Dr. Hovithal Sothu belongs to the rare
breed of people who did not have it easy in life, but despite the odds, worked
hard to get where he is today. He earned every bit of the position that he
currently holds as the State Coordinator of Disaster Management Cell at the
Administrative Training Institute (ATI).
One would easily associate him with
trainings as he is mostly seen imparting knowledge to government officials and
NGOs alike. But not many people know what his growing-up years are made of. It
isn’t often that a child of a single parent goes on to become somebody in life.
Especially not when four children banked on a single mother, whose only means
of livelihood was agriculture.
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| Dr. Hovithal Sothu with his mother, wife and children |
Dr. Hovithal Sothu lost his father when
he was very small. “It was very difficult”, as he recalls. “I couldn’t enjoy
life like the other children of rich people. I would go to my mother for
everything”, he confesses. But on a more positive note, adds, “I think the
death of my father prompted me to become more mature than others my age.”
He received his primary education from
St. Joseph’s School, Viswema and finished high school from Loyola School,
Jakhama. Then, he joined Kohima Science College to pursue his ambition of
becoming a doctor. But in the pursuit of his dreams, his first disappointment
perhaps came when he failed to secure enough marks in the pre-university. (There
was no Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) those days and one’s admission to a
medical college was determined by the marks secured in the 12th
standard.)
He, however continued to pursue B.Sc at
Science College, Jotsoma until his third year proved to be one of those defining
years in a student’s life. He found an employment opportunity in the PWD
Department and started his career as a peon on fixed pay. As opposed to the
craze for white-collared jobs, Dr. Hovithal Sothu did not mind at all. Instead,
he says, “I enjoyed working as a peon. It was the first time I was earning some
money, and without my father around, it was a big thing for me.”
Interestingly, he recalls that the
employees never sent him on errands such as buying paan/tobacco, as is the
popular trend. His B.Sc standard probably helped! Closely watching them work,
he realized the tasks were simple and offered his services. Soon, he was
helping the Engineering Wing by way of maintaining their stock register,
writing cheques for contractor payments, etc. He especially remembers learning
a lot from a fellow Nepali peon who was supposedly illiterate but knew so many
things. “When I want to learn anything, I have no problem going to anybody to
ask,” he expresses.
Richer by two years of experience as a
peon, he simultaneously earned his B.Sc degree. All along, he is grateful to
his uncle who helped him in his educational pursuits. He went on to complete
his M.Sc, after which, he sat for an interview and was immediately selected as
a lecturer at Science College.
“I bank on God and He has been very
gracious”, Dr. Hovithal Sothu gratefully puts across. He taught at Science
College for a few good decades until he chanced upon a vacant post for an
associate professor under Home Department in the Nagaland Disaster Management
Cell. ‘A teacher’s ultimate goal is be a professor someday’, he explains. Well,
that’s how he got associated with ATI. In between, he also managed to earn his
doctorate wherein, he lightheartedly adds that he became a doctor after all,
although his dream of becoming a medical doctor failed.
On a more serious note, he says, “I keep
thinking it must be God’s plan because after I came here, I found that so many
things can be done, besides my reason for being here, which is Disaster
Management.”
Over the years, he has been closely
monitoring trainings on Nagaland Services Rules, Disciplinary Rules, Human
Rights, Consumer Rights, Elections (for which, he is also the State Master Trainer),
basic office procedures, motivation, leadership, etc and more recently, Issues
on duties of citizens and Rights and Welfare with People with Disability.
He is especially concerned that most of
the government servants do not know the basic rules whereas Nagaland Government
Servants Conduct Rules is supposed to be the guiding rule for any government
servant. “It is the bible for government servants”, he emphasizes.
Outside this realm, Dr. Hovithal Sothu
shares, “election was one passion I pursued.” “If elections can be done right,
a lot of things can be done right. Till today, I keep thinking, if we get the
right person to represent us and get the system right, there will be change in
the development as well as the society”, he firmly states.
“Many things go wrong because of ignorance”,
he adds and therefore, stresses on training people at the grassroots level. Naga
people, he feels ‘are moving very fast in the way we eat, in the way we dress,
but deep within, we are still not up to the expectation.’ He goes on to
regretfully add, “we as Christians are living superficial lives…in the church,
we are all holy holy, but then outside the church, what do we do?” He believes
that the process of change should begin from the church and is deeply concerned
that Christians should live a Christian life.
His basic principle has always been,
“live and show.” Needless to say, he strives to achieve this in his daily life.
Not every government official makes it a point to be in the office by 9:30 am,
but he tries his best to do so, every working day.
“I believe in God and Hard Work”, he
also presses on. It’s not hard to see that his beliefs have largely contributed
to his success. Notably, the father of three children has also published papers
in the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) and Indian Landslides
Journal. It isn’t everyday that you come across a well educated man, who has
beaten the odds and continues to richly manifest the values he believes in.
