Our Correspondent
KOHIMA, JULY 22
30 guides and 19 scouts of the Nagaland State Bharat Scouts & Guides (NSBSG) were conferred the Rajya Puraskar award on Wednesday, July 22 by Governor of Nagaland PB Acharya, in the Raj Bhavan in Kohima town.
The Rajya Puraskar, also known as the Governor’s Award, is the highest award a scout or guide can win on completion of 13 years of age, having been taught by trained scout masters and guide captains. When they merit the award, they will also have undergone a state-level test conducted by a team of qualified examiners.
On the day, 13 scouts and 13 guides from the state, recipients of the Rashtrapati Award for 2014, were also felicitated.
Addressing the gathering after giving away the awards, PB Acharya called for the need to produce more ‘disciplined youth’ to give ‘strength to the state of Nagaland as it surges ahead’. He said that the state would be able to compete with the rest of the country only by having more disciplined youth. To this, Acharya urged the Nagaland Bharat Scouts & Guides to lead the youth of the state to march ahead on the path of progress and prosperity to create a peace.“The Bharat Scouts & Guides is a voluntary, non political and educational movement for young people. The mission of scouting is to create a positive environment within which young people are encouraged to interact and provide an ideal and excellent opportunity to build a better society and also be self reliant and helpful to each other,” he said.
The governor also lauded the NSBSG for planning ‘Vision 2015’, a set of institutional objectives, toward improving youth programs. Other objectives include increasing membership by 10% annually; improvement of financial status of the organizations and also to improve communication and public relations, among others.
“All these activities are reflection of the huge efforts being made by NSBSG to inculcate leadership qualities, build character and to continue to inspire the youth in Nagaland,” Acharya said.
Further mentioning that the government of India had restored the recognition of the Hindustan Scouts & Guides which he said was exerting noble efforts in carrying forward the ideals of the organziation, Acharya advised NSBSG and the Nagaland state unit to ‘pool’ efforts. That way, he said the goals and objectives of the scouts and guides would be realized in the state in more efficient and effective ways.
Parliamentary Secretary for Youth Resources & Sports, Khriehu Liezietsu, who is also the president of NSBSG, addressed the gathering. He lauded the recipients of the Governor’s Award and President’s Award, for raising the banner of the NSBSG.
Lauding them for proving themselves as worthwhile and capable scouts and guides, Liezietsu expressed hope that they would continue to live up to the ideals that the awards represent. He lauded the unit’s leaders for their ‘continuously training’ and motivating the scouts and guides in reaching the top of their game.
Minister of School Education Yitachu and Chief Secretary of Nagaland Pankaj Kumar were among those who attended the ceremony.
Hindustan Scouts & Guides of Nagaland adds:
The Hindustan Scouts & Guides of Nagaland received its first Rajya Puruskar for the year 2014-2015 from the governor, the patron.
The Rajya Puraskar certificates were received by M Gnana Nirmala and State Chief Commissioner, Rev Fr Dr Sojan Pulhunkudy. The certificates will be awarded to the scouts and guides in the coming days, the organization informed in a note to the media on Wednesday, July 22.
During interactions with the members of the organization, Acharya sought to know about the functioning of the Hindustan Scouts and Guides. He expressed happiness that the movement had been trying to impart training to young boys and girls, besides inculcating in them the values to lead a disciplined life, the organization stated.
The governor also expressed a desire that the HSG movement be introduced in government schools of Nagaland.
