The Phom People’s Council (PPC) has opposed The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 as it was against the rights of the people, terming it a threat to the very foundation of history, culture, tradition and existence.
In a statement, PPC vice president Shahsha L Phom and general secretary Hentok C Phom called upon the state government to make its stand clear at the earliest on the Act vis-à-vis Article 371(A) of the Constitution of India.
Claiming that a nation that destroys the rights of its citizen destroyed itself, they warned that if the government of the day could not stand for the rights of the tribesmen, then neither could the people stand for the government, be it Central or state, as it was the right for which it was worth defending till the last man fell.
They said Constitution of India had special provision for Nagaland under Article 371(A) whereby no Act of Parliament in respect of ownership and transfer of land and its resources would apply to the state unless the Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) decided so by a resolution.
They stated, “Our forest and land are sacred and valuable to us, from our ancestor to our children; the Mother Nature had nourished us to this days, even the beast, birds, animals, fishes and every living being. The peaceful clouds hovering over the thick forest land, the tribal woods, mountains, streams, rivers and air breath of the history of our origin, culture and tradition. The songs and colours of the birds and the roaring of the animals from our deep forest are reflected in our folk songs, dance, instruments and customs. Our ancestors were not born in India, but India was born on our ancestors’ land and so since time immemorial our Phom tribe enjoys the ownership of land and forest over our ancestors land.”
Thus, understanding from the historical facts, they pointed out that land holding system in Nagaland was entirely different from the rest of the country as here the land and forest were traditionally owned by indigenous inhabitants who enjoyed the ownership over them without any documents
Further, to protect the unique history of the people of Nagaland, they mentioned that Article 371(A) was inserted into Part XXI of the Constitution of India in 1962.