Nagaland Medical Students’ Association opposes non-indigenous candidate’s inclusion in NEET quota

DIMAPUR — The Nagaland Medical Students’ Association (NMSA) has expressed solidarity with Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) in opposing the candidature of a non-indigenous student under the Nagaland state quota for NEET UG (MBBS/BDS) 2025.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the association stated that applicant had listed a Kohima address owing to her father’s present posting.

However, the NMSA maintained that her domicile is Haryana and she is “neither a bona fide resident nor an indigenous inhabitant of Nagaland and does not belong to any of the recognised scheduled tribes of the state.”

The association argued that her inclusion under the state quota was “untenable and in direct violation of the very spirit of reservation policy.”

“The state quota for professional courses in Nagaland is strictly reserved for candidates who are Nagas by blood and indigenous inhabitants of the state, as provided under existing laws and policies,” it added.

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It further stated that as a resident of Haryana, the applicant was eligible for admission through her home state’s counselling process, and that availing Nagaland’s quota on the grounds of temporary residence or service postings would amount to misuse of a “highly sensitive and protective” policy.

Pointing out that Nagaland receives only about 40 to 42 MBBS seats from the central pool towards its state quota, the NMSA said the number was already insufficient for the thousands of deserving indigenous candidates in the state.

Allowing non-indigenous candidates to claim these seats would directly deprive genuine aspirants of opportunities, it added.

“This is not a mere matter of one application but a question of principle and precedent,” the association said, cautioning that unchecked practices of this nature could open the door to misuse of the reservation framework and gradually erode the rights of indigenous Nagas.

The NMSA urged the authorities to immediately disqualify the applicant from consideration under Nagaland’s state quota and to introduce stricter verification measures to prevent similar cases in the future.