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Journalism of Courage
On Tuesday morning, just before the entrance to the small town of Chetheba in Nagaland’s Phek district, a group of women flag down passing vehicles. This is a round-the-clock “checkpost” created by them under the banner of the Chakhesang Mothers’ Association (CMA), the apex women’s association of the Chakhesang tribe. The drivers stop obediently and the women start searching their vehicles for any bottles of alcohol potentially entering their town. Nagaland, a dry state, goes to polls on February 27.
As of February 18, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Nagaland had seized 71,334 litres of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) in the state. “Despite our best efforts, liquor still manages to flow through. One of the ways they do this is by coming late at night and just before reaching the checkpost, they go through the jungles on foot,” said Sezo Bolu (40), the head of the local women’s association in Chetheba.
Women from the nearby Khulazu Bawe village are among a host of local stakeholders trying to “clean up” elections in Chetheba and its surrounding villages. They do not want alcohol to find its way into their homes, courtesy of the contesting parties and candidates to woo voters.
Bolu added, “The main reason we do this (seize alcohol at the town entrance) is the inflow of liquor in our areas during elections causes violence in our homes. It is the women who face problems because of alcohol with their husbands and sons. On most days, the checkpost runs from 8 am to 6 am. We take turns, either by church or village, to man the checkpost. At night, we make sure that some boys accompany us.”
The women at the checkpost outside Chetheba also maintain a meticulous register of how much alcohol they seize on a given day. On Monday, they confiscated 20 bottles, mostly whiskey and beer. Similar checkposts under the umbrella of the CMA are spread across Phek district, home to the Chakhesang and Pochury tribes.
Tuesday was a particularly busy day in Chetheba, barely larger than a village. Its local ground hosted a Common Platform debate, organised by the Chokri Area Baptist Church Council (CABCC) and the Chakhesang Clean Election Movement (CCEM). At the debate, all five candidates contesting from its Chozuba Assembly constituency presented their promises and ideas to better the areas. Voters and residents from nearby villages had walked over to Chetheba to listen to them. The programme began with a prayer, after which each candidate spoke within the strict time limit of 20 minutes. There was no sloganeering here, only 20 minutes of promises and stated positions.
Such debates have been organised across constituencies in Nagaland since the last Assembly elections. The debates are held under the banner of the Clean Election movement, which is supported by the Nagaland Baptist Church Council, the apex association of Baptist churches in the state. The Clean Election movement, which intensified in 2012 across Nagaland, aims to sensitise voters against accepting money for votes and proxy voting.
One of the main aims of these debates is to keep candidates and parties out of the villages and homes of voters, which is where the distribution of money takes place. Many observers feel that the practice of accepting money for votes has become so pervasive in elections in the state that it has almost become embedded in the poll process.
According to a report by YouthNet, a non-government organisation in Nagaland working for clean elections, over Rs 1,601 crore was spent on poll expenses by 196 candidates who had contested in 2018.
Despite trying to find ways to address the problem of cash flow during elections, all stakeholders accept that their efforts have met with limited success. One focus area of the stakeholders in the greater Chokri area, where Chetheba is located, is stopping parties and candidates from setting up offices close to the homes of voters.
CABCC chairperson Reverend Vevetso Theluo said, “Candidates used to have offices in different places, where they would provide lunch and dinner, and money to voters, but we have not allowed that this time. It is not easy and we have been receiving complaints that we should not talk too much about this issue. What people say is that they won’t see whoever wins for the next five years during his term as MLA, so they should get something from the candidates now. Young fathers are a bigger challenge since they say they want money for their children’s admissions to schools and so many of them are unemployed.”
The Chakhesang Students’ Union, which is supporting the Clean Election movement, has been speaking to young people across villages.
Avezo Kevin, union president and a resident of Thenyizumi village, said, “We tell them that the lack of development in education and infrastructure is because of the corrupt election system. We try to convince them not to take money from candidates by telling them that if we don’t accept the money now, the candidate will be able to spend more on development when the time comes.”
However, some feel the efforts are too little, too late. Vedayi Nyekha, a resident of Chetheba and the former president of the Chakhesang Public Organisation, the apex body of Chakhesang, said giving money to voters during elections has “become like a custom”.
“The economic condition of the people is very poor, so they are after money. Maybe talking to them much earlier would have helped but I think it is too late for this election,” Nyekha said.
Then, there are the hopefuls. Azokho Swuro (39), a local business owner in Chetheba, said he turned down Rs 5,000 when party workers came to his home one evening, even though the Baptist church discourages door-to-door campaigning. “Those who have more faith in Jesus Christ will turn it down because it is a sin,” he said.
