Gaidinliu's birth centenary cum cultural fest held
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, February 02 2016: Rani Gaidinliu birth centenary cum indigenous cultural festival was held from Jan 22 -23in New Delhi with the theme, "Celebrating the Indomitable Spirit of Rani Gaidinliu" .

The event was organized by Rani Gaidinliu Birth Centenary cum Indigenous Cultural Festival Organizing Committee under the aegis of ZWAD and ZSUD.

The festival was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India and other well wishers of Rani Gaidinliu.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology was the chief guest of the event.

PB Acharya, Governor of Assam & Nagaland graced the occasion as the guest of honour.

Many other prominent citizens and admirers of Rani Gaidinliu from different parts of the country also attended the function, according to a statement.

Mathiupuang Gonmei, chairman of the organizing committee delivered the keynote address wherein the unfulfilled cherished dream of Rani Gaidinliu and the long standing demands of the Zeliangrong people were highlighted.

This was followed by submission of the joint memorandum of ZB (AMN), AZSU (AMN), Heraka, TRC and RBCICFOC addressed to Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India demanding a special development package for the Zeliangrong people.

The chief guest assured the audiences that he would hand over the memorandum to the Prime Minister with his recommendation for early consideration of the demands of the Zeliangrong people.

A national level cultural dance competition was held during the festival where cultural troupes from North Eastern States and other parts of the country like Gujarati dance, Odissa dance and Bengali dance troupes etc also participated in the mega event.

The Maring War Dance Troupe from Manipur was declared the winner of the dance competition and walked away with Rs 200000 cash prize.

The cultural event was organized to create a platform for cultural exchange programme for people from different parts of the country so that the cultural diversities of India can be acknowledged and respected by all.

The second day of the function was devoted to a national seminar on the topic: "State, Society and Nationalism: Relevance of Rani Gaidinliu in the contemporary society" .

Dr Rosemary, Director, Women Studies Centre, Nagaland University and Jagdamba Mall, a long time associate of Rani Gaidinliu were the resource persons of the seminar.

The Seminar was chaired by Dr Achingliu Kamei while Dr Poujenlung Gonmei and Dr Kamei Aphun delivered the keynote address and valedictory address respectively.

Many prominent leaders and admirers of Rani Gaidinliu attended the seminar, it added.

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