As part of the 58th Nagaland Statehood Day celebration, a memorial to commemorate the contributions of the Founding Fathers and the Martyrs was inaugurated in the Lawns of Dr.Imkongliba Ao Hall, Raj Bhavan with unveiling a bust of Naga Peoples’ Convention (NPC) president Dr.Imkongliba Ao.
Nagaland Governor RN Ravi felicitated family members of the NPC leaders at the programme.
Extending warm Statehood Day greetings to the people, governor RN Ravi paid rich tributes to the NPC leaders and countless Nagas whose blood, sweat and sacrifices created Nagaland. Mentioning that the NPC leaders through a peaceful democratic process for over three years and intensely extensive socio-political churning of Naga society helped crystallise the free-will of Naga people on their political future, Ravi said they united the Nagas living in Assam and NEFA.
He added that Nagas, through centuries, had been a freedom loving people and fiercely resisted any attempt of encroachment on their way of life.
According to the governor, the bold and farsighted NPC leaders secured the people of Nagaland their freedom from any interference in their way of life, including customs, cultures, traditions, religion, system of justice and land and resources through a constitutional safeguard. He hailed them as true heroes of Nagaland.
Lamenting that people of Nagaland have not yet been able to fully enjoy the fruits of Statehood due to some people, mostly from outside the State who, in pursuance of a perverse political ideology, are creating roadblocks for enduring peace, he alleged that these people have been peddling preposterous lies to mislead the public.
While unveiling the bust of Dr Imkongliba Ao, Ravi urged the people of Nagaland to renew their sense of gratitude to the founding fathers and commit themselves to build a Nagaland of their dreams where genius of Naga people will blossom to the fullest. Chief minister Neiphiu Rio, who too was present on the occasion, extended Statehood greetings to the people and paid tributes to architect of Nagaland Dr Imkongliba Ao.
Recalling the progress made by the State in various fields, he reiterated the State government’s commitment to the seven-point resolution adopted by the consultative meeting of October 15, 2020 wherein all stakeholders of Naga society unanimously resolved to support “one solution”.
The lone surviving NPC member and former chief minister SC Jamir recalled that successive State governments and MLAs had taken oath of allegiance to the Constitution of India in the last 57 years and emphasised that constitutional provisions on Nagaland was the fountainhead for Nagas and should not be muddied by anyone.
Unfortunately, he alleged that some people who were nowhere to be seen during the critical periods of Naga history were now “unrealistically muddying the fountainhead”.
As rich tributes were paid to the founding fathers of Nagaland, including NPC leaders and all those martyrs who sacrificed their lives for securing an honourable future for Naga people and created Nagaland as the 16th State of the Union of India, Jamir, who is the sole surviving leader of NPC, exhorted the Nagas to unite and move forward along with rest of the country.
At the programme, Sorei Keishing, a professional sculptor who designed and sculpted Dr Imkongliba Ao’s bust, was acknowledged by Ravi.
Nagaland Legislative Assembly speaker Sharingain Longkumer, deputy chief minister Y Patton, higher education & tribal affairs minister Temjen Imna Along, Rajya Sabha member KG Kenye and Dr Imkongliba Ao’s son Tali Longkumer, among others, were also present.
State chaplain Rev TW Yamyap Konyak pronounced the invocation prayer, while the welcome address was delivered by chief secretary Jane Alam.
President of India Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, Union home minister Amit Shah, Union defence minister Raj Nath Singh, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Union petroleum & natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Union tribal affairs minister Arjun Munda, Union culture minister Prahalad Patel, DoNER minister Dr Jitendra Singh, Union sports minister Kiren Rijiju, Manipur governor Dr Najma Heptulla, BJP president JP Nadda, chief ministers of all North-eastern States, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and a large number of dignitaries and celebrities, including from Bollywood, tweeted their best wishes and greetings to the people of Nagaland. This was stated in a press release by Raj Bhavan PRO.
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