The 58th Statehood Day of Nagaland was celebrated on December 01, 2020 at Raj Bhavan Kohima. Rich tributes were paid to the Founding Fathers of Nagaland – the leaders of the Naga Peoples’ Convention and all those martyrs who sacrificed their life for securing the honourable future for the Naga people and created Nagaland as the 16th State of the Union of India.
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 magnificent bust of Dr.Imkongliba Ao, the President, Naga Peoples’ Convention who was martyred soon. Family members of the NPC leaders were felicitated by the Hon’ble Governor. Padma Bhushan Dr.S.C.Jamir, the sole surviving leader of the Naga Peoples’ Convention graced the occasion with his presence. He recollected the intricacies of over three years of hard work during which the Naga leaders under the Presidentship of Dr.Imkongliba Ao mobilised the Nagas under extremely trying circumstances. He said that Nagaland State became a legitimate member of the Indian Union through Divine intervention when the All loving God looked at the Naga people who were wandering in the midst of chaos and pulled them out of it. He asserted that successive Governments and MLAs in the last 57 years have taken oath of allegiance to the Constitution of India. The Constitutional Provisions on Nagaland is the fountainhead for Nagas and it shouldn’t be muddied by anyone. Unfortunately some people who were nowhere to be seen during the critical periods of Naga history are now unrealistically muddying the fountainhead. While paying tribes to Dr.Imkongliba Ao, he exhorted the Nagas to unite and move forward alongwith the rest of the Country.
Hon’ble Chief Minister extended Statehood greetings to the people of the State and paid tributes to Dr.Imkongliba Ao the architect of Nagaland State. He recalled the progress made by the State in various fields and stated the commitment of the State Government to the Seven-Point resolution adopted by the consultative meeting of October 15, 2020 wherein all stakeholders of Naga Society unanimously resolved to support for “One Solution”.
Hon’ble Governor Nagaland Shri R. N. Ravi while extending warm statehood greetings to the people of the State paid rich tributes to the leaders of Naga Peoples’ Convention and countless Nagas whose blood, sweat and sacrifices created the Nagaland State. He stated that the leaders of Naga Peoples’ Convention through a peaceful democratic process for over three years and intensely extensive socio-political churning of Naga Society helped crystallize the free-will of the Naga people on their political future. They united the Nagas living in Assam and NEFA. Governor Ravi added that Nagas, through centuries, have been a freedom loving people. They have fiercely resisted any attempt of encroachment on their way of life. 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. While felicitating the family members of the NPC leaders he hailed them as the true heroes of Nagaland.
Governor lamented that the 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 to enduring peace in the State. These people have been peddling preposterous lies to mislead the people.
While unveiling the magnificent bust of Dr.Imkongliba Ao he 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 the Naga people will blossom to the fullest.
The family members and officials of the Naga Peoples’ Convention were felicitated by the Governor and Smti Laxmi Ravi during the occasion. Shri Sorei Keishing, a professional sculptor who designed and sculpted the bust was acknowledged by Hon’ble Governor during the function as well. Hon’ble Speaker, Nagaland Legislative Assembly, ShriSharingain Longkumer, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister, Shri Y.Patton, Hon’ble Minister, Higher Education & Tribal Affairs, Shri Temjen Imna Along, Hon’ble Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Shri K G Kenye were among the present. Shri Tali Longkumer, IAS(Retd.), son of Dr Imkongliba Ao also attended the programme. Rev. T.W.Yamyap Konyak, State Chaplain pronounced the invocation prayer and welcome address was delivered by Shri Jane Alam, IAS, Chief Secretary, Nagaland.
The Hon’ble President of India, Hon’ble Vice-President of India, Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Lok Sabha Speaker, Shri Om Birla, Hon’ble Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah, Hon’ble Defence Minister, Shri Raj Nath Singh, Hon’ble Finance Minister, Smti Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon’ble Minister, Hon’ble Minister, Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Minister, Tribal Affairs, Shri Arjun Munda, Hon’ble Minister, Culture, Shri Prahalad Patel, DoNER, Dr Jitendra Singh, Hon’ble Minister, Sports, Shri Kiren Rijiju, BJP President, Shri J P Nadda, all the Chief Ministers of North East States, Hon’ble Governor of Manipur, Dr.Najma Heptulla, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan, and a large number of dignitaries and celebrities including Bollywood tweeted their best wishes and greetings to the people of Nagaland on this occasion.