Dimapur Lotha Students’ Union (DLSU) has extended solidarity with the Dimapur Naga Students’ Union (DNSU)’s demand for immediate and effective implementation of Inner Line Permit in Dimapur.
DLSU president Chumnran Humtsoe and general secretary Hachillo Odyuo echoed grave concerns raised by DNSU and emphasized that the continued failure of the state government to enforce ILP constituted a direct threat to the cultural, demographic, and political future of the indigenous people of the state.
Pointing out that Dimapur has become increasingly vulnerable due to the government’s prolonged inaction, DLSU said other districts remained protected under the provisions of BEFR 1873, but Dimapur alone remained “dangerously” exposed to unregulated migration and unchecked settlement.
“This glaring exception has created a demographic imbalance that is steadily eroding indigenous rights, identity, and access to resources,” DLSU said. Stating that ILP was not a matter for bureaucratic delay or selective enforcement, the union said it was a constitutionally grounded mechanism that safeguards the rights and future of the indigenous communities under Article 371A of the Constitution.
DLSU said any failure to implement ILP in Dimapur was not only a dereliction of administrative responsibility but a betrayal of the very principles enshrined in the Constitution.
It also endorsed DNSU’s key demands including declaration and enforcement of clear, non-negotiable deadlines for non-exempt individuals to obtain ILPs. Further, DLSU supported DNSU’s stand that the cut-off year for identifying non-indigenous settlers must not exceed 1963– the year Nagaland attained statehood.
While commending DNSU for its principled and resolute stand, DLSU urged the state government to act without further delay. “To protect Dimapur is to protect the heart of Nagaland. Let no administrative excuse stand in the way of securing the future of our people,” it added.
Meanwhile, DLSU called upon all student unions, tribal councils, and CSOs in Nagaland to rise in unity and stand as one– firm, clear, and uncompromising “in defence of our land, our people, and our rights.”