Kohima, Oct 10: Nagaland’s Minister for Power and Parliamentary Affairs, K G Kenye, announced on Wednesday that the state government will carry out an enumeration in line with the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) for the Kuki, Garo, Mikir (Karbi), and Kachari communities. Kenye, who is also the government spokesperson, reaffirmed that the cutoff date for determining indigenous status remains December 1, 1963.
Following a state cabinet meeting in Kohima, Kenye addressed media concerns over discontent from these four minority tribes, who have expressed opposition to the criteria and have threatened legal action. He emphasized that the state government has been generous by maintaining the cutoff date and offering an opportunity for these communities to be part of Nagaland’s indigenous framework.
“The demand that all members of these communities, regardless of when they arrived in the state, be granted indigenous status is unreasonable,” Kenye remarked, adding that the status will only apply to those whose ancestors were present in Nagaland before the cutoff date and whose family names appeared in the 1964 electoral rolls.
The Minister clarified that the RIIN process will not affect the recognized indigenous Naga citizens but will instead focus on identifying original settlers from the minority tribes who qualify for the status based on the established criteria. This measure aims to preserve the integrity of the indigenous framework in the state.
Kenye also expressed concerns about the potential marginalization of indigenous Naga communities, given demographic shifts. He recalled the significance of the 16-point agreement of 1960 and the ongoing efforts to integrate all Naga-inhabited areas into Nagaland. However, he lamented the lack of reciprocation from Naga communities outside the state, which has hindered the state’s credibility in its demands to the central government.
Furthermore, Kenye stressed the importance of safeguarding Nagaland’s indigenous population from illegal immigration, highlighting the state’s reinstatement of the 1873 Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act in 2019. This legal framework allows Nagaland to control migration through the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system.
