DIMAPUR, Oct 20 - Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang asked the North East people, including students residing in the national capital region, to consider the North Eastern Region as a single entity within the country and to remain united to become a force to reckon with.
�Why should we segregate ourselves on the lines of States when the mainland considers the individual States as insignificant?� Zeliang asked. �Nagaland, with a population of barely 20 lakh does not size up to a single block in populous States like UP or Bihar. Likewise, barring Assam, all the other seven North Eastern States have very limited populations,� he added.
Zeliang said this to a delegation of the Northeast Students� Society, Delhi University, who called on him at the Nagaland House, New Delhi, a press note issued by the CMO�s Media Cell stated. �You must not consider yourself as a Naga, Mizo, Tripuri or Manipuri. You must consider yourself as a North Easterner and a proud citizen of India,� Zeliang asserted.
Terming the �differences back home� as �petty matters,� Zeliang said these should �not hamper our peaceful coexistence.�
�Moreover, we have very similar racial, cultural and traditional practices. Even our culinary tastes are similar. Population-wise, we may be insignificant, but potentially we are no lesser than any other persons or race of people,� the Nagaland Chief Minister added.
He encouraged the students to make use of opportunities, work hard and achieve goals in life. �In this world of fierce competition, there is no room for mediocrity and only the best can survive,� he reasoned.
