What does society anticipate from young people? The answers are obvious, their intelligence mind to solve the hitch and snag that anchor the social order, innovative and creative mind to excite new ideas, bring immense transformation to the broken system, revive slumber rule of law, assemble what they never divided and what not. And often times, young people are tag with the locution of being as the leaders/citizens of tomorrow. Yet, despite all the laudation for bright intelligence mind and expectations for consequential action, does society really care about what seed is being sowed and watered to these young minds?
The moral parameters of young people in it are in precarious, incited by indifference to the existing problems and being naïve. The perils of young minds are constantly fuel by imparting manipulated and fabricated lies by ignorance genarian. Truth contradicting the other truth is merely absurd. The real truth must never be confronted or entangled with each other. This article wants to highlights the perplexities of “Truth dilemma” confront by young people including writer himself.
One of the most difficult challenges that young people face in the present context is not the choice between right from wrong but between authentic truth and counterfeit truth. Everybody seems to speak the truth but the perplexity is whether every glittering is a diamond or just a mere reflection of dirty pond that glitter when sunlight falls on them. One of the savant Indian parliamentarian and a writer Dr. Shashi Tharoor once said, “If you don’t know where you come from, how are you going to appreciate where you are going”. Guide the young minds with truth and honest history so that they can appreciate where they are heading to. If our daily news from paper to gadget is flooded with bottomless history lesson, than how can you guarantee thousands of Naga young intelligentsia with still perplexing history knowledge to lead the society with just and honest? When multiple factions claim ‘we are the truth’, I’m afraid even Jesus would be dumbfounded. Young people are bewildered to fetch what really is meaningful and profound.
The baffling of young people does not limited to this hurdle. Another trend is the plight of tribes, village and clan history that often erroneously enlighten the budding intellect. When history are taught in rainbow colors and left the young minds to pick their favorite, than again we are afraid that the future will never be kind to us. There are multiple lawsuit in this length and breadth of the society — tribes vs tribes, one village vs another, between and within the clan that remains largely unsolved not because of the lack of truth but due to the simple fact — everybody has its own version of truth (history).
It is our desperate cries to our wise old and grey—don’t let young people circle the never ending loopholes, don’t let the age old grudges in your heart be a stumbling block for the young birds to fly from her nest, don’t let your one-time victory game destroy the infinite hope of the future, don’t let your insensible judgments and words be sprout in the heart of innocent young minds. Someone rightly said, “Tall trees can only be seen with the presence of the shorts ones”. There is truth somewhere in this topsy-turviness that somebody needs to bell that truth before it buried in the abyss beyond recall. Sow the seeds of true wisdom to these “Truth thirsty” young minds than shall we begin voyage to the promise land.
Ailung Avennoho Phom
Old Minister Hill, Kohima
Saturday, February 7, 2026