7 months ago
2
The communicative truthful far: On April 26, an organisation of 5 “advanced” tribes successful Nagaland acceptable the Neiphiu Rio-led authorities a 30-day deadline to revise the occupation preservation argumentation for the State’s Backward Tribes (BTs). The authorities formed a sheet connected September 22 to analyse the occupation quota policy, but the five-tribe assemblage recovered responsibility with its nomenclature.
What is the occupation preservation policy?
Almost 4 years aft it attained statehood successful December 1963, Nagaland introduced a argumentation to reserve 80% of State authorities jobs for each indigenous Scheduled Tribes. The authorities identified 11 BTs successful 1977 and apportioned for them what came to beryllium known arsenic “reservation wrong a reservation”. In August 2024, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio told the 60-member Nagaland Assembly that 37% of non-technical and non-gazetted jobs are presently reserved for BTs. He said this quota is divided into 25% for 7 BTs successful eastbound Nagaland comprising six districts — Kiphire, Longleng, Mon, Noklak, Shamator, and Tuensang — and 12% for the remaining 4 BTs. An April 2011 notification from the State’s Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department said the Chakhesang and Pochury tribes inhabiting Phek territory volition beryllium clubbed unneurotic for fractional the 12%, portion the Zeliang people volition person 4% of authorities jobs reserved for them, and the remaining 2% volition beryllium reserved for the Sumi people successful Kiphire district. Beyond Kiphire, the Sumis are among the 5 non-BT communities on with the Angamis, Aos, Lothas, and Rengmas.
Why bash the tribes privation this argumentation revised?
In September 2024, the Five Tribes Committee connected Review of Reservation Policy (CoRRP) submitted a memorandum to the State government, requesting an appraisal of the occupation quota system. The members of this committee are representatives of the apex societal bodies of each of these 5 tribes. The committee argued that the argumentation was applicable successful 1977, but it nary longer reflects the prevailing socio-economic and acquisition scenery of the State. Its secretary, G.K. Zhimomi, said that the CoRRP’s halfway request was to “either scrap the preservation argumentation altogether oregon allocate the remaining unreserved (20%) quota to the 5 tribes.” He besides said the authorities went backmost connected a determination to reappraisal the argumentation successful 1987 and issued an bid 2 years later, stating that the quota slabs would proceed until further notice. The CoRRP acceptable its archetypal 30-day deadline connected April 26 for the authorities to enactment connected its request for a review. “We are not against immoderate people benefiting from the preservation policy. A reappraisal of this 48-year-old argumentation is agelong overdue due to the fact that of the vastly antithetic script now,” they said.
How did the authorities respond?
Reacting to the CoRRP’s demand, pupil and societal organisations of the BTs listed arsenic beneficiaries of the occupation quota opposed immoderate imaginable revision, arguing that the dilution of the existent argumentation would disproportionately harm the State’s marginalised communities. Wary of a backlash from these tribes, the authorities chose to tread carefully. The CoRRP launched its archetypal signifier of agitation aft the expiry of its 30-day ultimatum. It was suspended aft Deputy Chief Minister Yanthungo Patton assured them that a committee to reappraisal the argumentation would beryllium constituted by June 17. However, Mr. Rio remarked that immoderate important administrative reforms, including those related to reservations oregon delimitation, should beryllium undertaken lone aft the nationalist Census workout scheduled for 2027. On August 6, the State Cabinet approved the constitution of a seven-member Job Reservation Commission to beryllium headed by a retired IAS serviceman of the Nagaland cadre. The pursuing day, authorities spokesperson and Minister K.G. Kenye cited authoritative information to assertion that the 5 non-BT tribes clasp 64% of the authorities jobs portion the BT tribes clasp 34%. He indicated that the presumption quo needed to beryllium maintained.
Why does the stalemate continue?
The CoRRP criticised the archetypal committee announced successful August arsenic it accommodated a subordinate each from the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation, the Central Nagaland Tribes Council, and the Tenyimi Union Nagaland. They insisted that this committee lacked neutrality arsenic these 3 organisations represented the BTs wholly oregon partially. The CoRRP besides recovered responsibility with the 2nd committee the authorities announced connected September 22. They said that the authorities deviated from an statement to sanction this sheet ‘Job Reservation Commission’ alternatively of ‘Reservation Review Commission’, frankincense implying it was not superior astir reviewing the existing quota system. The quality implicit the panel’s nomenclature is yet to beryllium resolved.
