Arunachal Governor Brig. (Dr.) BD Mishra (Retd), ever since he took over the reins of Itanagar Raj Bahvan, has been very proactive by taking up different burning issues of the state at the right fora with the right people. He is also one of those rare Governors who have extensively toured the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh notwithstanding his age which is not a mean feat.  This is probably because of his Army background keeping a strict fitment regimen as well as being a former Commando. He also deserves appreciation from all sections of society for taking up the issue of recruitment of local youth in Indian armed forces with Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman the other day in Delhi.

It will be a better idea if the Governor can propose setting up of a North East Regiment a la the Madras or Naga regiment involving youths from the hill states of North East. The youth here are robust, agile, hardworking and as fit as fiddles. Moreover, they are now well educated too. Though ranked as the fourth largest army in the world after China, it is still short of over 60, 000 personnel at the lower levels and about 8000 at officers’ level. Thus the recruitment for a North East regiment exclusively from the hill states of the region can kill two birds with a single stone- fill up vacancies in the army and solve the unemployment problem to a certain level in the region.

It may be noted that when the Kargil war broke out, the first to be sent to Draas and Tiger Hill sectors were personnel from the Naga Regiment who despite suffering heavy losses did a commendable job with first and second Naga battalions earning a Vir Chakra and a Param Vir Chakra respectively as well as many seva medals. This is because the youth of the region, especially of the hill states, are natural warriors and they are as agile as mountain goats when it comes to conquering inaccessible mountainous terrains. Thus, the Governor should take initiative in bringing his counterparts from other states and discuss the matter and take up the issue unitedly with the Central government. That will be a great service to the youth of the region.