Governor urges students to make India strong

Kohima, Feb. 25: With an attempt to break down the prevalent stereotypes regarding the Northeast, which is hindering to a better understanding of the people and the issues of the region, a two day national seminar on the theme ‘Going beyond the “Monolithic North East”: Understanding the varying dimensions’ got underway today at St Joseph College, Jakhama.

The primary objective of the seminar will critically assess and analyse the political, socio-economic, cultural and developmental issues in the states of India’s Northeast region with experts and academicians from various Universities across the country as resource persons.
The seminar was organised by North East Studies Centre, Department of Geopolitics and International Relations Manipal University in collaboration with Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata (MAKAIAS) and St Joseph’s College, Jakhama.

Addressing the inaugural session, Governor PB Acharya termed it historic that universities from mainland India is trying to understand and learn from Nagaland on how best ‘we can share and join’ in the development of the whole area.

While stating that there more than 3 lakhs graduates our of 20 lakh population in Nagaland, Acharya wondered as to why there are so many problems in the state and why the people remain aloof from the mainland.

Stressing on the importance of quality education, he said the system of education should be in tune and applicable with the present context along with skill development.

‘Enough of analysis and researches, it is time for action’ said Acharya and added that it is the bounded duty of the empowered people to share and help the less empowered people in order to progress and develop.

While stating that India is a big nation, Acharya maintained that every part of India should be strong and that the fruit of independence should reach to all places and regions, especially the NE region so that India would emerge as strong and a developed nation.

Advising students to make the best out of the seminar, Acharya urged them to empower themselves by sharing ideas and knowledge so that they can march shoulder to shoulder with other parts of the country as a peaceful and developed state and make India a strong, prosperous and peaceful country in the world.

The organisers, in its concept note, felt that the eight states of the Northeast are as varied as they can be in their political, socio-economic and cultural facets, adding the nuances in each of these states need to be delved into to make sense of the opportunities and challenges in the region.

The challenges in the Northeast, it said, are many-pronged and needs to be distinctively viewed from different prisms.

It also mentioned the connectivity projects as a part of India’s Act East Policy is of utmost importance within the North East states in order for the international highway projects that would connect India’s Northeast to Southeast Asia to be effective.

It noted that security issues still plague the NE, where insurgency, small arms trafficking, drugs trafficking and the inherent external linkages due to porous borders are more paramount in some states than others.

Terming the Bangladeshi migration into Northeastern states as a politically sensitive issue, it said the issue needs to be dealt with utmost soberness, while the issue of Inner Line Permit (ILP) and its implications for the ethnic harmony in the State necessitates a well-coordinated and inclusive dialogue.

Pointing out the Naga Peace Accord between the Indian government and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM), the organiser asserted on the need to thoroughly debate on the implications of the accord in the region.

It also pointed out on the need to deliberate on the issue of disbursement and embezzlement of funds meant for the development of the NE, proper use of natural resources abundant in the region, tourism potential of the NE states, human development index (HDI) of these states, disparities in the region and within the states and the relevance of political leadership in the region.

It said the seminar will provide a platform for experts on the region to engage in a multifaceted and holistic discussion on the diverse issues impacting the Northeastern states of India and a comprehensive report on the discussion held would be prepared, which may be useful for the key decision makers and policy community.

The two day seminar is divided into seven sessions where various topics will be deliberated and debated.