Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech at the annual Hornbill Festival in Kohima on Monday asked the people of Nagaland to look back, interpret and take stock of the ground covered so far, avoiding any talk of the on-going peace talks between the government of India and the NSCN(IM). "I urge the Naga people that after 50 years (of statehood) to look back, interpret and take stock of the ground you have covered so far and what remains to be achieved," Modi said, inaugurating the annual Hornbill Festival in Kohima, one that also marked the 51st anniversary of Nagaland’s statehood. "I have seen the strength of your society. This must be protected,” he said, taking off from where then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had left in October 2003. Modi, dressed up as a traditional Naga warrior, complete with a spear and a machete, completely avoided using the words peace and conflict, but pointed out that no prime minister had visited Nagaland between Vajpayee and him. "It takes only a few hours to come from Delhi to Nagaland. But a prime minister took more than 10 years reach here," he said, indicating that Manmohan Singh had not visited the state in 10 years. "I assure you, you will not have to wait this long for the prime minister to visit again. I will be happy to come often to meet you," he said. The prime minister, in his typical style, let out yet another acronym, this time NEZ – describing the Northeastern region as the Natural Economic Zone. "In India the word SEZ is very popular. But after being here for the last three days, I must say that it is not only SEZ, it is NEZ. When I say NEZ, I mean Natural Economic Zone. The other parts of India will have to find man-made Special Economic Zones. But here, Natural Economic Zones already exist. But unfortunately, they are untapped," he said. Modi also referred to two important schemes that his government has envisaged or the youth of Northeast, these being 'Ishaan Uday' and 'Ishaan Vikash.' While 10,000 students from the region would get special scholarships every year under 'Ishaan Uday', each year 2,000 students and 500 teachers would be sent on a tour of IITs, NITs, and NIFTs in other states under 'Ishaan Vikash', he said. Pointing out that the region was located amid one of the 25 bio-diversity hotspots of the world, Modi said the Northeast could also be described as the organic capital of the world. "There is such potential here that Northeast alone can provide most organic products to the world," he said. The Modi government has already sanctioned six new agricultural colleges for the region, while, given the weaving talent of the womenfolk, has also approved the proposal for a modern apparel and garment manufacturing unit for each of the seven states. Regarding his government’s focus on infrastructure and connectivity, Modi said it has already sanctioned Rs 5,000 crore for inter-state power transmission facility, Rs 5000 crore for comprehensive telecom development, Rs 28,000 for 14 new railway projects, all within s 53,000 crore provided in his first budget for the Northeast.
