Immigration issue a threat to Northeast India, says Nagaland MLA

DIMAPUR — Immigration issue is a threat to the northeastern states today though it varies from state to state, said MLA Achumbemo Kikon.

He was addressing the change of guard programme of the North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) hosted by Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) at Tourist Lodge in Dimapur on Monday.

On various immigration issues in the Northeast, the MLA from Nagaland pointed out Assam’s Bangladeshi immigrants issue and how the Meteis earlier thought the Nagas were a threat to their survival but turned out to be not so.

Some leaders in Arunachal Pradesh have claimed that there are no Nagas in the state but that is completely wrong, he said, adding “we should not try to belittle one another and deny each other’s identity as it will create bad blood because history is very clear that there are Nagas in Arunachal Pradesh”.

While maintaining that immigrants coming from other areas are a threat and not the communities that have been living together, he lamented how “we create ourselves as a threat among ourselves, and that is where we are going wrong”.

He reminded that the identity of each other in the Northeast has to be protected and preserved by one another.

“If we continue to recognise each other as our own people, than it is easier to fight against ‘outsider’ immigrants and we must re-strengthen our bond of relationship,” he said.

Further, he said other communities in the Northeast should appreciate Nagas’ spirit of fighting for their rights and identity, claiming that it is one of the reasons why people from outside the region think ‘they cannot take us for granted’.

Kikon said it is the federating units that make the NESO a strong organisation and also caught the attention of the Indian government because of raising various issues in the past. He expressed hope that it will continue to raise issues confronting the Northeast people especially on immigration, identity and culture.

The people of the region had come together in the past and will continue to do so ‘because the moment they think of dividing themselves, there are bigger forces and enemies that are willing to swallow them’, he said.

“Therefore, we have to be careful in our move and also (be) bold enough to face the situation that confronts us,” he added.

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