KOHIMA, Jun 20: West Bengal Foundation Day was celebrated at the Raj Bhavan Kohima on 20 June 2023. The celebration was attended by Governor of Nagaland, La Ganesan, Bengalis from Kohima and Dimapur and Officers and Staff of the Raj Bhavan, Kohima.
Speaking on the occasion, the Governor extended his warm greetings to the people of West Bengal. He said this program Ek Bharatha Bharat aims to expose people to diverse culture and tradition active interaction between people of different states and UTs in India. He mentioned that this program was announced by PM Narendra Modi on the occasion of 140th Birth Anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 2015. It envisages that the knowledge of the language, culture, traditions and practices of different states will lead to mutual understanding and appreciation for the diversity that is India, he said. He further added that this program also aims to celebrate the people of the particular state wherever they are residing in a country.
The Governor highlighted on how the state of West Bengal came into being on 20th June 1947 when the Bengal Legislative Assembly adopted a resolution to partition Bengal into West Bengal- i.e now Bangladesh. He also shared about their state contributor to India Independence movement and is known for its political and cultural activities and educational Institutions. The Governor stated that the State’s culture heritage ranges from Nobel-laureate Rabindranath Tagore in literature, Satyajit Ray in cinema, Amartya Sen and Abhijit Bannerjee in economics, J.C Bose, Satyandra Nath and Meghnad Saha in Science, Syama Prasad Mukherjee in politics, Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Swami Vivikananda in spirituality , Raja Ram Mohan Roy in social reformers to other prominent personality in the fields of music , arts, cinema, sports etc.
The Governor said that in Nagaland, people from Bengal have played an integral role, especially in commerce and service sector in the initial part of the state’s history. He revealed that the Bengali community living in our state is an old and vibrant one that has co-existed peacefully with the local population. The Governor acknowledged them for their contributions to the state and also urged them to continue their enterprising spirit and partake in our vision to make Nagaland a prosperous state as they make Nagaland their second home.
Secretary to Governor Rajesh Soundararajan IAS who gave the welcome address said that the Bengalis and the Nagas have a very long association marked with mutual respect for each other, and therefore urged them to further strengthen the fabric of this traditionally existing emotional bond between the two communities.
Development officer, LIC & Bengali Samaj, Kohima, Sudipta Kumar Dey delivered a speech on West Bengal. He thanked the Governor and officer and staff for bringing the people of two states together on a common platform.
Marking the program, Rabindra Sangeet and Rabindrer Nritya was performed by Rajen Debnath and Silikali Swu and Group. Bengali Patriotic Song and Bengali Folk Dance were also presented by Sonali Lodh and Vihakha Debnath respectively.
The program was conducted by JSO, Banuo Koza and while the vote of thanks was proposed by Dr. Neena Dutta, Managing Director, St. Mary’s School, Dimapur.