JCPI demands uniform benchmark for Indigenous identification
The Joint Committee for Prevention of Illegal Immigrants (JCPI) has voiced its objections to the cut-off year used in the recent extension of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) to Dimapur, Chumokedima, and Nuiland districts.
In a press release, the JCPI stated that the 11th September 2024 Cabinet decision to extend ILP to Dimapur, Chumokedima and Nuiland is “old wine in new skin” and reiterated its stand that there cannot be two different cut-off years for ILP in Nagaland.
The JCPI said that it has been spearheading the issue of illegal immigration since the aftermath of the NRC in Assam and the CAA in the country, amidst unfolding socio-political scenarios, and that the Nagaland government should call for a public discourse on the controversial cutoff year.
This policy of public governance will affect posterity, and it is the duty of every right-thinking bona fide citizen of Nagaland to speak out against the detrimental actions of the government, it said. JCPI therefore appealed to the Government of Nagaland to review its decision in the larger interest of its citizens.
Formed in 2018 by tribal apex bodies and civil society organizations in Nagaland, the JCPI has consistently advocated for the extension of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) Act 1873 and the ILP to (undivided) Dimapur, citing its historical relevance since Nagaland’s statehood on December 1, 1963.
The committee argues that the cutoff year for identifying indigenous inhabitants should align with this date, as it is supported by valid documentation and historical records.
“JCPI has been steadfast in demanding the extension of BEFR Act 1873/ILP to Dimapur as the said Act automatically covers the entire State since its statehood day, ie, 1st December, 1963. It is not without reason that JCPI has been also demanding that the cut off year for identification of indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland should be the same year of statehood as the valid documentations and records are available unlike any other cutoff year which will have no locus standi,” it stated.
According to the JCPI, the criteria for indigenous status outlined in the Standing Government Notification No. AR8/8/76 Kohima dated April 28, 1977, includes entry in the electoral roll by December 5, 1963; payment of house tax before December 1, 1963; and acquisition of property and patta prior to the statehood date.
The committee asserted that the previous extension of the ILP to undivided Dimapur district on 9 December 2019 used a cutoff year of November 21, 1979, based on a notification intended for development activities rather than for indigenous identification.
“The bone of contention was the cut off year ie based on 21st November 1979 as per the Notification NO.LR/2-118/76 which constituted a “Tribal Belt or compact area” out of mostly wasteland within the tribal area mainly for development activities and not for identification of indigenous people,” JCPI stated.
JCPI further said that, as per the consultative meetings held by the JCPI with the affected ‘area-specific’ non-Naga indigenous inhabitants from the Kuki, Kachari, Garo, and Mikir communities, no objections were raised regarding the use of the statehood day as the cut-off year.
The JCPI views the Cabinet’s decision on September 11, 2024, as failing to address the fundamental issue of the cut-off year. They argue that having different cut-off years for ILP implementation is problematic and inconsistent.
The JCPI said that, with the implementation of the SARFAESI Act in Nagaland since December 10, 2021, which stipulates that ‘the sale of secured assets taken over by banks’ can only be made to indigenous inhabitants, the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) is also equally important. This register is crucial for job reservations, protection of tribal land ownership under Article 371A, and for many other privileges and benefits within the state of Nagaland, as per the JCPI.
The committee stressed that the successful implementation of the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) and related policies depend on this uniform benchmark, as established by the statehood date, “whereby identification, authentication, classification and enumeration of the indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland can be held in all transparent and honesty.”