The 5 Tribes Committee on Review of Reservation Policy (CoRRP) has announced that it will resume its agitation with a sit-in protest at the Nagaland Civil Secretariat on July 9, citing the government’s failure to initiate concrete steps toward reviewing the 48-year-old state reservation policy.
“In today’s joint meeting, it was unanimously resolved to go ahead with Phase-2 agitation in the form of a sit-in protest at Nagaland Civil Secretariat on Wednesday, the 9th July 2025 from 9 AM onwards. Detailed information will be issued via circular soon,” said GK Zhimomi, member secretary of the committee.
The decision comes exactly one month after the state government, on June 3, proposed the formation of an independent commission to study the policy. However, as of July 3, no official notification has been made public regarding the composition or terms of reference of the commission.
Zhimomi clarified that the formation of the commission was not a demand of the committee but an outcome of the June 3 meeting with the government. “This commission would take three or four years to formulate. We are still hoping for clarity,” he said.
The renewed protest comes a day after Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, speaking to reporters on July 2, appealed for patience and suggested that any reforms related to administration, reservation, or delimitation should be taken up only after the national Census, which the Centre has indicated will begin in 2027.
Zhimomi, speaking to Eastern Mirror, expressed doubt over the CM’s statement, calling the delay “a tactic to prolong the issue.” He further told that the Chief Minister’s remarks “contradict the cabinet’s earlier decision to set up a committee on reservation policy.”
“The reservation policy has gone on for 48 years and cannot be extended indefinitely in the name of one excuse or another,” Zhimomi said. “If the government had the political will, it can be solved tonight itself.”
When asked by MT whether the committee would be satisfied if the government genuinely undertook a review, Zhimomi remarked, “Too many review committees have been formed before and nothing has taken place.” He also recalled how the five tribal student bodies had submitted a six-point charter of demands as far back as 2016, which the government has yet to act upon.
He further stated that the committee is in possession of supporting data and will release it at an appropriate time.
The committee has been pressing for either the scrapping of the existing reservation policy or balance of the unreserved quota to the five tribes. In early June, it launched the first phase of agitation, citing years of government inaction.”
Thursday’s joint consultative meeting in Kohima, where the decision to resume protest was taken, was attended by presidents and chairpersons of the Angami Public Organisation, Ao Senden, Lotha Hoho, Rengma Hoho, and Sumi Hoho, along with representatives of their respective youth and student wings.
The July 9 sit-in protest is being billed as a crucial point of reckoning, with the committee stating it will “see the government’s action.