The Inner Line Regulation Commission of the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF-ILRC) has expressed shock by the statement made by the Rising People’s Party (RPP) which appeared in different media outlets on October 1 on “omission of non-Naga indigenous tribes” in the recently announced police constable recruitment.
In this regard, the NSF-ILRC in a rebuttal on Wednesday, questioned the RPP as to who the “non-Naga indigenous tribes” in Nagaland are.
“As far as the NSF is concerned, Nagas are the only indigenous people of Nagaland and other Naga-inhabited areas. The NSF understands that other tribes and communities have also settled in various Naga areas. However, calling migrants indigenous to the land undermines the very sanctity of the peoples who have existed in those lands since time immemorial,” the NSF-ILRC maintained.
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It asserted the RPP must understand that the United Nations, as the world’s apex organisation, has distinctively defined the term “indigenous” to preserve the distinct status of peoples who are indigenous to the lands they inhabit. “Therefore, the NSF’s position is clear: the indigeneity of the Nagas to their land cannot be eroded by any factor whatsoever. Indigeneity to land inhabited by the Nagas is intrinsic to the Nagas and no one else,” the statement said.
The NSF-ILRC also lauded the state government’s decision as appropriate, and the RPP’s characterization of that decision as having “reflected poorly on the policy makers of the state” is devoid of logic.
It stated that the RPP’s statement reflects the party’s ignorance, and amounts to an attempt to diminish the uniqueness of the Nagas in their ancestral homeland.
“The NSF also acknowledges the existence of non-Nagas who came to Nagaland before 1 December 1963. The NSF urges the government to grant them suitable status so that their presence is recognised legally and officially,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the NSF appeals to those individuals, tribes, or communities who arrived before 1 December 1963 not to be swayed by “unfounded apprehensions” but to register their claims so that their original status is not diluted by newcomers or self-interested individuals.
