A webinar on the theme “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat – Bihar and Mizoram” was organized by the Regional Outreach Bureau, Patna on 28th July, 2020. The program was presided over by Additional Director General, ROB and PIB, Patna, Shri Shailesh Kumar Malviya and co-chaired by Director Shri Vijay Kumar. Divisional Commissioner, Saran, Shri Robert L. Chongthu was the chief guest speaker at the webinar. Other guest speakers include State Director, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, Guwahati Shri Syed Ali; Principal, KV, Mizoram, Aizawl, Mohd. Rashid, PRO, Public Relations Department, Mizoram, Shri Pratap Chhetri and Editor of Purvodaya, Shri Ravi Shankar Ravi attended the webinar.
Additional Director General, ROB and PIB, Patna, Shri Shailesh Kumar Malviya presided over the webinar. In his address he said that Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat initiative was launched by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on the occasion of 140th birth anniversary of Iron Man Sardar Patel. This campaign aims to promote the spirit of national unity through interaction among all States and Union Territories. He said that under this campaign two different states have been made partners, in which Bihar has been paired with Mizoram. These states have got an opportunity to know and understand about each other’s cultural heritage, customs, food, clothing etc.
While addressing the participants Shri Chongthu said that a campaign like Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat would prove to be a boon for the Northeastern states. He said that the culture and lifestyle of Mizoram belongs to a tribal society, where people have limited communication with the people of other states. Through this campaign, people of Mizoram will be able to interact with the culture and prosperity of Bihar, on the other hand, people of Bihar will be able to know the culture, tribes, costumes etc. of Mizoram. Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat is the best campaign for the exchange of culture.
Shri Rashid Ali while addressing the webinar said that his organization is going to do virtual programs across the country which will make the dream of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat come true. He also said about the Mizoram Society that there is no discrimination on the basis of caste and race. He said that people completely follow the guidelines of the church and the guidelines made by the community. For example, he said that whenever someone goes out during lockdown, instead of police or state machinery, civil society does not allow such people to get out of the house and to follow the lockdown completely. He said that people of Mizoram lead quite honest and disciplined life. Every Saturday in Mizoram, people go out of the houses and clean the public places which are things to learn. He said that through Nehru Yuva Kendra, people are sent from their state to other states for 15 days so that they can see the living, culture, food etc. of other states and execute it at their own place.
Shri Ravi said that Mizoram is a very good and honest state. Mizoram is the only state where people do not sit near their goods to sell goods, yet their goods are sold and they get the value of that goods. He said that such honesty will rarely be seen in any other state. He also said that money and force are not used in electoral rallies in Mizoram. A Mizo People’s Forum civil society in Mizoram usually conducts election rallies for candidates who stand for elections, with very little use of money and force there. Regarding the similarities between Mizoram and Bihar, he said that people in both states are very hardworking and honest. He said that if all people know and use one language of any state other than Hindi and English, then the goal of Honorable Prime Minister’s Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat can be accomplished. Shri Ravi said that we must visit Mizoram once to understand the people and their culture of living.
Shri Mohammad Rashid, Principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya Mizoram Aizawl, while addressing the webinar said that Kendriya Vidyalaya is an excellent example to realize the dreams of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. He said that in the Kendriya Vidyalaya, children from different states of the country study together and the teachers who belong to different states work under one roof which reflects the idea Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. Shri Rashid said that other states have much to learn from Mizoram.
Shri Pratap Chhetri addressed the people present in the webinar and informed them about the work being done on behalf of his department on Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat. He highlighted the specialities of Mizoram by saying that the people here are honest and disciplined, for example, people do not play horns on the streets. He said that during the elections here, people of all parties do not campaign separately but here the People’s Forum itself prepares a forum and calls the representatives of all the parties to put forth their views, which reduces the expenses of elections. This is a very commendable work and should be followed by other states as well.
The program was jointly conducted by the Field Publicity Officer, Field Outreach Bureau, Sitamarhi, Shri Javed Akhtar Ansari and Shri Pawan Kumar, Field Publicity Officer, Field Outreach Bureau, Chapra.