Naga Indigenous: Minority-in-waiting Generation

I was delighted to read the news report, captioned ‘Centre has directed states to deport illegal immigrants’ published by local dailies on August 13, 2017. It’s more than a month now and I believe our Government is already in receipt of this letter as it was reported in the media that “Ministry of Home Affairs has written to all states to identify illegal immigrants and deport them”. Nagaland belongs to us because we are indigenous by birth. The question is, “Are we still safe in our own land like our forefathers’ generation?”  Sadly, there is a serious threat to traditional land owners in their own land and I call it Minority-in-waiting Generation. Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese explorer was the first European who came to India in search of trade prospect in 1498. Through this the Europeans discovered the sea route to India. Many French and Dutch started entering India for trade and the British was the last to arrive. Initially the British were engaged in cotton, silk, indigo dye, salt, tea and opium trades. But as their business flourished, they became reluctant to leave India. Later, they built an empire in India (for more trade and tax, which they sent to England making it the most powerful kingdom). They came in 1600 as a trading company and monopolized the whole market of India. After the Indian Revolt of 1857, the British finally brought India directly under the Crown from 1858 till 1947. Remember they first came as mere traders. Can we zoom into our present situation for a closer view here? We already have lakhs of unexpected population. I had an opportunity to sit with different non-Naga communities in Dimapur. They said many veteran businessmen have left Nagaland due to multiple reasons. Sadly, those who left were genuine Indians. If so, which community has taken control over trade and commerce in Nagaland? We have thousands of shops which have increased throughout the state but the sad reality is it is not because the Nagas started actively taking up entrepreneurship. Then where is the money flowing to? It is never circulated amongst the Nagas. Now that their businesses have prospered in manifold, do we think they will ever leave Nagaland? To those who have certain misconceptions about Survival Nagaland (SN) movement, please be clear on this. The term ‘illegal immigrant’ is self explanatory. Illegal means illegal. SN is not against any religion, community, nationality, caste or breed. Any genuine Indian citizen can run businesses in Nagaland or in any part of the country. Who doesn’t need cheap labour? We definitely need both skilled and unskilled labour for the progress of the state. But the bottom-line is, stay in Nagaland with valid documents. If documents are procured, cross checking by the authorities should be mandatory to rule out any form of forgery. The Assam Government stated last year that when documents for NRC application were scrutinized, they detected an unspecified number of Birth Certificates with Nagaland origin. The Birth Certificates issued by Nagaland state machinery raised eyebrows when it was submitted to the Assam Government by the residents of lower Assam districts like Karimganj, Barpeta, Moriagaon, and Nagaon in order to procure NRC. Therefore, the documents were recommended to be sent to Nagaland for authentication. Illegal immigrant simply means a foreigner residing in another country without having any valid documents. Muslims have the pathetic habit of mixing every issue with religion. They always talk about brotherhood and whatever hood whenever there is a talk of deportation. Look at Malaysia, the country wouldn’t carry out the flush out mission against illegal immigrants if the subject had religious concern because most of the immigrants are from the Southern Philippines, Myanmar, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Malaysia started the crackdown on illegal immigrants in 2014 but none of the Islamic terror groups threatened the Malaysian Government, Malaysia being a Muslim country. But a series of serious fundamentalist’s threat started the moment Assam geared up with the same road map, the prime reason said to be ‘brotherhood’. How on earth could people connect brotherhood and illegal immigrants when they are totally two different subjects? To mention few instances, illegal immigration in Europe is on a sharp rise as reported by The Guardian. Illegal immigrants in UK soared to lakhs as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Illegal immigrants outnumbered unemployed Americans as reported by The Washington Free Beacon. But they have strategized different steps apart from the legislated laws and are not dead to this issue as we are. At the moment, Myanmar is burning with Rohingya issue generally referred to as “Bengalis or illegal immigrants from Bangladesh”. As per media reports, the Burmese had earlier accepted them and granted citizenship to thousands of them but now the Government is reported to have declared that they cannot accommodate anymore migrants. Interestingly, Rohingyas have outnumbered the population of Rakhine natives in the Rakhine state of Burma. They have forgotten the Burmese’s generosity and hospitality and now they want to kick out the Rakhine locals from the Rakhine state. Sources said Rohingyas want to make Rakhine state as their homeland, claiming that they are the native people. They have taken up arms for this fight and have been trained by some terrorist outfits (brotherhood). We have seen what the UN or the Human Rights Group had to grumble about Aung San Suu Kyi on Rohingya refugee crisis. But people should be practical, she is a true daughter of the soil hence, would go any extent to save the land and the people. Burma as a nation should survive rather than to become extinct. Today’s world is fighting the battle of illegal immigrants next to the war on terrorism. Nagaland is no exception. You ask any Bangla speaking businessman in Dimapur, “apuni ki manu ase?” And the reply you would get is, “moi Muslim ase?” Come on, just say your community or nationality. Nobody asked you about your religion. But do we Nagas ever read in between the lines? Don’t you think the same brotherhood talk would re-surface in Nagaland as and when we prepare to deport them? Do we believe they will be grateful for our generosity and hospitality? Hey wait! Temporary resident is miles apart from Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) if you have one. President Donald Trump has rightly said “immigration is a privilege, not a right”. Height of pathetic scenario is when we witness the Nagas’ addiction of Miya BACHA adoption finally revealing itself when they end up committing heinous crimes as they grow up. The media publishes the name you gave, your name as a criminal’s father, your family name and the village. Do you even feel ashamed of getting this free criminal celebrity status? How about some NPG faction enrolling suspected illegal immigrants? Why do you recruit them in national service? What share do they have in the fight for the Naga Sovereignty? What a patriotic and visionary exhibit! This is nothing but a national shame. Look at how our neighboring Assam is doing the best she could to prevent from becoming another Tripura. They have chosen NRC to identify illegal immigrants. National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a list of Indian citizens documented across the country in 1951 but it was said to be based on the census of that year only and no revision done thereafter. Assam is the first state in India to update NRC due to growing concerns of illegal immigrants mostly from Bangladesh. For inclusion in NRC, Assam Government stated that those whose names were in the 1951 NRC or in any of the electoral rolls up to the midnight of March 24, 1971 and their descendants. If the individual’s name is not on any of these lists, a person can produce any of the documents dated up to March 24, 1971 such as land records, citizenship certificate, refugee registration certificate, birth certificate and educational certificate (March 25, 1971 was when Bangladesh Liberation War started). Census India 2011 data revealed an increase of 24% Muslim population in the country. One of the suspected reasons of the abnormal growth rate of 24% could be due to continuous inflow of illegal immigrants. Particularly in Assam state, about 10 to 12 districts have been covered by Bangla speaking people. Census 2011 reported that out of 27 districts, 8 of these districts registered a rise in the decadal population growth rate ranging from 20% to 24%. The population growth of 24% is much higher than the national average of 18%. When we compare the length and breadth of Assam state with that of Nagaland, a tiny state like ours would be swallowed in no time. Manipur and Meghalaya wish to come on the same scale but they are not as fortunate as Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. We are protected by Law, the BEFR Act 1783 and so the RAP & ILP applies. Inspite of being equipped with tools such as these, it is so sad that Nagaland Government cannot even protect the land and its people. We talk about the electoral roll of first Nagaland assembly election prepared in 1963 as a base where the descendants of those enrolled are considered legal citizens. We never know how many manipulated descendants have increased by now through affidavit papers; remember illegal people are wiser than we are. I mean the level of preparedness. To rent out space and buildings, landlords prefer Miyas over Nagas. I understand our people’s shortcomings (Naga tenants) but still blood is thicker than water. Buildings mostly belong to politicians, officers, contractors, public leaders, Municipal & Town Councils, church and community buildings. I should say the key is in your hands. If you foresee the dangerous minority-in-waiting generation, kindly insist on the must-have documents. Many forgery cases have been detected in the past, therefore, please take trouble to cross-check with the issuing authority for authentication. A responsible house owner wouldn’t shelter unlawful non-Naga tenants. You could be the best player once the residential and commercial buildings are withdrawn from illegal immigrants. Can our Government suggest the building owners on what documents to insist? It is time for Nagaland to swallow the truth no matter how sweet or bitter the pill is. Government’s tortoise act on illegal immigrants issue shows how ignorant and irresponsible the ruling government could be. How many times should the NSF & CNTC appeal to your ministry? How many times do the pressure groups like Survival Nagaland submit representation and meet Government functionaries especially in the last few years? Have you even given a thought on SN’s appeal to bring in Dimapur district under ILP? Now that India considers Rohingya crisis as a threat to national security, what will happen to ‘No ILP Zone Dimapur’? Is it really necessary to spoon feed our Government and beg for intervention on alarming issue plaguing the state? Can we at least follow Ministry of Home Affairs’ August 13, 2017 directive “to set up a task force at district level to identify and deport illegally-staying foreign nationals”? I personally believe triumph over Flush Out Mission would be a reality only if the Government starts immediate intervention, if we stop adopting Miya children, if we stop recruiting Miya adults in national service, if we stop Miya Dada Act, if we stop employing them and most importantly if we stop sheltering them. The US, UK and European Governments had announced years back that the landlords as well as employers of illegal immigrants will be equally booked for violation of Law. Present day Nagaland Government is confined to political fight. They concentrate only on party affairs, money and power. Nagaland is sold at few hundred bucks by police personnel manning check gates. Many officers heading department considers tribal line more important than future Naga interests. HOHOs are not playing their expected roles. Tribal fights are no less with public leaders and NGOs. The last time we saw in the media about the illegal immigrants issue was when only the NSF & NTC raised concerns but no follow-up was noticed thereafter. We really need Naga unity rather than tribal card to fight this battle. History revealed that Indian rulers were not united during the 18^th century. This was one of the factors responsible for showing a bad signal to the world that our country was weak and the foreign traders eventually took over India. At this pace, doomsday is eminent and the Indigenous Nagas are the Minority-in-waiting. A land fertile for the illegal immigrants to set up base and annihilate the indigenous population who will finally end up a minority in their own land. Is this the future we want to leave behind for posterity? Vikali Shikhu Unity Village, Dimapur