Nagaland govt panel for NRC-like exercise

Nagaland government has set up a three-member committee to work out modalities for Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN), an NRC-like exercise, which was supposed to begin on July 10.

The move to set up the committee comes following opposition by several organisations, including the influential NSCN (IM). The commission headed by retired chief secretary Banuo Z Jamir would recommend eligibility criteria to be an indigenous inhabitant, authority to authenticate claims of being indigenous, place of registration as indigenous inhabitants, basis of claims of being indigenous, nature of documents that will be accepted as proof for being indigenous and other issue relating to implementation of RIIN including the manner in which the exercise is to be carried out, said a statement issued by the government.

The committee has been asked to work out the modalities within three months. A notification issued by the state home department on June 29 had said that the exercise to prepare the RIIN would begin on July 10 and completed within 60-days. The move had to be delayed after some organisations expressed reservations saying there was no need of such an exercise as all Nagas were indigenous, irrespective of the place they live in. Many in Nagaland including the NSCN (IM) has been demanding the unification of Naga-inhibited areas in the Northeast and neighbouring Myanmar.