NEIPF, NIPF press for law to safeguard indigenous rights

Representatives of the North East Indigenous People’s Forum (NEIPF) and the Nagaland Indigenous People’s Forum (NIPF) met NPF Legislature Party Leader Kuzholuzo (Azo) Nienu on Wednesday and submitted a copy of the Jokai Declaration.

They also urged him to initiate deliberations to enact a suitable law to open a Department of Indigenous Affairs in Nagaland. NEIPF vice-chairman and NIPF adviser Khehoto Swu and NEIPF secretary general N Ibungochoubi apprised Azo of the outcome of the third general conference of the NEIPF held in Jokai Bon Koibartta Gaon, Dibrugarh with the Indigenous Forum, Assam on March 22.

The forums informed Azo that the general conference adopted a declaration committing to the socio-cultural, economic and political interdependence of the people, and unity of the region premised on the imminent multi-dimensional threats, particularly the continuous influx of immigrants, and predatory government and corporate aggressions.

They said the participants of the conference called for a collective resistance for survival, unanimously resolving to recommend the state chapters to create conditions for a harmonious co-existence among the people for genuine peace by transcending exclusive ideologies with the vision of inter-dependent existence of the indigenous people of the region.

Later, speaking to Nagaland Post, the NEIPF and NIPF leaders mentioned that they urged the MLA to secure the future generations of indigenous people by documenting their disaggregated database, to deliberate upon the issues for safeguarding the rights and interests of the indigenous people of the region, and enact a suitable law to open a Department on Indigenous Affairs as resolved at the conference.

Ibungochoubi elaborated, “We will continue to meet members of all the legislative assemblies of the North Eastern states to collectively work to save the indigenous people from the continuous influx of illegal immigrants, which is changing the demographic profile of the region.”

Highlighting the grievances and imminent threat to the survival of the indigenous people by the gradual and continuous influx of illegal immigrants, Swu said the NEIPF had earlier submitted memorandum to members of Parliament of the North Eastern region.