50 yrs, Hornbill fest keep Nagaland busy

KOHIMA: Nagaland witnessed several historic moments with the state completing its golden jubilee and the Naga People's Front (NPF) sweeping the assembly polls, in 2013.
Nagaland, which became the 16th state of the India Union on December 1, 1963, celebrated its golden jubilee on December 1, at Kisama Naga heritage village. The occasion was graced by President Pranab Mukherjee.The statehood celebrations coincided with the ten-day Hornbill Festival.
The President said 50 years ago, a great teacher, Dr S Radhakrishnan, inaugurated a new state called Nagaland. On that occasion, the first vice-president of independent India had called upon the government to capture the hearts and minds of the people.
Nagaland started the year with assembly elections on February 23, which the incumbent NPF, led by chief minister Neiphiu Rio, won. Voters elected 26 first timers to the state assembly. NPF also completed 50 years of its formation on December 12, and marked the occasion with grand golden jubilee celebrations. In March, former CBI chief Ashwani Kumar took oath as the 19th governor of Nagaland.
On the financial front, the year did not bring much cheer, with the Planning Commission allocating only Rs 2,000 crore for the state, for 2013-2014.
There was a lot to smile about in sports. In August, the first woman Olympian from the state, archer Chekrovolu Swuro, was awarded the Arjuna Award.
Kohima's All India Radio station celebrated 50 glorious years of public service broadcasting in Nagaland, on November 7. The visit of the Amur falcons to Nagaland in November marked a high point of 2013.
This year, thousands of birds belonging to the species visited Doyang reservoir. The extended 10-day Hornbill Festival of the state, a cultural extravaganza to revive, protect and preserve the richness and uniqueness of the Naga heritage, rounded off 2013.