The people of States in the North East have a sense of alienation that the Government of India was not paying enough attention to their development. It was this sense that had misled a few to take up arms, said V. Shanmuganathan, Governor, Meghalaya and Manipur, at a function organised by Deshabaktha in Coimbatore on Monday.
He was working hard to remove the sense from the people and ensure that they fell completely integrated in the Indian society. Likewise, the heads of churches in Meghalaya were apprehensive about his taking the gubernatorial role, given his Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh background.
Impartial
But he had met them over lunch to say that the organisation he represented did not believe in discrimination of people on the basis of religion or caste, which he believed in the soul of the nation - everybody is equally divine, that his position was a Constitutional one and that he would act neutral and impartial, Mr. Shanmuganathan said. The clergy responded well to his suggestion and since then he has been working hard for the States’ development.
Recalling the States’ beauty and rich natural resources, the Governor spoke of a village that had won award for its cleanliness.
Swami Kamalatmananda of Sri Ramakrishna Mutt, Madurai, recalled his association with Mr. Shanmuganathan as an RSS volunteer.
The two then distributed saplings to a few people to mark the launch of Pasumai Bharatam programme to green Coimbatore.
Dinamani Editor K. Vaidyanathan and Chiranjjeevi Wind Energy Limited owner R.V.S. Marimuthu also spoke on the occasion.
