Kohima:The five-day national cultural festival Maati Ke Rang, which was inaugurated by MoS for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday, concluded last evening at the North East Zone Cultural Center (NEZCC) complex at Dima-pur with a mega cultural programme in presence of the Nagaland Governor P. B. Acharya.
Acharya, who is also chairperson of the NEZCC, stressed that India is a secular, plural and diverse country, while pointing out North East is full of diversity and India is known for its unity in diversity, different cultures thriving together.
There are 8 states in the North East, but sometimes it feels like one way traffic, he acknowledged, stating many people from the region go to metropolitan cities in India, but people from the mainland do not visit the North East so often. ‘It is their loss,’ he noted.
Acharya asserted that Nagaland has mineral, oil, cement, coal, gems, even gold and ‘our youth.’ Highlighting that in India, 68 per cent of the population is currently between 18 to 35 years of age, he main-tained.
‘The 21st century belongs to India, we have the potential to take it forward. With technology and a secular state at hand, we can progress greatly; all religions can live in this country freely.’ Expressing hope that ‘people-to-people meets can take our relationships forward,’ Acharya further encou-raged the performing artists from neighbouring countries to take home the message, ‘Let us all move forward in a democratic way. Violence and guns are not the answer.’
Additional Secretary to Union Ministry of Culture and also the Chief Guest for the closing ceremony, K. K. Mittal informed that the Government of India had intentionally decided to host this edition of the festival in the North East. ‘We, the Government of India, are trying to generate cross cultivation of cultures in India, and this is possible through festivals like Maati Ke Rang,’ he said.(UNI)
