Kohima, March 5: Humour and music play important roles in Neiphiu Rio’s life. On the eve of becoming the 17th chief minister of Nagaland, the veteran politician will have possibly reflected that he will require dollops of humour to retain his sanity while facing the music from a large band of detractors.
The NSCN (Khaplang)’s threat to assassinate prominent persons, not excluding the new chief minister and his Cabinet colleagues, was surely not the beginning Rio had hoped for. However, there is no stopping the Naga community and others who have made the state their home from hoping that the Rio-led Democratic Alliance of Nagaland will bring about changes for the better.
Born on November 11, 1950 at Tophema village, north of Kohima, Rio will be a relatively young chief minister. The former Congressman was 40 when first elected to the Assembly in 1989. He brings with him 15 years of experience as a legislator and a decade as a minister.
Rio’s cheerful disposition, wit and talent for music make him a popular politician. He wrote the lyrics of all the tape-recorded songs that were played at election rallies of the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland. The wit and sarcasm in the songs — mostly directed at the outgoing S.C. Jamir-led government — not only evoked laughter but also gave the people an insight into the person within the politician.
Being the son of an armyman, Rio’s early life was a regimented one. He studied at a Sainik school, then went to St Joseph’s School in Darjeeling before graduating from the Kohima Arts College in 1969. He initially followed in the footsteps of his father, who had started a business after retiring from the army, but veered into politics on being elected president of the youth wing of the United Democratic Front.
Rio takes pride in being a son of the soil. He would have celebrated the Sekreni festival in a big way, as he does every year, had elections not intervened. The office he is set to assume could make or break his political career.
At the moment, Nagaland’s cup of problems is full to the brim. It has warring groups, a fiscal deficit of over Rs 400 crore and debts totalling Rs 2,104 crore.