Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the cultural relations of the Northeast with mainland India had existed since the days of Mahabharata.
It was temporarlily affected during 'gulami' period but now time has come to restore it and take it forward, Shah said without elaborating it.
He was addressing the 68th plenary session of North Eastern Council (NEC) here.
"In Mahabharata, Babruvahan or Ghatotkach were from the Northeast. Arjun had married Chitrangada in Manipur, Sri Krishna's grandson also got married in the Northeast."
Shah, who is also the chairman of the NEC said, "Without taking along the culture, heritage and music of the Northeast, the question of the development of the rest of the country does not even arise."