Minority tribes peeved with Speaker

Indigenous Minority Tribes of Nagaland (IMTN) has expressed its unhappiness at the alleged discriminatory attitude of the State government, particularly NLA speaker, in ignoring the four indigenous recognised tribes of Nagaland for the proposed consultative meeting on Naga political issue on December 4.

In a statement issued by its president K. Lun Tungnung on Monday, IMTN reminded the NLA Speaker that the four tribes had played their role and made sacrifices for the Naga political movement since its inception– from being members of Naga Club to signing of historical documents like Simon Commission by Lenjang Kuki, “where many of the present so called stake holders tribes were not even remotely present during those days”.

IMTN said the four minority tribes were mostly inhabitants of Dimapur and present Peren district and that due to the “magnanimity” of Kachari brothers, Dimapur had become part of Nagaland even before it had attained statehood and “on their own the Kachari tribe choose to be part of Naga Hills in spite of their rich and historical evidences that they were once an independent kingdom ”.

IMTN asserted that if the present political consultation did not cover areas and lands inhabited by the Kacharis, Kukis, Garos and Karbis, especially Dimapur district of which the Kacharis were “traditional and ancestral” land owners, then it had no objection to alienation and discriminatory attitude of not being invited as stakeholders in the consultative meet. 

“… but assuming from the statement of various political leaders of both NPG groups and GOI, the areas inhabited by the four minority indigenous recognized tribes seems very much part of the negotiations by various NPGs, then the omission of these group shows the discriminatory attitude and alienation of its legitimate stakeholders in such crucial stage of our political movement,” it added.

IMTN alleged that omission of social bodies like CNTC, NTC, Senior Citizen Forum, Nagaland GB Federations and IMTN in the initial invitation for the consultative meeting showed the hollowness and discriminatory attitude to keep “sons of the soil” away from discussing issues relating to their traditional and ancestral lands and issues within their own State. 

It added that the “attempt and conspiracy” to keep away the indigenous recognised tribes of Nagaland spoke volumes of the present government’s real intent and discriminatory attitude. Urging for inclusion of the four minority tribes in the consultation process, as a solution to the Naga political issue was on the horizon, IMTN demanded that no tribe or group having a stake whether big or small, weak or strong be left out and be equally made part of the consultative meet to discuss issues affecting all in the days to come.