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Dimapur, Jan. 27 (EMN): The minister for Agriculture and Cooperation Kaito Aye has spoken about the need to ‘preserve, promote and sustain traditions and cultures while striving for a progressive community.’
The minister was addressing the 14th Bishu, or Bushu, mini-Hornbill Festival 2020 of the Dimasa community that was conducted on January 27 in the government high school ground of Dhansiripar in Dimapur.
The minister said that the mini-Hornbill Festival was proposed by the Nagaland government for two reasons. First, he said, it was to promote the culture of the Naga tribes and sub-tribes. He said that although considered a small state in India, Nagaland is a land of many tribes with rich cultures which in turn can attract tourists to the state and improve the local economy. The second reason, he said, is to impart the Nagas’ cultural legacy to the younger generations.
“We have an identity crisis because of the prolonged conflict and this is one of the reasons that the government is organising mini-Hornbill everywhere for every tribe so that our cultures and traditions lives and prosper,” Aye said.
Explaining that unity is the first step towards a progressive community, the minister urged the different communities living together in the area to unite by leaving all differences aside and emphasising on the spirit of brotherhood and unity for peace to prevail.
He strongly urged the Dimasa community not to sell away their prime lands which they own but instead focus on producing goods which will greatly benefit themselves while adding to the local economy.
The member of Nagaland Legislative Assembly, Azheto Zhimomi, also spoke at the festival. Speaking as the event’s guest of honour, Zhimomi exhorted the community to look back over the course of time to retrospect what the people have together achieved.
Speaking about the agriculture sector, Zhimomi said it is not just Dhansiripar but entire Dimapur that is an ideal region for agriculture and cultivation.
The legislator asserted that the government had for the past years distributed machinery and subsidies for farmers. But, he said, the real farmers are not benefiting from it as the help given by the government does not reach them.
Further, maintaining that while Dhansiripar was one of the old administrative headquarters, he said the people living in the locality are still lacking in many ways and that government needs to look into the matter for better governance and also for the benefit of the public.
Bishu or Bushu festival of the Dimasa community was recognised as one of the festivals of Nagaland by the government of Nagaland in 2007. Till recently Bishu or Bushu did not have any fixed date, a community leader said during the programme. But due to compelling circumstances the people resolved to have a date fixed for the festival, K Naben, president of the Dimasa Public Organisation of Nagaland said in his address.
Cultural and traditional dances and indigenous games were some of the other highlights which marked the Bishu mini-Hornbill Festival of the community.