Only one cut-off year for ILP implementation in Nagaland, says JCPI

DIMAPUR — The Joint Committee for Prevention of Illegal Immigrants (JCPI) has denounced Nagaland government’s recent decision to extend Inner Line Permit (ILP) to Dimapur, Chümoukedima, and Niuland, calling it a superficial measure that fails to address the core issue of a unified cut-off year for determining indigenous inhabitants.

In a press release issued on Friday, the JCPI said that it has consistently demanded for a uniform cut-off year of December 1, 1963—Nagaland’s statehood day—for both ILP implementation and the creation of a Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN), “as the valid documentations and records are available unlike any other cut-off year which will have no locus standi.”

It also said that the date aligns with the automatic extension of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) Act of 1873 to the entire state upon achieving statehood.

The committee went on to state that the standing government from April 28, 1977, outlines three clear criteria for indigenous inhabitancy, all based on pre-statehood records: inclusion in the December 5, 1963, electoral roll; payment of house tax prior to December 1, 1963; and acquisition of property with land title (patta) before December 1, 1963.

Furthermore, the JCPI stated that the ILP regime was extended to undivided Dimapur district in 2019, “but the bone of contention was the cut off year i.e. based on 21st November 1979 as per the Notification No.LR/2-118/76.” This date, it argued, pertains to the demarcation of a “tribal belt or compact area” for development purposes and not for defining indigenous inhabitants.

It also claimed that during its consultations, non-Naga indigenous inhabitants from communities like the Kuki, Kachari, Garo, and Mikir, who are specifically affected by the cut-off date, did not raise any opposition to using Nagaland’s statehood day as the benchmark.

In this context, the JCPI dismissed the September 11 Cabinet decision to extend ILP to the three districts as “old wine in new skin”, while asserting its stance that “there cannot be two different cut off years for ILP in Nagaland.”

To bolster its argument, the committee pointed out that the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act was enacted with the rider that “sale of secured assets taken over by the banks can be sold only to Indigenous inhabitants.” This underscores the critical importance of establishing a clear and consistent definition of indigenous inhabitants, it said.

 Additionally, implementing RIIN, with the statehood date as its basis, would also streamline job reservations, land ownership rights under Article 371A, and access to various state benefits, as “identification, authentication, classification and enumeration of the Indigenous inhabitants of Nagaland can be held in transparency and honesty”, it said.

The JCPI urged the government to reconsider its stance and call for a public discourse on the contentious cut-off year issue as such a policy will affect posterity. It also urged citizens to voice their concerns and push for a decision that safeguards the interests of Nagaland’s future generations.

Also read: CAKSU, DRSU back DNSU on ILP implementation