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Members of the Kohima Press Club with outgoing Governor of Nagaland PB Acharya, on July 24 at the Raj Bhavan in Kohima.[/caption]
Dimapur, July 24 (EMN): The Naga people are among the most educated people in the country, and are an organised community. However, there seems to be a huge social and economic divide in their society and a lack of a humane touch among the people of Nagaland, says outgoing governor of Nagaland PB Acharya.
‘There is a need for the Naga people to broaden their horizon and to try to understand the common people's problems,’ he told a group of visiting journalists who called on him.
Members of the Kohima Press Club (KPC) called on Governor PB Acharya on Wednesday evening, July 24, at the Raj Bhavan in Kohima.
During interactions with the journalists, Acharya reminisced about his association with the Naga people and the state during his five years tenure as its head. He said to have come to understand the pulse of the people and the immense potential they possess, the KPC stated in a press release that was issued to the media on Wednesday.
Acharya was stated to have described the Naga people as "wonderful people" who are ‘very organized right from the grassroots and also very disciplined and talented.’
However, on deeper retrospection, he feels there is a huge social and economic divide in the society, for which he conveyed that there is a need for the Naga people to make their canvas bigger and to try to understand the common people's problems.
“You have to strengthen the weakest link in society in order to make the chain stronger,” he said. The governor remarked in this regard that a humane touch appears to be missing.
Also, Acharya said that the media must play a more proactive role towards educating the people to stand up against injustice and corruption. Calling the Naga people one among the most educated peoples in the country, Acharya appealed to the educated and empowered Nagas who are working or settled outside to return home and to contribute to strengthen Nagaland with their knowledge and skills. He added that strengthening the society and the state should be the philosophy of every Naga.
Knowingly or unknowingly, Acharya said, the society is decaying and there is disunity among the people of this small state. He urged the people to rise up and fill the gaps, and to take up the flag to tackle real issues.
"Nagaland can be strengthened by Nagas only. Nobody else can do it and we have the potentiality to do that," the outgoing governor said.
A staunch advocate for education and mother tongue, Acharya says ‘we should accept our tribal dialect and be proud of who we are.’ For instance, Mother Tongue, he said, is a person’s identity and not English which is a foreign language.
The concerns he is raising are not criticism but honest views, he said. He has great concern for the Naga people who he had begun to love over the years, and that he aspires to see the Naga people as a progressive people.
On the appointment of RN Ravi, who is also the government of India's interlocutor for the Naga political talks, as his successor, Acharya termed it a positive move. He expressed optimism that 'some peace agreement' will come about within this year.
Acharya stated that once peace comes, Nagas have to work with speed to fill the gaps of all these years for economic development.
The outgoing octogenarian also lauded the media in the state particularly the newspapers for their service. He encouraged the press fraternity to not just concentrate on giving information but to connect more with the people.
The president of the KPC, AliceYhoshü and the group’s advisor Kopelo Krome expressed appreciation to Acharya for his close association with the press fraternity. The club conveyed its best wishes to him, the press release added.