Stalwarts from the Northeast have contributed in defending and building India from time to time, said minister of state for home Nityanand Rai on Thursday.
“We all must know our country and take pride in its history, culture and tradition. From time immemorial, stalwarts from the Northeast have contributed in defending and building the country,” said Rai.
The minister was interacting with a group of students from Manipur in New Delhi.
A 24-member students’ group from Kumbi in Bishnupur district was part of a national integration tour organized by Assam Rifles.
The programme was started on November 8 and it will culminate on November 28 after touring Delhi and Agra.
Officials said the purpose of the tour is to expose the students to rich culture and heritage of India and to interact with people of other states and develop a bond of friendship with them, thereby strengthening national integration.
Rai said the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to holistic development of the Northeast and several measures have already been taken by the government in this direction.
“We have launched schemes like Ujjwala and Swachh Bharat, among others, which are steadily transforming the lives of the people of the country, including the Northeast,” the minister said.
Complimenting Assam Rifles for this initiative, the minister said this kind of educational tour that the students are being taken upon helps them in understanding the diversity present in the country, be it regional, religious, cultural, linguistic and so on.
The minister encouraged the students to share their experience in this tour with their near and dear ones so that they may also get to know about diversity present in the country.