RIIN falls short of addressing illegal influx in Nagaland, says global Naga body

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaOctober 3, 2024

The Global Naga Forum (GNF), A platform of Nagas from different walks of life around the world, on Thursday expressed concerns about the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN), a regulation introduced by the Nagaland government to protect the land and employment rights of indigenous inhabitants. While RIIN aims to safeguard these rights from illegal immigration and the unregulated influx of non-Nagas, GNF believes that it falls short of addressing the core issue of illegal immigration.

In a statement, the GNF pointed out that although the RIIN may benefit some Nagas and indigenous residents, particularly those seeking government employment, it does not fully protect the rights of the indigenous people. The forum emphasized that RIIN fails to tackle the broader problem of illegal immigration and uncontrolled population influx, which are critical issues threatening the long-term protection of indigenous rights in Nagaland. The GNF’s stance suggests that a more comprehensive approach is needed to address these challenges.

 “What this means is that, in the long run, the RIIN will create a situation where as more and more Nagas in Nagaland are issued indigenous resident cards, which entitle them to compete with one another for relatively fewer and fewer government jobs, the uncontrolled levels of illegal immigration and influx also continue to grow. In this scenario, indigenous resident cards in the hands of Nagas would be about as useful as someone brandishing a certificate of birth in a house whose ownership has changed hands and is occupied by someone else. The point to mark here is that, over time, the RIIN will end up favouring the limited interests of some individuals while failing to safeguard the indigenous rights of the Naga people in their own homeland,” the GNF said.

“While the GNF does not question the RIIN’s apparent well-meaning intent, we are convinced that implementing it will have serious unintended consequences. It will cause irreparable divisions among the Nagas as a whole and create a situation where Nagas will be taking one-small-step-forward and sliding several steps backwards. We explain what we mean, below,” it said.

“The second – deeper divisions among the Nagas – is an even more immediate issue that has the potential for becoming irreconcilable differences. This is because whether or not its advocates realize, the RIIN raises the spectre of the Nagaland state government doing the unconscionable work of pioneering an administrative mechanism through which Nagas exclude Nagas from one another’s lands and regions,” the GNF also said.

It is certain to drive a wedge between Nagas of Nagaland and Nagas from other states and regions. With a mechanism like that in hand, the Nagaland government would in effect be acting most irresponsibly.

It will be giving its official approval to the politically-motivated divisions of the Nagas on the basis of states and regions of residence, and will make permanent the physical breakup of the Naga ancestral homeland into parts of competing Indian states. Not only that, the RIIN will widen the distinctions among Nagas even further by helping foment more ideological antagonisms and psychological distance.

The GNF said as a Naga elder from Nagaland put it, in a meaningful jest, the RIIN will have the ludicrous effect of making the Nagas of Nagaland feel like indigenous Naga Brahmins among their own people.

“It is easy to see how well these unintended consequences of the RIIN would align with the long-running Indian strategy of fragmenting Naga solidarity. And that, too, at a time when the Nagaland government — the leading political entity of the dominant region in the Naga homeland — ought to be bringing the Nagas together from every state and region for an inclusive and lasting political settlement with the Indian government. It would be relevant to recall here that past sessions of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly have passed six resolutions in favour of Naga integration, presumably following Point 13, the provision for “Consolidation of Contiguous Naga Area,” of the 16-Point Agreement, to which the Nagaland state owes its existence. Point 13 states: “The other Naga Tribes inhabiting the areas contiguous to the present Nagaland be allowed to join the Nagaland if they so desire,” the GNF further said.

“The Naga public are left to wonder, then, if the current opposition-less Nagaland Legislative Assembly and government conflict with their preceding counterparts or with Point 13, or are morally self-conflicted. The latest Naga Consultative Meeting on the Indo-Naga political issue called by the PAC under the current Nagaland Assembly and Government on September 12 was not an inclusive consultation; it left out some key stakeholders. And now with the RIIN in tow, which risks undermining the very fabric of Naga peoplehood, the current NLA and Government have serious soul-searching to do. Because, after all, it is not like the Naga struggle for freedom was or is anti-India or Myanmar or neighbours. It was a struggle — yet to be fulfilled — for the legitimate human right of the Nagas to determine for themselves how to live together and grow as a people in their ancestral homeland, to act responsibly and collaborate in running social and public governance systems amongst themselves, without undue outside interference, much less domination by neighbours through military invasion, followed by an unending colonial-era military law called Armed Forces Special Powers Act  (AFSPA),” it also said.

The GNF also said one of the truths of public history is that while governments and parties come and go, the rights and aspirations of a people endure — especially those that have lasted for as long as the Naga cause has. It is therefore crucial for this generation of Naga leaders, starting with the Nagaland government, to reflect on the legacy they are leaving behind. Naga history will inevitably record if the current government and legislators prioritise their short-term personal and political gains over the broader Naga people’s cause. The same call to responsible leadership applies equally to the NPGs and CSOs.

The GNF added that all of the above boils down to one fervent appeal: That the current Naga leadership across the political, regional, and tribal divides set aside policies, projects, and stratagems that exclude and divide Nagas, and, instead, give a concerted final push to once and for all settle the nearly 80-year old Indo-Naga political issue in a way that promotes two goals at the same time: serves the common good of the Naga people, who have suffered more than enough and endured for too long; and brings peace and mutual benefits to India and the Nagas.