope for the Na-gas in 2013 is rather gloomy as the maxim goes, “Morning shows the day”. But I hope to see a new ho-rizon of sunshine beyond the cloud with the help of the Almighty God for the Nagas as follows:

1. Religious resolutionI wish to see a religious resolution for the Nagas with a clear bifurca-tion between the church and state in action as verbally professed by them. Further, I hope that the church to be self administering, self help in financial matter and self propagat-ing as she is already 140 years old in Christian era. So that she will be able to play the role of the salt and

the light of the world shinning in the pitch darkness of Naga Hills as commissioned to them by the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. Political ResolutionI wish to see political resolution by conducting usual election as Naga political solution is a distant dream with as many as six voices. Because the proverb confirmed, “United we stand, divided we fall”. State elec-tion must not be mixed up with Naga political solution as they are East and West. Further, I suggest the underground factions to come to-gether with one voice whether they would go for full independence, Naga integration or alternative ar-rangement etcetera. One should not remain like the bat. One needs to be specific as we are living in a scientific age.

3. Cultural ResolutionThe Nagas must keep the principle, “Old is gold”, “Keep new friends, one is silver and the other gold”- The modern civilization is good, sci-ence and technology is good, but one needs the old cultural values containing the roots of the Nagas, such as Naga love, Naga honestly, Naga hospitality, Naga straight-forwardness, Naga morality, Naga cleanliness, Naga unity, Naga jus-tice, Naga reconciliation, Naga equality-classless society.

4. Economic resolutionIn 2013, Nagas need to build up eco-nomic independence by undertak-ing all kinds of trades and profes-sions from the lowest to the highest like the Mizos by allowing money circulation within the State only. The church, state government, non-

governmental organizations (volun-tary organizations), underground factions need self sufficiency. They should be able to stand on their own feet by becoming economically independent in action. All kinds of donations, extortions (without guns and with guns). So that they will be able to live like the Naga forefa-thers fully self dependent. The Bible commanded them not to eat with-out works. As Christians-followers of the Bible, Nagas must have eco-nomic self sufficiency before politi-cal independence. Jesus Christ him-self promised them “abundant life” by hard works and not by begging endlessly.

5. Social resolutionIn 2013, the Nagas must renounce individualism to be replaced by communalism. They must renounce clanism to be replaced by collectiv-ism. Further, they must renounce tribalism by unity and integration of the Nagas as enshrined in Ps. 133: Eph. 4:4 and John 15:12. So that the world will know that they are fol-lowers of Jesus Christ by their love, unity equality, social justice, social harmony and fraternity.

6. ConclusionDear Naga brethren, the old year has gone along with the old state of affairs in Naga Society. A new year has been dawned. Let us welcome the New Year-2013 with the new vi-sion, mission and programmes. Let us welcome a new religion, a new political life, a new cultural life with the old Nagaism, a new social order based in love, unity, peace, abun-dant life in its fullness followed by developments in all fronts. May God bless us richly in this New Year!

I

T My hope for the Nagas et al two thousand thirteenMay go beyond all imagination, to realise,Though the chances are one out of many umpteens.

First in my long-long listIs the nauseating, repulsive, abhorrent,Product of the chewing mouth, the spit.

Spitting here, spitting there, spitting everywhere,From the auto, bus, train or taxi,From the window of a building or spitting on the stair,

A mouthful of blood-red thickened phlegm,Slightly craned neck, toSpew out the content, inconsequential the realm.

On the busy road or freshly paved corridor,Newly painted wall or unstepped staircase,Nothing is left bereft of the red-tainted signature.

Oh, well, will I see a cleaner atmosphere,Chances tho’ may be bleak and slim,To my hopes I humbly adhere.

Second in the list is human dignity,Some like to bully, I don’t know why,In the autos and taxis, or queuing up at ATM-SBI.

I saw a rickshaw-puller beaten black and blue,His only mistake was, he took a U-turn,And did not see a scooter coming through.

Third in my list is all-pervading security,Threats of guns should silently leave the scene,Peace prescribed, let peace prevail encompassing diversity.

Noble thoughts, noble talk, noble deeds,‘Conquer evil with good’, be the Slogan of the Year,A pioneer’s role, a pioneer’s goal, adopt ye indeed.

No more threat, no more fear, a cleaner atmosphere,No more looking down upon non-locals,Will be my plea throughout this year.

This is my hope for two thousand thirteen,Is it a bit too much of an expectation?Dignity, security and atmosphere clean.

3

In my opinion Nagas are talented, beautiful and creative. My hope

for Nagas is that a conducive and level

playing field is provided where Nagas

especially the youth prosper.

I want to share my small thought for the Nagas to fight for what we wants in our life for the

future generations. I also want to share

to have a better effort in whatever

we do in this beautiful New Year. Long live NAGAS.

HAHAO SINGSON

I encourage all the fellow Naga Citizen’s to use their talents and visions in an

affirmative way, so as to find peace and

harmony amongst us. Whether you are an

artist, doctor, soldier, politician etc, let’s make our mark, so

that people will remember for many generations to come. God bless Nagaland.

TEMZ KICHU

I hope Nagas will become more

considerate and responsible in respecting the

rights of each and every individual

and that Nagas will become a growing

and dynamic society reflecting

true love and peace.

R. POJAR

As the New Year takes the flying start, May it brings

peace of Heaven to our Nagaland and hope that

there be no more factional killings, rape, murder and most important tribalism. And every Naga be a true

seeker of Lord Jesus Christ.

AYEVI KERA

The process of the movement and the

revolution of Nagas had a great impact upon the

system of Naga society. We expect the change of both

the ideology and the concept of society.

Extortion, corruption, exploitation, vested interest, injustice,

indiscipline; etc will be practicing as long as the

politicization of Naga spirit exists. The common people

in every Naga areas are suffering, struggling and exploited at the cost of Nagas politics and self

interest. Many leaders and officials whether those who

support Nagas politics or those who oppose to Naga

politics, are equally benefited and exploited the

welfare of the common people. This happen in all

Naga inhabited areas. Globalization,

interdependent, economic liberalization and humanity

are the reality of the environment. Let’s hope

that development of all kind of infrastructure, rule of

law, peace, humanity, justice and respect is

prevailed and transformed upon the mindset of the

people.

AKHAYII KOMOU

RUYIZO RÜHO

I hope this 2013 will be a year of clean election, the beginning of public unity

and honesty.

ESTHER SEB

I hope 2013 be a year of blessing, let this

year bring a Political Solution.

OBED H

May all Nagas Have Peace and Harmony.

ALOLY SUMI

Be it a Best Year, where all Nagas be

blessed to have Jesus Christ in their life, home, community,

church etc.

KAKHELI KINIMI

My hope for Nagas in 2013 is to rightly

exercise our precious “Single Vote” in the forth coming General Election. For if we want a corrupt free society with capable leaders then the correct

steps should be taken right from home. A

reminder to our Nagas is that your single vote and

my single vote is precious. Once J.F.

Kennedy said “Ask not what your country can

do for you; ask what you can do for your country”. So wake up we the Nagas and ponder how we are

going to exercise our “single vote” this time….!

MEDOVINUO SANGTAM

I am so proud because we the

Nagas have lots of talented; I hope this New Year is the year for our year that God has blessed us to our

Nagas family.

SANGLI CHANG

voices of

HOPE

We the Nagas has to act wisely, need to be more rational and

look for sustainability in choosing our Leaders (over

ground and underground). May the Nagas learned how to

preserve our environment How to love and care for one another May we do away with tribalism.

VIKATO CHISHI

4

What is hope? Is there any truth that “one can-not live without hope?” Hoping to outline an answer, which appeared in the tradition over many centuries – from the Greeks till twenti-

eth century – the staunch Marxist phe-nomenologist Ernst Bloch introduces his encyclopedic three-volume book, The Principle of Hope, with the following questions: “Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going? What are we waiting for? What awaits us?” In framing historical and philo-sophical perspectives on “hope,” Bloch proposes “utopia not as an impossible ideal, but as a real and concrete final state which can be achieved politically.” In this hope formula there is no ontologi-cal difference between NSCN-IM want-ing a sovereign Nagalim; children dream-ing of Santa Claus for goodies; believers prayerfully desiring to enter Heaven; or, a Class XII student expecting a career in engineering. How does the experience of “hope” work? The allure of privileging tran-scendental experience by advocating the supremacy of utopian thinking – while also acknowledging the discords of reali-ties with those of expectations, possibili-ties and dreams – is framed in the criteria of a radical departure, through the nega-tion of the other – whether it is embed-ded in social or economic improvement; historico-political breaks as in revolution-ary events; groundbreaking legislations as in the sense of justice; or, structural turns in method of ideas as in epistemo-logical breaks or paradigm shifts. How are the trajectories of hope constituted? Is there really a difference in hope, as Jo-seph Godfrey devises, between “ultimate hope” (or hope with an aim) from “fun-damental hope” (or hope that lacks an aim but that is a basicdisposition)? Central to hope is utopian think-ing. It is the desire for the not there! A de-sire for another reality (non-reality) from the present reality! Bloch cleverly weaves his element of hope by synthesizing Kan-tian “ideal” with Marx and Engels’ mate-rialist philosophy, improvises Aristotelian concept of “entelechy” into “possibility,” and, finally, integrates Bacon’s “New At-lantis” project with the messianic prom-ises of “socialism.” The appeal of Bloch’s proposal in a “Not-Yet-Conscious” for-mulating of “hope” lies in the claim that “fresh synthetic combinations can be extracted from the thinking of the past, precisely because this thinking is not yet finished, and is to be discovered and in-herited by each succeeding age.” Hope – therefore – is a project that will never dis-continue amongst humans because “from all progressive thinking a utopian surplus is carried over into the future.” This “utopian surplus” or what

Lenin beckons us: “What must we dream of?” is central to our purpose of mean-ing in life: “What is hope?” Is there a “gulf between dream and reality,” as Pis-sarev asks, with “some point of contact between dream and life for everything to be in the best order”? The idea of a “perfect world” with the “highest good” as a romantic consciousness engaged with a metaphysical speculation of what is beautiful is too good to be true – and Bloch refuses to deny that it is “incom-patible with a materialist approach to the world.” A reductionist definition of “hope” is therefore simply at the heart of human being’s metaphysical aspira-tion – a disruptive search to dislocate the present – with nostalgic aid of the past and the certitude for a future! Hope is therefore by nature about “an absence, a lack, a source of tension in our lives,” – the “greatest of misfortunes” – as Luc Ferry puts it, resonating Stoic and Buddhist thoughts, since “we live in terms of plans, chasing after objectives located in a more or less distant future, and believing that our happiness depends upon their accomplishment.”Epictetus, by first century A.D., had already advanced the idea that the good life is a life that is free of hope and fear! The anxieties of modernity have translated hope as a per-petual “disenchantment of the world,” as a paraphrase of Schiller by Weber. Also, Nietzsche had already mocked human’s incapacity to embrace the love of reality itself (amor fati). The disillusionment with reality – as a precursor to modernity – suppliesus not only words to reflect on but also rich-ly furnishes the location of “human con-sciousness” and how knowledge is for-mulated and legitimized. The sacrament of hope in Christian tradition is centrally tied to unquestionable faith in and love for God; dispelling inevitable existential doubts in illustrative stories of tribulation or miracles or parables; and justifying any liabilities of incoherence in wonderful para-logic reward tales of providence and salvation. That is religion. Are the specifi-cities of our hopes conditioned by these moral and religious entities? Thereon, the attempt to identify the “life of hope,” here on earth – by the pragmatic school of thought – that the “habits of hope” need to be practical, as Patrick Shade highlights in his Habits of Hope: A Pragmatic Theory, that they “need to be related to actual conditions and powers through which they can be realized.”Hope is seen as a function that is avowed with “improving interaction” in order to enable “humans to transform their environments under the guidance of practically defined ends.” A confabu-lation of theory, action, means and ends! It resonates: what historical narra-tive must we selectively repeat again: to enforce a re-enchantment that our reality needs to change? How long can we play

God: in pulling a trigger that takes a life away, as a retrospective step in chang-ing the realities of politics? What lies, or even truth, must we valorize, to push forth an agenda that seeks to transform a dominant knowledge of perception? How much more shall we chant in the name of God: to answer, or even question, the un-imaginable, the impossible? Who else speaks the language of hope? Is it the hard-working instinctive farmer, simply following the laws of na-ture, by plowing earth and sowing seeds on time, with the simple intent to just feed his family, and sell the surplus for his children’s education? What language shall he employ: to express satisfaction about the day’s work? What profundi-ty of expression shall he delight upon: to feel a certain joy that the harvest is looking good? In what loneliness of pale intimacy shall he speak to his wife, so as the children do not overhear: to an-nounce that the year’s entire crop has been destroyed by a hailstorm? What does it mean to dream, to escape, and to despair? Must we begin from where one is? Or can we be planned like the Millen-nium Development Goals? Hope is therein seen as both ex-pansive and persuasive. Similarly, the hope of the social and the individual are seen as distinctive. Are our personal hopes subsumed by a larger hope? What kind of hope must we speak in an age of cynicism and skepticism, or postmod-ern kindness? Can we afford to hope for peace and also sneer at the historico-political environment? Do we remain en-trenched in narratives that shall continue to lie, or seek power? The questions con-tinue to summon: for, without hope, it is death, a living dead! Unfortunately, it is the very pre-determination and predilection of a Naga Hope that has historically eroded the very culture of hope, which is cer-tainly necessary to open and reconcile individual and social creativity. The ele-ments of generosity and hospitality in our conversations and discussions – in the sense of a spirit of dialogue, the “ability to hear, listen and give” – has given way to “resentment, fear or unwillingness” As Mary Zournazi argues: “hope can only come when we live in public and political cultures where there is truly a space for dialogue – that is, a public arena where ideas are allowed and there is a space made possible for those yet to be heard.” Today, the hypocrisy of hope lies in the very arrogance and redundancies, where hope is elucidated, legitimized, as the collective, without a conversa-tion, without a dialogue with the other! When there is no “joyful engagements possible with others” – hope is hopeless! One cannot impose hope![The author runs a column under A Little Chat for Thursday’s edition of Eastern Mirror]

and

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kEkhRiE YhoMe

The Hypocrisy of Hope

W

illUSTRaTiOn byatong rothrong

Until the day when God shall deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is summed up in these two words - ‘Wait and hope’

ALEXANDRE DUMAS