Itanagar, Dec. 17 (PTI): Asserting that taking politics very seriously in every sphere of life hampers the development process, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday asked people to indulge in politics once only in five years.
As people get the chance to elect whomsoever they want every five years, there is no point playing politics all through the five years, he said.
‘I have seen that people, especially of the Abotani belt, take politics very seriously and view life and development only from a political angle, which hampers development’, Khandu said at a programme in Mwya village in Lower Subansiri district where inaugurated a Tribal Cultural Centre.
By Abotani, the chief minister referred to a group of tribes of the state.
If people want, they will bring back my government based on our performance. But if they don't want us, they will elect someone else, he said.
Khandu stressed that politics should be based on performance and not on money culture.
He hoped that the new cultural centre would pave way for preservation of the indigenous identity of the people of the area.
He said most of the developed countries of the world were inhabited by indigenous communities at the beginning that disappeared over the years owing to rapid globalisation.
We are lucky to still be rooted to our cultural identity. But unless we practise and pass on our heritage to our next generation, our indigenous identities too would wane away slowly, he said.
Khandu advocated that no matter which religious faith they believe in, indigenous people of the state should preserve their cultural identity passed down by their ancestors.
And to do it, he said, indigenous languages should be widely spoken and indigenous festivals should be celebrated with the same traditional fervour.
He said the Department of Indigenous Affairs was set up in 2017 so that the government could support preservation of cultural identities of the 26 major tribes and more than 100 sub-tribes of the state.