Scheduled Tribe certificate issuance order meets with old challenge- implementation

KOHIMA: The Kohima Deputy Commissioner’s order directing officials not to issue Scheduled Tribe/Backward Tribe/Indigenous Inhabitant Tribe certificates to children of non-Naga fathers as well as non-Naga children adopted by Naga parents, has triggered discussion on how to implement it effectively.

To make the exercise effective, Consultant and Entrepreneur, Yanpvuo Kikon stressed on the need to leverage technology to curb possible manipulation.

Speaking to Eastern Mirror, Kikon said the government’s move is good but it should be backed by best available technology to strengthen the system.

‘In this age of digital technology, we cannot continue to rely on handwritten and paper records which can be forged, backdated, foredated and manipulated at anytime without having any record on who and when the record was edited,’ he maintained.

He added that the manual paper system can be manipulated easily compared to robust encrypted digital database.

To address the issue, he said there is a need to build a “solid digital database of only the genuine Scheduled Tribe lineage and bloodline record which is re-validated at the family, clan and village level, and maintain the generational lineage with a unique ID like Aadhaar or our own unique Naga ID”.

Kikon added that the Scheduled Tribe identity should be issued along with birth certificate of the new born by linking it from the database to his/her parents, grandparents, and great grandparents lineage.

“This is necessary to sustain indigenous demography for privileges in government sector and safeguarding pure indigenous bloodline representation at the state and local politics,” he asserted.

Speaking about the implementation of the government order at the grassroots level, Zhopo Richa, chairman of Jakhama Village Council, said the onus of effective execution lies with the village leaders.

Whether or not to implement the order effectively depends on the villages; if Nagas want to strictly follow the rules, verification has to start from the village level, he said, adding that it will be more challenging in town areas.

He said that the issue of “own brothers”, “own khel”, or “own family” should not come into play during the verification process. A village leader may have an ‘adopted son or daughter’ from other communities but that does not mean one should bear false witness, he added.

“Instead, the welfare of our future generation should be the priority,” Richa asserted.

He said people from outside Nagaland have sought for ST/Indigenous certificates but the village council does not recommend

‘A good number of Nagas from Manipur were adopted by families from the village and a lot of them have settled in the village. Yet, the village councils denied them of such facilities,’ he said, adding that residential proofs are, however, issued to permanent settlers for ‘record-sake’.

The village council chairman further pointed out that respective khel gaonburas and village council members (VCMs) carry out identification and verification process at the village level before issuing the certificates.

Sometimes, the ‘approve recommendation’ from the village level gets rejected at the DC/ADC level. In such cases, reprocessing and re-recommendatiom are done, he said, adding that they, however, issue certificates to individuals from different tribes within Nagaland if they are recommended by authorities from the place of their birth.

Helievio Solo, Chairman of Kohima Village Council, also said that authentication of individuals are normally done by the respective clans and khels in his village; the council does not endorse if not verified.

But the village was faced with challenges when it comes to adoption. There are a number of cases in the village where children including non-locals are brought up from a tender age, he said.

‘Nevertheless, the cut-off-year is 1956 in Kohima village. There is an exception to those non-locals who had settled down before that, on the condition that they have certain documents, that is, they should have their forefathers or grandparents enrolled in the electoral list in 1964. If that condition is not met, certificates cannot be issued,’ said Solo.

He added that not much precaution was taken in the past but they are strict about it now.