Aizawl 27th February, 2014: ‘It is my pleasure to extend a warm welcome to all of you. We deeply appreciate the trouble and strain you have taken to visit this remote part of the country to listen, first hand, to the problems of your fellow countrymen living in a land locked, far end of the country. However, I am not quite sure as to whether we, with our limited facilities, have been able to make your stay comfortable. Mizos are a traditionally hospitable people who welcome their guests with warmth of their heart and I am sure you have felt it during your short stay. We wish you could spend some more time and visit some other areas to have a real feel of the problems, constraints and potential of growth as also the state’s genuine needs. Whenever you find some time, you are most welcome to visit our state which regrettably is least visited by fellow countrymen from the mainland’.

‘We are proud of our culture and tradition which our people are preserving. The state has manifested a unique cultural harmony with sustained social and communal peace. I assure you that a properly aided prosperity of the state may lead to a demonstrative effect, as the role model of development, for other insurgency afflicted North Eastern States. Mizoram has also the potential to act as the gateway to the South East Asia and a bridge head between two large and fast growing economies - the South East Asian and Indian. It can also be the spearhead for successful implementation of the Centre’s Look East Policy’.

‘There had been a demand for wider propagation of Hindi in Mizoram as the National language. The scheme for teaching Hindi at school level was taken up. Altogether 1305 Hindi teachers were appointed with fund from the HRD Ministry. Services of these teachers have to be regularised. As the Ministry proposes to discontinue funding this scheme from 2017-2018, the state government will have accept this responsibility. Fourteenth Finance Commission may kindly consider awarding the required fund appropriately’.