Church can be a transformative agent of socio-political change

February 4, 2023 49 Views No Comment

Sensitisation on Clean Election Movement at Kohima College

Dimapur, February 4 (MExN): The Clean Election Movement— why it is important, its impact, and why the movement may not be progressing— was deliberated at Kohima College on February 3 as part of a sensitisation programme jointly organised by the Clean Election Movement, Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) and Department of Political Science, Kohima College, Kohima.

The Clean Election Movement was launched in 2021, with the backing of the Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC), and this sensitisation programme at Kohima College is a continuation of the notion that the church can be a powerful transformative agent of socio-political change, the Mass Media Cell, Kohima College stated in a press release received here on Friday.

The resource persons were Dr Villo Naleo, Convenor, Clean Election Movement, NBCC and Huzo Meru, Director of Operations, North East Christian University and also Trustee of South India Christian Institute, Bangalore; both of whom were alumni of Kohima College, Kohima.

As per the release, the programme began with the moderator, Ase Yalie, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science introducing the speakers, which was followed by an invocation as well a welcome address by Dr Libanthung Ngullie, Principal, Kohima College. The latter pointed out that the youth continued to be most vulnerable to election rigging and hence the necessity of such initiatives for educational institutions.

The first speaker, Dr Villo Naleo, is said to have centred his speech on the impact and necessity of Clean Election Movement in Nagaland as well as why this movement may not be progressing. Dr Naleo clarified that election politics is not dirty by itself but ascribed so due to the way it is practiced.

‘The issue then is that of socio-political ethics of the participants and voters; which then contextually justifies the Church’s huge social responsibility. ‘Clean Election Movement’ thus was non-partisan with no motive to govern, but to that of clean election process itself following the declared code of conduct, with the end being transformation of Naga society,’ the release stated.

Another reason Dr Naleo stated for the need for such a movement was the dominant Christian quality in both Naga legislators and voters.

In terms of why the movement had stagnated, Dr Naleo pointed to the Churches themselves not being clean; indifferent attitudes of other organisations who could garner more support from public; the tussle of western democracy and traditional selection of leaders—creating the confusion of ethos between modern and pre-modern values; rising economic inequality and the effectivity of money power etc. In a nutshell, Dr Naleo’s core idea was dependency on Christian morality to salvage Nagaland’s dirty election politics, the release stated.

Meanwhile, Huzo Meru, a former Western Angami candidate, 2013, is said to have referred to his own experiences as well as rectified some common misconceptions against Clean Election Movement.

As a former election candidate, standing on the platform for Clean Election Movement, he recalled that he had not spent even a single rupee or even received sizeable support from the public, who were simply unenamoured by the whole concept.

At this point, Meru wished to disabuse his student listeners of two misconceptions—that ‘Clean election is impossible in Nagaland’ and ‘One person cannot change the system’. He referred to insurmountable oppositions against apartheid by Mandela and the slavery by William Lloyd Garrison for why clean election in Nagaland can be a possibility too.

As for the second misconception, Meru used the example of the Singaporean leader Lee Kuan Yew, whose honest vision for his country brought Singapore to being the top major economy of this world. Meru’s last advice to the students was to know their candidates and to choose the lesser evil amongst the available candidates, the release stated
The programme ended with a Q & A session with students and a short refreshment break.