GUWAHATI: The Nagaland government has decided to hold a consultative meeting on July 17 to discuss the ongoing ‘Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland’ (RIIN).
The decision was made as several influential tribal bodies and major insurgent group National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) slammed the government on the exercise.
Official sources said RIIN was set in motion on July 10 with a view to streamline the system of issuance of indigenous inhabitant certificates and also maintain a record of such inhabitants.
“The concerns and observations expressed by different sections is a welcome development as such type of approach is the basis of any democratic society,” an official statement said.
It added: “The state government is of the clear opinion that the exercise needs consultations and deliberations with participation from all sections and stakeholders”.
The government assured that the process would involve civil society and citizenry of the state and that no decision that is discriminatory or in contravention of the interest of people or any community would be undertaken. The Naga Hoho said RIIN would divide the Nagas.
The NSCN-IM said, “All Nagas are indigenous in their ancestral homeland which is contiguous… The Nagas do not and will not accept their division by imposed artificial state and international boundaries”.
A lot of Manipuri Nagas, settled here suspected that the government was trying to cause a rift between the two groups.