Rest of India can learn a lot from Northeast — Vice Army chief

New Delhi, Dec. 6 (PTI): The Northeast is endowed with rich cultural heritage and biodiversity but not much is known about it to people living outside the region, Vice Chief of Army Lt Gen Devraj Anbu said Thursday and asserted that the rest of India can learn a lot from these states.

A group of 26 students and seven teachers from the seven states, who are visiting Delhi as part of a national integration tour, interacted with Lt Gen Anbu at the South Block.

“All the Northeasters states, from Arunachal Pradesh to Mizoram and Assam to Meghalaya, are blessed with scenic beauty, and each state has its own rich culture, but not much is known to people about it. And the rest of India learn a lot from these states,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

The contiguous states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura are popularly referred to as the ‘Seven Sisters’ and along with Sikkim comprise the Northeast India.

“I have been to all the states in Northeast and each state has so much of diversity to offer. Particularly, Sikkim, where I found that it was so well-managed, including the discipline in traffic and civic sense exhibited by people in driving and parking vehicles. Besides, the region has lessons in ecological preservation too, which other parts of India can learn from,” he said.

Anbu emphasised that in north India, people celebrate Holi for a day or two, but the Meitei community in Manipur play Holi for five days. The colourful festival is known as ‘Yaoshang’.

The Vice Chief of Army also said the Northeast has a very rich culinary, linguistic, and art and cultural heritage. Bihu dance of Assam and Manipuri dance are some of the well-known art forms.

Earlier, during the interaction, he said the purpose of the tour was to bring the society in these states closer to other parts of India and vice versa.