Dimapur, July 11 (EMN): The Naga Students's Federation have tendered apology on Tuesday to the All Sumi Students' Union (SKK) for conducting a felicitation programme coinciding with the Sumi Naga festival of Tuluni that was on July 8 last.
"The Federation sincerely tender our regret and apology for hurting the sentiments of the Sumi community and look forward for your kind understanding to the matter," stated a letter of the NSF addressed to the President SKK.
"The date chosen for the Felicitation Programme was not intentional to hurt the sentiments of Sumis in general and the SKK in particular.
The executives chose the particular day as it is a general holiday for the students and the programme being a student’s programme the executive was compelled to look at the convenience of the students who will be attending the programme.
The NSF has been choosing Saturday as a convenient day for any kind of programme/event when it comes to students’ activities," it stated.
The NSF however stated that the rush in choosing a date for the felicitation programme was due to the fact that they were unable to take charge formally on time to dispense their functions and duties.
"The executives of the NSF for the tenure 2017-19 were elected on 1st June, 2017 at Tzurangkong, Mokokchung. The handing of file proposed on 17th June, 2017 was overdue as two officials of NSF for the tenure 2015-17 went to attend the funeral programme of (Late) S. S Khaplang, Chairman NSCN (K) at Taka, Eastern Nagaland (Myanmar) who passed away on the 9th June, 2017.
Due to the long distant and deplorable road conditions, the two officials return to its Oking only on 22nd June, 2017 and the handing of files was done the next day itself, i.e. on 23rd June, 2017."
The letter stated that the first Executive Council Meeting could be convened only on June 26 and in that meeting it decided to hold the programme on July 8, which was a second Saturday and it was also communicated to all concerned on June 29.
The letter also stated that later on the July 7, 2017 at around 5:30 pm NSF received a complaint letter from the office of the SKK and thereafter an "Emergency Official Meeting" of the NSF was convened in the President’s Chamber on the same evening.
"Whereby, the house resolved to organize the programme as scheduled on the morning of 8th July, 2017 and responded to the letter of the SKK on the same night i.e 7th July, expressing its regrets for coinciding the Felicitation program with the Tuluni festival and cited the inability to postpone/defer the date since by then, it was rather too late, as all the toppers with their parents/guardian have reached Kohima from various districts and even those students pursuing their studies in other States. Moreover, the programme being exclusively organized to felicitate only the HSLC Naga Toppers (29 students) with a maximum time duration of 90 minutes session, it was resolved to conduct the same as scheduled," it stated.
