Amid mounting calls for the scrapping of the Backward Tribe (BT) reservation policy in Nagaland, the Pochury Students’ Union (PSU) and the Zeliang Students’ Union Nagaland (ZSUN) have come out strongly against any move to dismantle or dilute the existing framework. Both unions termed such attempts as unjust, divisive, and contrary to constitutional provisions aimed at uplifting marginalised communities.
In separate press statements issued on Tuesday, the two unions rejected the recent demand by five tribal apex bodies to do away with the BT reservation system, citing underrepresentation, historical neglect, and ongoing systemic disadvantages as reasons for its continued necessity.
PSU: ‘Review is unjust; creamy layer, pocket-wise quotas irrelevant in Naga context’
The PSU argued that the proposed restructuring of the BT policy would further marginalise tribes like the Pochury, which already face significant exclusion in governance and development.
“The initial reservation in Nagaland was implemented in 1977, limited to seven backward tribes, with 25% quota for non-technical and non-gazetted posts. Over time, the quota was increased to 37%—25% for eastern Naga tribes and 12% for the other four backward tribes, including the Pochury Tribe, which was allocated 2%,” it stated.
The Pochury tribe was officially recognised in 1990 and included in the BT list in 1994. However, the revision of the 45-Point and 27-Point rosters to the 125-Point and 100-Point rosters in 2011 placed the Pochury tribe at the bottom, leading to a “sense of marginalisation and inequity.”
According to data cited by the union, the total number of Pochury government employees stands at 1,676. Of this, 780 are Village Guards (VGs) working on an honorarium basis, receiving INR 3,000 per month.
Excluding the VGs, the number of regular employees from the Pochury community is just 896—amounting to only 0.78% of the state’s total government workforce.
This, the PSU pointed out, is disproportionate to the Pochury’s population share of 1.11% in Nagaland, as per the 2011 Census.
The union maintained that such data “clearly underlines the continuing need for reservation as a tool to address historical and systemic disadvantages,” including inadequate access to education, infrastructure, and employment.
The PSU termed the introduction of a ‘creamy layer’ system and ‘pocket-wise reservation’ proposals as “absurd and irrelevant in the context of Naga society,” stating that “social and educational backwardness—not just economic criteria—must remain the key factors for reservation.” It urged the government to strengthen the existing reservation framework rather than weaken it.
ZSUN: ‘Only now has policy begun to be implemented properly’
Echoing similar concerns, the ZSUN said that while the BT policy was introduced in 1977 to uplift underrepresented communities, “recruitment processes in the past had been manipulated, overlooking reservation rosters and appointing candidates in “clear violation of the policy.”
ZSUN stated that “no effective monitoring of roster implementation was enforced” until recent interventions by the Nagaland Staff Selection Board (NSSB) and departmental recruitment boards.
While maintaining that the union was not opposed to a review of the policy, it emphasised that any such review must be grounded in data and undertaken through a comprehensive statistical study.
Citing data, ZSUN said the Zeliang tribe makes up 3.80% of the state’s population (74,877) but comprises only 3.10% (3,220) of government employees. “This is rather surprising that 4 % is being reserved for the Zeliang tribe under the BT reservation, yet we are just about 3 per cent of the total Government employees till date.”
The ZSUN also pointed out that RTI data revealed a stark underrepresentation of Zeliang employees in 15 major departments: only 18 Zeliang employees (1.35%) held Group D posts out of 1,331, and merely four Zeliang employees (1.26%) were drivers out of 316.
“Analysis of NSSB exam results since inception revealed that out of 1226 posts, 49 Zeliang candidates (4%) were selected through BT reservation and only 3 (0.24%) could be selected through unreserved category. Similarly, in NPSC (since 2010), out of 3467 posts, 120 Zeliang candidates (3.46%) were selected through BT reservation and only 22 (0.63%) could be selected through unreserved category.
“This indicates that, without BT reservation, Zeliang tribe would have got only 3 out of 1226 posts (0.24%) and 22 out of 3467 posts (0.63%) in NSSB and NPSC (since 2010) respectively,” the union stated.
The union went to state that Article 335 of the Indian Constitution underscores the need for consideration of SCs and STs in matters of appointments, ensuring inclusivity in governance.
“The five tribes opposing the current policy already benefit from central reservations under the same provisions. It is ironic that while benefiting from central quotas, they seek to dismantle state-level affirmative action, further marginalising already backward tribes,” it stated.
Additionally, the union maintained that Article 16(4) of the Indian Constitution empowers the state to reserve appointments for classes of citizens that are not adequately represented in government services.
“The reservation policy for BTs was never intended as a permanent privilege but as a temporary corrective measure to bridge historical gaps in representation. It is important to note that politically, Peren district is being represented by two MLAs only with a population of 95,219, with one MLA representing 47,609 population, whereas in some districts of the state, one MLA represents 20,000 population only approximately.”
Given the constitutional basis of affirmative action policies, the ZSUN asserted that the demand to revoke the BT reservation policy is unfounded.
