Dimapur, April 29 (MTNews): The 2nd Annual General Conference of the North East Indigenous People’s Forum (NIPF) is being held at , Stone Park in Dimapur from today. The two-day annual conference under the theme, “Together in Unity”, is hosted by Nagaland Indigenous People’s Forum.
Addressing the conference as special guest, Minister for Higher Education & Tribal Affairs, Temjen Imna Along said that indigenous people should not be exclusive but be inclusive in their approach with a goal to preserve their heritage at all cost. He further urged the indigenous people to connect with other communities and expressed hope that the indigenous forum will give an opportunity to know and connect with each other and build a protected and prosperous future for the indigenous people of the North East.
Also speaking at the program, Chief Convener of NIPF, Anup Chetia said the forum was formed in 2017 with the objective to work for the greater interest of the indigenous people of the region and to promote and protect indigenous culture, language and identity. He said the North East people are attached by a common cord culture and living style which are different from the rest of the country.
Stating that at times, border disputes are created to divide the age old relationship among the northeast people, Chetia said the NIPF have vowed to address such issues by creating common platform among the indigenous people.
Asserting that the need of the hour is to uphold the spirit of democracy, the Convener said solutions on internal issues should be resolved amicably by having extensive discussions on people to people level and with the sole objective to maintain harmony among the indigenous people. The conference is being attended by representatives from all the North East States.