Far beyond the ‘polluted spaces’ of talks on ‘peace’ and ‘sovereignty’ lies a greater problem called the state emergency – Our state has plunged into a precarious state of emergency beyond law and order situation not because the security of the state is threatened but in the state government’s callousness and failure to respond to the current fiscal crisis in addition to its emotional callus vis-à-vis the revision of pay (Are the reasons given by the finance department of the government of Nagaland in response to CANSSEA’s demand for 6th ROP, out of bounds of scepticism?) and corruption of the worst degree. It is not just a law and order situation, rather a grave constitutional breakdown.
The state emergency under article 356 of the Indian Constitution which comes under the state of emergency is also known as the ‘Presidents rule.’ In India, a state of emergency refers to a period of governance under an altered constitutional setup that can be proclaimed by the President of India, when he perceives grave threats to the nation from internal and external sources or from financial situations of crisis. State emergency is declared on failure of constitutional machinery in a state. In layman’s language, this means when the government in a state is not able to function as per the Constitution, the state comes under the direct control of the central government, exercised through the governor of the state. Article 356 allows the president to dismiss a state government on the advice of the governor of the concerned state or on his own if he is satisfied that the administration of the state cannot be carried out according to the provisions of the constitution. Article 356 gave wide powers to central government to assert its authority over a state if civil unrest occurred and the state government didn’t have the means to end the unrest. During such an emergency, the President can take over the entire work of the executive, and the Governor administers the state in the name of the President and the Legislative Assembly can be dissolved or may remain in suspended animation. Another kind of emergency coming under the state of emergency which can be declared by the president is the financial emergency coming under article 360. If the President is satisfied that there is an economic situation in which the financial stability or credit of India or any of its state is threatened, he or she can declare financial emergency. Such an emergency must be approved by the Parliament within two months. It remains enforced till the President revokes it.
I may be proved wrong, but the government seems to be cold footed about the current situation and the people unwilling to come out of one’s own comfort zone or maybe the governmental technique itself leaves them out as helpless and voiceless subjects of the government. One wonders whether the governmental technologies and policies of our state have “normalized” the current crisis into a normal “exceptional situation” which is out of bounds of constitutional law. Has it become a paradigm of our government? The theological understanding of salvation and the idea of pastoral power as ‘God for all and all for God,’ when framed in secular context, can be aptly cited as a governmental technology in manufacturing subjects to their “sovereign power” which gives them the “right” to rule over its citizens. Our own people have started to stake claim for even their basic rights that are most generally as well as naturally given. Nonetheless, on the flip side though, I do not have a righteous statue but we tend to look for our rights and fight for the same. We also have various human rights groups. But, have we ever pondered upon the umpteen human wrongs?’
The question goes, ‘Where are you from?’ I am From Nagaland, comes the reply. Where do you live in Nagaland? Questions further… seriously, where do you live in Nagaland when the whole of its area of 16579 km square is almost covered by fishery projects itself. The great rains and floods during the time of Noah had a thorough cleansing effect on the sins of the Earth; another cleansing should come through the Presidents rule and a CBI raid to cleanse the sins of all the facets of corruption. I am obnoxious, though I may not be politically or diplomatically correct but constitutionally speaking I might be injecting some impregnable sense.
I did not divulge in empirical instances to expound my arguments, nonetheless the minds of the right thinking citizens can do an imaginative analysis on the complete breakdown of morale credibility, transparency and responsibility of governmental machinery and various functionaries brought about by complete mess of financial mismanagement in the state that goes far beyond the govt’s inability to pay the 6th pay. Simpler still – ‘WHERE’ is all the Money sanctioned to Nagaland going? It may sound too strong a claim but I am tempted to say that we have reached a stage from which it is really difficult to imagine a pragmatic future, and going by the records of the current state of affairs of our state, only makes my claim, justifiable. Even the ‘Gods must be going crazy.
It is no doubt important to assess the inappropriate imposition of the Indian 'exceptional' machinery on the indigenous people over the years, but the current situation of Nagaland can be analyzed by looking into our society and ourselves and see how we have spoiled ourselves/or how we have allowed others to spoil us. If we refuse to become willing subjects towards a self reflection then an external intervention from the Indian Union becomes pertinent.
