PM opens first-ever Northeast festival

Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised that the 21st century will belong to the East, particularly Asia and India, marking a shift away from the West-dominated world of the past two centuries. Speaking at the inaugural event of the first-ever Northeast festival, Ashtalakshmi, at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Friday, Modi expressed his belief in India’s growing role in global affairs and the critical importance of the Northeast in shaping India’s future.

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“After the West-centric period, the 21st century belongs to the East, to Asia, and to India,” Modi said.

The Prime Minister highlighted the growing importance of Eastern India and the Northeast in India’s development story. “In the coming decades, the growth story of India will not just be about cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai, but will also centre around cities like Guwahati, Agartala, Imphal, Itanagar, Gangtok, Kohima, Shillong, and Aizawl,” he added. “Ashtalakshmi is a celebration of the better future of the Northeast, a celebration of a new dawn of development that will drive India towards becoming a ‘Viksit Bharat’,” Modi remarked.

Reflecting on the historical neglect of the Northeast, he said, “In the past, the development of the Northeast was poor because of the lesser number of seats and votes. It was Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government that first created a separate ministry dedicated to the development of the Northeast,” he noted.