There’s something quietly powerful about watching young people from a remote northeastern state step onto one of the most watched stages in the country — Kartavya Path on Republic Day. For Arunachal Pradesh, that pride came full circle on Tuesday when Governor Lt Gen KT Parnaik (Retd.) personally honoured the NCC cadets who carried the state’s flag to New Delhi’s grandest national celebrations.
The felicitation programme was held at NERIST on September 16, bringing together cadets who had participated in the Republic Day Camp, Republic Day Parade, and the Prime Minister’s Rally across both 2025 and 2026.
Governor Parnaik didn’t mince words about what this meant. He called earning a spot in the Republic Day Parade on Kartavya Path a rare honour — not just for the cadets themselves, but for their families, their institutions, and the people of Arunachal Pradesh as a whole. That’s not ceremonial language. For a state whose diverse tribal communities and mountain geography often keep it off the national spotlight, having young men and women march before the nation carries real symbolic weight.
The Governor described the cadets as ambassadors — young people who showed the country what Arunachal looks like when it holds its head high. Their discipline, confidence, cultural richness and tribal diversity on full display in the heart of the capital. Not a bad way to make an introduction.
Among those honoured, Senior Under Officer Lunkung Yaji of 1 AP Battalion NCC, Naharlagun, represented the state in the Republic Day Parade on Kartavya Path during RDC 2025. From the same year, Senior Under Officer Galmu Tamang, Under Officer Vishal Rai, Sergeant Chow Sidharth Manlai and Sergeant Mitet Megu were recognised for their participation in the Prime Minister’s Rally and cultural programme. The 2026 batch saw cadets including Under Officer Koj Nancy, Cadet Elisha Kino, Cadet Likha Takap, and several others felicitated for their cultural and rally contributions. Captain Palvinder Singh, Associate NCC Officer of Rajiv Gandhi Government Polytechnic College, Itanagar, was also recognised for his steady work in NCC training and youth development.
Parnaik’s address to the young cadets touched on something bigger than the event itself. He spoke of three pillars he believes every good citizen must carry — education, discipline and motivation. Education for wisdom, discipline for responsibility, and motivation to keep going when things get hard. He also invoked the Prime Minister’s call at the BRICS Summit to build an ecosystem of solutions, urging these young people to become problem-solvers, entrepreneurs and community leaders, not just certificate holders.
The numbers behind the state’s NCC strength are worth noting. Arunachal Pradesh currently fields 12,760 NCC cadets across three battalions — the 1 AP NCC Battalion in Naharlagun, 22 AP NCC Battalion in Pasighat, and 2 AP Mixed NCC Battalion in Tawang. That’s no small army of young citizens in the making.
The programme was attended by Roing MLA Muthchu Mithi, Secretary Education Kanto Danggen, NERIST Director Prof. Narendranath S, and NCC Group Headquarters Tezpur Commander Brig Mayank Vaid, among others.
In the end, what happened at NERIST on Tuesday was simple but meaningful — a state pausing to say thank you to its young people for making it proud. These cadets didn’t just march in a parade. They reminded the country that Arunachal Pradesh is very much part of the national story, marching in step with the rest of India — and doing it with pride.
