People across India should assimilate their brothers and sisters from North-east states with the mainland culture to achieve national integration in true sense, Nagaland Governor Padmanabha Acharya said.
The north-east states border with countries like China, Bangladesh and Myanmar but receive scant attention from mainland India, he said.
"These strategic areas need our concerted efforts to instill a sense of belonging among the people in north-eastern states," Acharya told reporters here yesterday.
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Terming the eight N-E states as NAMASATE (Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Tripura), he said 98 per cent of their borders are international and there is a need to reach out to people in these states.
As many Indians as possible should visit these states and know their rich cultural heritage first hand, he said.
Universities across India should operate as institutions to build emotional and cultural bridges with these states by making arrangements to teach north-eastern dialects, which are more than 200, he said.
Mumbai University started such a language teaching course last year and seven more universities have now joined in, he said.
Acharya, who was appointed Governor of Nagaland soon after the Narendra Modi-led government took over in 2014, has sent groups of medical professionals from Mumbai and Pune to stay for sometime in several villages in the north-east every year to offer free health diagnosis and guidance.
Acharya lauded the Upnagar Shikshan Mandal, an educational institution based in suburban Juhu, for its efforts to build a bond with the north-east.
Mandal chairman Sanjeev Mantri said the institution has been inviting students from the north-east and arranging for their stay with families here so that the students are acquainted with the culture and way of life in a metropolitan city.
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