Nagaland Governor RN Ravi on Saturday said Nagaland has been and will ever remain an integral part of India.
Extending his greetings to the people of the State on the eve of 75th Independence Day, Ravi appealed to them to break the colonial miasma and march in step with the rest of the country in the journey of shared prosperity by preserving their own unique cultural identity.
“In the unfolding epochal story of India’s resurgence, Nagaland cannot be left behind,” he stated.
Ravi said illicit gangs and guns and institutionalized corruption must be eliminated from the State.
“We have to build a healthy ecosystem of investment and entrepreneurship,” he said.
Saying that Nagaland is rich in natural and human resources, Ravi said being at the gateway of South-East Asia offers the State unique geo-economic opportunities.
Ravi called for developing the most precious human resource, which unfortunately has suffered a relative decline in recent decades, in order to make a glorious Nagaland.
He stressed building robust and equitable health and education sectors to ensure a healthy, skilled and well-educated citizenry. It must be ensured that the current low rate of enrolment in schools and unacceptably high rate of dropouts in the State is reduced to zero, he stated.
Stressing on building modern connectivity infrastructures, both physical and digital, Ravi said some 1800 km of national highways in the State are under construction and the State capital Kohima will be connected by railways in the next two years.
Touching on the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics, he said the sportsmen and women, including those from the North East, have made the country proud with their stellar performances.
Remembering legendary Dr. Talimeren Ao, who raised the Indian tricolour and led the Indian football contingent at the London Olympics in 1948, on the occasion, he said the youths of the State have enormous sports potential. Given the right environment they can do wonders and make the State and the country proud, he added.
Ravi appealed to the youths of the State to race ahead keeping pace with time, technology and contemporary realities. He also urged them to maintain strong emotional and cultural bonds with their own custom, tradition and identity and overcome the narcissism of minor differences.
Pointing out that the country and the world are changing at an unprecedentedly fast pace, Ravi said, “Your march into the future has to keep pace with the change around and it cannot be by looking into the rearview mirror.”
“A bright and beautiful dawn is beckoning at the horizon. We must welcome it with our unwavering commitment to the rule of law, hard work, truth, transparency and justice,” Ravi added.