Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Saturday urged youth from the Northeast to shed a sense of tribal inferiority, set purposeful goals, and embrace entrepreneurship.
Speaking at the 5th Regional Youth Convention 2025—hosted by the Nagaland Catholic Youth Movement and organized under the North Eastern Regional Youth Commission, Indian Catholic Youth Movement—Sangma addressed a large gathering at the Mary Help of Christians Cathedral in Kohima.
“The moment we say we are tribals and we can’t do it, we have already failed before we even started,” he said. He urged Northeast youth to stop depending on reservations, urging the NE youths to go beyond the mindset of reservation and compete with the rest.
Emphasizing self-reliance and innovation, Sangma asked, ”How many entrepreneurs do we have? Why do we have to wait for someone else? Why aren’t our Northeast youths doing it?”
Quoting demographic data, he said, ”India is young but Northeast is younger. Out of 38 lakh population in Meghalaya, 18 lakh are below the age of 20—that is about 50%, and 6 lakh are above 45, with hardly about 70,000 above 70.” Youth, he said, can be both the “greatest asset and the greatest challenge,” depending on how they are nurtured.
In addition to entrepreneurship, he encouraged humility as a key leadership trait and told youth to “have a goal and purpose in life.”
The event drew thousands of youth from across the Northeast and marked a major convergence of regional youth leaders and volunteers committed to positive change. The convention will continue till June 30.