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DIMAPUR — Minister of Rural Development, Metsubo Jamir, on Friday has described the Zeliangrong community as fortunate people, who are represented by three states where three state governments can assist them in their progress and added that no other Naga people have the privilege to have representations in three states.
Speaking as the special guest at the inaugural session of the 33rd general conference of Zeliangrong Students’ Union Nagaland (ZNSU) at the Jalukie ‘B’ public ground on the theme “Striving for better future,” he stated that the Naga community is a blend of intricate patterns and diverse threads comprising the youth, students, elders, rich culture and tradition and dreams.
“Our tribal community has always relied on unity as its bedrock. But today, we envision a unity that is not just about coming together but about moving forward together with our youth and students leading the charge. Progress can be achieved when we interlace our efforts and work collectively,” Jamir said.
He recalled that Naga people have been divided over and over again saying, “When India got its independence, Nagas were divided between Myanmar and India. When our state got statehood, Nagas were divided into four to five states-Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.”
Jamir, however, acknowledged that he was inspired to see people emotionally united though divided by boundaries.
“Stand the test of time because division once started is very difficult to mend,” he conveyed to the community.
Stressing on the theme of the conference, he reflected on the positive aspiration and beliefs of the youths as he imagined a future where “progress and development for our tribal community is attained through the foundations of unity in a cohesive community.”
“Our young people are not just the leaders of tomorrow; they are the change-makers of today. Empowering them with education, skills, and the freedom to express themselves is akin to strengthening the fabric that we are knitting together. We should also place more emphasis on how to achieve our goals. There should be a concrete plan, where there is a holistic involvement by all,” he added.
The legislator emphasised that the theme of the conference was to ensure every thread, regardless of its colour or texture, is woven with equal importance and respect so that a strong beautiful pattern emerged. Social equality, he said, is not just about fairness but about recognising that every member of the community has a unique and vital role to play in the grand design.
“However, while taking immense pride in the knowledge that through the hard work and success of our students in Nagaland our state is placed at the top in terms of literacy rate. On the other side, it is also extremely distressing to see the dream of the majority of our intelligent bright qualified students still feel the notion that a government job is the prime source of employment,” he lamented.
Jamir opined that such illusions would lead a bright and intelligent youth to avoid seeking any other source of employment or activities through self-employment activities where one can provide for himself and contribute to the society or assist and contribute towards improvement of their family's economic status.
Observing that educated youth avoid doing activities that are manual, he encouraged to inculcate dignity of labour as Nagaland has land and resources. He was optimistic that youth empowerment through education, skilling of the unemployed youths, economic empowerment of the farmers and fostering self-reliance and creating opportunities for employment would all contribute to a better future for the community.
Since Nagaland is an agrarian state with zero prospect for employment in the industrial sector due to its non-existence, he stated that farming and agro-based mini entrepreneurial activities is becoming the main economic activity. The minister informed that the state government has been implementing various policies and schemes where the youths, women and farmers in the rural areas are given various guidance and assistance including monetary and skilling for empowering them through employment to become self-reliant.
He maintained that the RD department had, this year alone, imparted various training to more than 700 unemployed rural youths and given them jobs placements in various companies at the national and international levels.
“Helping rural women achieve economic empowerment is another aspect where they are assisted through formation SHGs and VLOs (Village level Organisations) in the villages where hand holding guidance is given besides financial help. All these schemes and policies are implemented by the government for knitting a better future for us Nagas,” the legislator said and implored upon the leaders of the Zeliang community to adopt those government schemes while planning out the blueprint for the community to realise the dreams for a better future.
As everyone dreams of the day when young people start to create opportunities, spurring economic growth and living in a vibrant community, he called upon the leaders to continue supporting them, provide them assistance and create conducive environment for their growth and success.
Noting that many youths have been led astray by politics, he advocated education as the prime importance.
“Learn well, do well and strive to serve your community not for your own benefits but your activity should benefit your community,” he persuaded the student community.
In his conclusion, he urged to support the youth and students in order to create opportunities for them and to cultivate a spirit of unity that would lead into a future filled with promise and potential.
The minister also inaugurated the first District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) office in Peren.
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