Rekindling the hope of an early solution to the decades-old Naga political issue, President of India Ram Nath Kovind said Nagaland was on the cusp of making history, as a final agreement was likely.
Addressing the grand opening ceremony of the Hornbill Festival, which also coincided with Nagaland’s 54th Statehood Day, at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama, the President remarked that after years of insurgency there was finally hope as “there is an opportunity for lasting peace” with the support of the people, civil society institutions and all stake-holders.
He congratulated all Naga groups for having come thus far and exuded confidence that a final agreement, “one that is fair to all and meets the expectations and aspirations of all”, would be achieved soon.
Stating that the past half-century has been one of both achievements and difficulties for the State, Kovind said Nagas passed through many trials and tribulations.
Terming the opposition-less government in the State as unique, he said it also provided an opportunity to the people to resolve the long-standing political problem and bring a lasting peace to accelerate the process of development, which would create jobs and opportunities that every Naga deserved.
The President said the Hornbill Festival was a perfect showcase of rich Naga culture and traditions preserved over the years in the form of music, dance and food, while the International Music Festival reflected the diversity of Naga society.
He congratulated all participants and performers for putting up a brilliant show of traditional dance and music and remarked “Nagaland is truly enchanting”. He also urged tourists attending the festival to purchase the beautiful shawls that Nagaland was so famous for.
Kovind said Naga youth were the pride of the country and cited the instances of Dr. T. Ao, the doctor-sportsperson who captained the first Indian national football team to London Olympics in 1948.
Stating that young people from Nagaland were role models for the rest of India, he also referred to “another illustrious daughter of the State” Temsutula Imsong, who had won the hearts of the nation for her remarkable work in cleaning the ghats of the river Ganga in Varanasi.
He also mentioned about Chiewelou Thele, who was adjudged the best trainee commando in her batch of police officers of the Delhi Police and was also the poster girl for Delhi Police this year.
The President declared: “As the Supreme Commander of Indian Armed Forces, I’m immensely proud of Naga soldiers as they are among the best we have and who have done the country great service.”
He pointed out that the key to Nagaland’s development was infrastructure and connectivity projects as these would link Nagaland to new markets both in India and abroad. He said this was one of the key goals of the Government of India’s Act East Policy and its thrust for connectivity in the North-eastern States, including Nagaland.
Kovind said the Northeast was central to India’s story and India’s development would be incomplete without the region’s development.
Stating that Nagaland had much to offer, he said the strength of the State lay in its organic farm produce, including flowers and fruits. He added that the State had rare medicinal plants and herbs that could help create jobs and boost the economy.
He said the Naga jolokia (King Chilli), one of the hottest chilli peppers in the world, needed to be bottled into one of the hottest selling sauces of the world.
Kovind said, with high literacy rate and a young population that was fluent in English and comfortable with Information Technology, Nagas could make the State and the region a hub for service industries in the future.
Chief secretary Pankaj Kumar delivered the welcome address.
Earlier, G Rio School, Kohima opened the inaugural function with the national anthem while head of Tuensang Village L Sangkumwongto Chang Naga delivered traditional blessings. Handel’s Messiah with ‘Halleluiah Chorus’ enthralled the gathering while ‘Enculturation’ was presented by Sky Entertainment group. Altogether 16 cultural troupes from across the state performed at the inaugural programme.
Host of ministers, parliamentary secretaries, advisors and leaders attended the programme.
On Day-2, Odisha Governor and former Nagaland chief minister, Dr. S.C. Jamir will grace the event as the chief guest.
Gov’s tribute to founding fathers
Gov’s tribute to founding fathers
In his address, chief host and Governor PB Acharya said as Nagaland celebrated its 54th Statehood Day, it was also a moment to introspect. He paid rich tributes to the founding fathers of Nagaland for working sincerely and untiringly towards the creation of the State and gave its valiant people their own identity. Acharya also paid respect to all security personnel posted in Nagaland, including the Nagaland Police.
The Governor exuded confidence for an early settlement of Naga political issue and reiterated his appeal to NSCN (K) to join the peace process to pave a way for final settlement to the protracted Naga political issue.
He said a permanent solution would boost progress and development in the State and, with strong community institutions and the spirit of working together, there was hope for the future. He also appealed to all citizens of the State to exercise their democratic franchise judiciously in the Assembly election scheduled next year for a prosperous and peaceful Nagaland.
Naga youth being highly empowered and assets of the nation, there was a need to focus more on their skill development with special focus on backward regions and vulnerable groups, he stressed. Acharya said Nagaland had made phenomenal progress in the fields of healthcare, education, social services, hospitality, culture and IT. He asserted that Nagaland should be made a corruption-free State as corruption was an impediment for development, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also working hard towards this end.
Acharya added that the construction of 88-km railway line from Dimapur to Zubza, Kohima would be a big boost to the State, once it was turned into a reality.
On the Goods and Services Tax (GST), he said this would bring more transparency to indirect tax laws and make India a common market with common tax rates and procedures and remove the economic barriers to finally pave the way for an integrated economy.
He added Nagaland must take advantage of this.
He suggested that educated youth should focus on alternative employment rather than looking for government jobs, besides advocating that universities and educational institutions should introduce more skill-based courses to achieve the Northeast’s potential of becoming the gateway to ASEAN countries.
The Governor also maintained that senior citizens and ex-servicemen should be given due respect as they were the asset to the society and that their welfare should be taken care of.
CM laments unsolved Naga issue
Host of the festival, chief minister, T.R. Zeliang, while recalling the formation of the State, said the wish of Government of India (GoI) of seeing Nagaland fully achieving the aspirations articulated in 1963 could not be achieved because of the vexed Naga political issue that had remained unresolved till date.
Zeliang regretted that the full potential and growth of the State was impeded by the unresolved issue and said this state of affairs should not be allowed to continue as it not only hampered the normal avocations of peaceful citizens, but also stood in the way of every aspect of progressive growth.
He said though Nagaland was a multi-tribal society that faced many challenges yet, for resolution of the Naga political issue, “Naga voice is for an inclusive, honourable and acceptable solution”. He added that Nagas had witnessed 20 years of the peace process and another two years of signing of the Framework Agreement between GoI and NSCN (IM), while six NNPGs had also entered into a dialogue with GoI.
Stating that armed groups coming together and seeking a solution was truly encouraging, Zeliang said the convergence should be considered as the most opportune time for the Nagas and GoI to resolve Naga political issue once and for all. He also appealed to the President to relay the message to Centre for the need to resolve the protracted Naga problem before the ensuing Assembly elections. He also urged GoI to be sympathetic and understand the submissions made with regard to providing better road and air connectivity as this was an area the State could not achieve much on its own. He said the State government had been appealing to Air India, Indigo and other airlines to start a flight to Delhi from Dimapur via Guwahati, but it had not materialized.
Zeliang said Guwahati was supposed to be the hub of air connectivity in the Northeast, but without a connection to Dimapur, desire of tourists to come to the Hornbill Festival was often hindered.
He added that the exorbitant airfare from Delhi to Dimapur had become a dampener for prospective tourists to Nagaland.
He appealed to the President to request Air India to add additional flights during Hornbill Festival and also start a Dimapur-Delhi service via Guwahati that could meet the need of the region, which would be a remarkable gift to the people of Nagaland, he added.
Zeliang said the Hornbill Festival provided a platform to showcase the unique culture of the Nagas in its full glory and portray the love and determination of the Naga people for preserving tradition and culture, which were the hallmarks of Naga identity.
He exuded the confidence that through India’s Act East Policy, physical, emotional and economic integration of the North-eastern region with mainland India could be achieved better.