The Nagaland Medical Students’ Association (NMSA) has announced a peaceful agitation on September 1, 2025, opposing the state government’s move to regularise 280 contractual COVID-19 appointees through a notification by the Department of Health and Family Welfare on August 18, 2025.
NMSA stated that the agitation will begin at 9:30 AM with a gathering at the Secretariat Bus Stand. Participants will then proceed in a procession to the Department of Health and Family Welfare where the peaceful demonstration will be held.
The association has appealed to student bodies, civil society organisations and right-thinking citizens to join the protest in solidarity. It has also requested organisations and groups to send representatives to deliver solidarity speeches during the programme.
In its statement, NMSA demanded the immediate revocation of the government notification dated 18 August 2025 and called for all sanctioned posts to be requisitioned to the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC) and the Nagaland Staff Selection Board (NSSB). It stressed that appointments must be made through open advertisement, written examinations and viva voce in accordance with established service rules.
Describing the regularisation order as unjust and discriminatory, NMSA asserted that the protest is not only for the rights of medical students but also for “the future of fairness, merit, and equal opportunity in Nagaland.” The association urged the people of Nagaland to unite, saying “It is now or never.”