Nagaland: RIIN is good; can be made simpler — Shürhozelie

Dimapur, July 15 (EMN): In a new twist to the developing story of preparing the 'Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland' (RIIN), the president of Naga People’s Front (NPF) Dr. Shürhozelie Liezietsu has suggested ‘making it simpler’ by preparing it without implicating it with any  rules or regulations for now. The veteran politician issued a press release on Monday stating that the decision to have RIIN is laudable if it can be prepared in its purest form. “But the apprehension expressed by organisations as well as individuals is that it may do more harm than good to the future generation if it is not correctly done.” According to him, main reason why implementation of ILP regulations in the state has not been successful was due to the failure of implementing agencies at various stages even if the government may have the determination to implement it strictly. “Nagas have very close attachment to our ancestral villages wherever we may be. The family, clan and community system in the villages are still highly revered by one and all. Every village has its own history. The citizens living in towns go to their respective villages once or twice a year to attend festivals or important events in order to keep the link of their ancestral history alive. Even before the advent of the British people into our land, Naga villages were self-contained and self-administered and pure republics. Naga villages can rise to the occasion any time when they are entrusted with any responsibility in the interest of the people. “I believe that the Register for Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland can best be prepared in its purest form within a short period of time by the Naga villages. The government of Nagaland should trust her own people that this exercise can be done satisfactorily only by the indigenous citizens of Nagaland themselves. Nagaland government can authorise the village authorities/councils to carry out the exercise of preparing the Register of indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland within a time frame. If that authorisation is given with clear instructions, the village authorities can arrange the rest by themselves within their jurisdiction. The villages can fix their own time for her citizens to come together to register their names,” read the statement. Though many Nagas who have migrated to towns may not have their houses in their own villages, he said, their attachment to their ancestral villages remains the same. If asked, citizens will be too happy to go to their respective villages to register their names, according to the NPF chief. “It will be in the fitness of things if the register is prepared first without implicating it with other issues even if the word 'indigenous or indigenous inhabitants' are mentioned in other rules or regulations. Once it is done, computerise it so that no change can be affected later on,” he suggested. While the village authorities could take the initiative, the students should “assist, monitor the work in every village and for which they should be authorised to be part of the exercise,” he added. After completion, the government can decide “when and where or in what sense” the register can be of use to protect the interest of the people, he said. “In doing so, government should also work out how to protect the permanent settlers of Nagaland in reference to 1963 E/R (electoral roll). The government must ensure to protect the interest of the minority groups in Nagaland in the best possible manner. “There is no point for the Nagas from other areas other than the Nagaland state to have any doubt or fear for it. Naga villages wherever it may be, can take up this exercise for its own record any time even without directive from elsewhere if the village authorities so decide,” he stated.