Tikhir recognized as separate Naga tribe
Correspondent
In a significant development, the State cabinet on Wednesday approved the creation of Shamator district and also granted recognition of Tikhir as a separate Naga Tribe.
With this, Shamator has become the 16th district of the State and with Tikhirs being recognised as a separate tribe, the State will now have 17 officially recognized tribes.
The cabinet’s decision was preceded by a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between representatives of Yimkhiung and Tikhir tribes in the presence of principal secretary to chief minister KD Vizo, principal secretary (home) Abhijit Sinha and commissioner Nagaland Rovilatuo Mor.
YTC president Throngso Yimkhiung, YGB president K Lakiumong and YAA president Achung Jangleh signed the MoU on behalf of Yimkhiung tribe, while TTC president Topan K Tikhir, TTC general secretary W Tothong Philip and TTC adviser Kiusumong Tikhir signed the MoU on behalf of the Tikhir tribe.
The MoU mentions that no coercive measure whatsoever will be adopted by any of the two tribes to ensure retention or reversion of any member of Tikhir community to Yimkhiung community or any member of Yimkhiung community to Tikhir community.
It is also very specific that every member of Tikhir or Yimkhiung community shall have the freedom to choose the community to which he or she belongs, wherever he or she may be.
The MoU further states that in case of any dispute among members of the two tribes, it will be localised and resolved through customary laws and practices and status quo will be maintained.
According to Home Commissioner Abhijit Sinha, after the signing of the MoU and on the invitation of the cabinet, the presidents of YTC and TTC along with other tribal representatives met the cabinet and shared about the agreement reached between them.
The cabinet also took note of the resolutions adopted in the joint consultative meeting held between the YTC and TTC on January 13 wherein both sides had unanimously agreed to support the upgradation of Shamator sub-division to a full-fledged district and YTC agreeing to Tikhirs being recognized as a separate Naga tribe, Sinha said.
Meanwhile, speaking to Nagaland Post, TTC adviser Joseph Kius Tikhir, who attended the Wednesday’s meeting, said at the initiative of the State government, both YTC and TTC came to an amicable understanding to maintain and respect one another in future. He also said that both the tribes agreed to live and co-exist together peacefully and to help one another.
The adviser remarked that Tikhirs’ struggle for being recognised as a separate tribe spanned 40 years. He also appreciated the state government led by chief minister Neiphiu Rio and deputy chief minister Y Patton for resolving the long-pending issue.
It may be recalled that on December 18 last year, the State cabinet had agreed in principle to grant the status of district to Shamator. However, it was learnt that creation of a separate district (Shamator) would be possible only if different tribes inhabiting the sub-division agreed on the matter.
Subsequently, the State cabinet on January 7 decided to constitute a “third party committee” to deliberate/consult on the issue of creation of Shamator district.
As reported in this newspaper, during the consultative meeting convened by commissioner, Nagaland on January 13, both the tribes– Yimkhungs and Tikhirs – agreed not to claim Shamator as an exclusive Yimkhiung or Tikhir district, and instead shared by both.
The meeting also recommended recognising Tikhirs as an official tribe of Nagaland.
The consultative meeting was attended by Shamator-Chessore legislator S Keoshu, principal secretary to chief minister KD Vizo, principal secretary (home) Abhijit Sinha, convener of 14 Tribes of Nagaland KT Vilie and 10 representatives each from Yimkhiung Tribal Council and Tikhir Tribal Council.