Modification of Arunachal ST list is a blow for NSCN (I-M)

Shubhadeep Choudhury
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 5

At a time when the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isaac-Muivah) is protesting over what it terms as the Government of India’s “silence” on the agreement signed six years ago, the armed separatist group has been inflicted a fresh blow with the passing of a bill in the Rajya Sabha that will pave the way for denial of the existence of Nagas in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2021 passed by Rajya Sabha on Thursday to modify the list of Scheduled Tribes in Arunachal Pradesh would undermine the demand of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isaac – Muivah) group for bringing all Naga inhabited areas of the country under one unit to be called the “Nagalim”.

The proposed Nagalim, or Greater Nagaland, is supposed to comprise Naga inhabited areas of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh also besides Nagaland.

The bill unanimously passed by the Rajya Sabha today will result in the removal of the reference “any Naga tribes” from the ST list of Arunachal Pradesh and replace it with the specific names of Nocte, Tangsa, Tutsa and Wancho tribes.

The formula could be also found attractive by Assam and Manipur, two states with a significant number of people known as the Nagas.

Arunachal politicians have always been demanding modification of the ST list of the state to remove the “any Naga tribe” category and replace it with the specific names of the tribes. Senior Arunachal Pradesh Congress leader and former union minister Ninong Ering welcomed the step, saying it would benefit the youths of communities.

“Youths belonging to these tribes face difficulties while taking the UPSC and other central services examination because the specific names of the tribes were not included in the schedule. I am happy that the problem is being addressed finally”, Ering said while speaking to this reporter over the phone.

KG Kenye of the Naga Peoples Front (NPF), the lone representative of Nagaland in Rajya Sabha, did not take part in the discussion over the bill. Calls made to his mobile phone also went unanswered.

The Nagalim map the NSCN (IM) had released sometime back included Tirap, Changlang, Longding, Anjaw, Lohit and Namsai districts of Arunachal Pradesh.

“We are aware of the NSCN (IM)'s vision of Nagalim or Greater Nagaland, but there are no Nagas in Arunachal Pradesh. All the tribes inhabiting the State are Arunachalese”, All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union (AAPSU) general secretary Tobom Dai said.

The NSCN (I-M) recently called for a 12-hour shutdown in Naga inhabited areas to protest against the “non-fulfilment” of the Peace Accord signed in 2015.