Dr Neiphiu Rio and other dignitaries with participants of North East NSS Festival 2025 at Dziiii Resort Rusoma on June 11. (Morung Photo)
Our Correspondent
Kohima | June 11
Nagaland Chief Minister Dr Neiphiu Rio today called upon the youth of the North-Eastern states to play a pivotal role in strengthening the spirit of community service.
“Public service should be our tradition. Service to humanity is service to God. Let us live with a positive mindset and inspire others through action,” Dr Rio said while addressing North East NSS Festival 2025 under the theme “Viksit Bharat” at Dzüü Resort, Rüsoma in Kohima district.
The National Service Scheme (NSS) is an Indian government sector public service program conducted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of India. Popularly known as NSS, the scheme was launched in Mahatma Gandhi's centenary year in 1969.
NSS volunteers from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura and Nagaland joined this NE NSS Festival which will continue till June 14. Mizoram was unable to join due to natural calamities affecting connectivity.
“Though we (NE) are treated as one region, the Northeast seldom comes together like this,” Rio told the gathering and stressed on the need to have more cultural exchanges. This festival offers you a rare chance to forge friendships, understand diverse cultures, and carry back memories that will last a lifetime, the CM said.
Dr Rio underscored the importance of recognizing and preserving the cultural richness of the Northeast while embracing the spirit of national unity. Asking the youth to protect and promote the rich culture and traditions, he said “We should not forget our history and identity.”
Highlighting the origin and purpose of the NSS launched in 1969 to mark Mahatma Gandhi’s birth centenary, Rio urged the youth to uphold values of discipline, selfless service, and non-violence.
“Mahatma Gandhi is known globally as a symbol of peace and resistance through Ahimsa. The NSS reflects those values. Through service, we learn to care, share, and uplift,” Dr. Rio said.
Recounting lessons of discipline instilled by his father during British time, Dr. Rio said “My father was a soldier. From him, we learned that duty and discipline are not just military virtues, they are life values.”
“When you are young, if you do the right things which your parents taught you, it became your habit and when you grow older, it becomes your character. That is how we become a man,” Dr Rio said.
Youth are always close to our hearts because they are our hope and our future, the Chief Minister said and called upon them to develop positive attitude to succeed in life.
The Chief Minister advocated for the rotational hosting of the NSS Festival across the Northeastern states so that the youth will get opportunity to visit each other states one by one. “That way, integration of the eight sister states will become much closer and learn each other culture, habits and make friend,” he said.
‘NE NSS festival is platform for young change makers’
Delivering the welcome address, Kethosituo Sekhose, Director, Department of Youth Resources & Sports, Nagaland described Chief Minister Dr. Neiphiu Rio as champion of the youth “and that so much have been done for our youths from education to skilling, from youth engagement programmes to development of sporting and tertiary talents.”
In Nagaland, he said, we have 180 units of NSS in various schools and colleges with about 18000 volunteers and altogether, about 60 villages have been adopted.
This festival is more than just an event. It is a platform for young changemakers to come together, share ideas, build friendships, and most importantly, reaffirm our dedication to “not me, but you”- motto of NSS, he said.
The inaugural ceremony compered by Akhrienuo Chietsü while Zhavituo Pfukha, Church Secretary, Rüsoma CRC pronounced invocation prayer. Elvina Khangshou from St. Joseph’s College, Jakhama presented a special number.
Nagaland’s environment, forest & climate change minister CL John, Rural development minister Metsubo Jamir, youth resources & sports advisor S. Keoshu Yimkhiung, school education & SCERT advisor Kekhrielhoulie Yhome, MLA Benei M. Lamthiu, MLA Y. Lima Onen Chang, Advisor to CM DR. Chumben Murry also present on the occasion.
The week-long festival will feature cultural showcases, interstate exchanges, community outreach events, and leadership-building sessions designed to foster civic responsibility and cross-cultural camaraderie.
This festival is organized by NSS Cell under the Directorate of Youth Resources & Sports, Government of Nagaland, in collaboration with Regional Directorate of NSS, Guwahati, and sponsored by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India.
