47 years without review: Five Naga tribes serve 30-Day ultimatum over job reservation policy

Representatives of five major Naga tribes—Angami, Ao, Lotha, Rengma, and Sumi—have issued a 30-day ultimatum to the Nagaland government, accusing it of neglecting their demand for a comprehensive review of the state’s job reservation policy for backward tribes.

In a statement, the 5 Tribes Committee on Review of Reservation Policy, constituted by the apex bodies of the respective tribes, said they had submitted a memorandum on September 20, 2024, seeking urgent government action. However, six months later, the government has not responded, they said.

“We are appalled that the Nagaland Job Reservation Policy for Backward Tribes has been in effect for the past 47 years,” the committee said, noting that the policy—originally intended for periodic review every ten years—has remained unchanged since a 1989 government notification allowed it to continue “till further orders.”

The committee pointed out that while the reservation policy was initially designed to uplift marginalized tribes, it has, over time, created new imbalances. According to them, tribes benefiting from reservations have “surpassed many advanced tribes” socio-economically, yet continue to receive preferential treatment. Recommendations by several committees set up by the state government for review of the policy have been “kept in cold storage,” with only partial and superficial actions taken, they alleged.

The core concerns, including the duration of reservation, internal reservations within backward tribes, the issue of “creamy layers,” age discrepancies, and backlog of reserved posts, remain unaddressed, they said. Previous representations by student bodies of the so-called advanced tribes have also been ignored.

Warning that an indefinite, unreviewed reservation system risks creating “economic imbalance and discrimination among Scheduled Tribes,” the committee stressed that it could fuel “inequality and social unrest” across Nagaland.

The five tribes had demanded either the abolition of the current job reservation policy for backward tribes or a reallocation of the remaining unreserved quota exclusively for the five tribes, who, according to them, constitute nearly 55% of the state’s Scheduled Tribe population.

“Since the state govt has failed to address our demands as brought out in the earlier Memorandum, the five non-backward tribes are left with no option but to serve this 30 days ULTIMATUM as a final reminder,” the committee stated.

The Nagaland government has not issued any official response to the latest ultimatum at the time of publication.

MT