Key Points

The five tribes CORRP on Wednesday “partially welcomed” the state government’s decision to constitute a commission for examining the decades-old job reservation policy.

The Naga body in a statement said that they partially welcome the state government notification issued on September 22 constituting the Reservation Commission though it was delayed for more than 100 days ever since the state Cabinet first agreed in principle to constitute a Commission on June 12 this year.

The five Tribes CORRP Member Secretary G.K. Zhimomi and Convenor Tesinlo Semy in a joint statement said that, however, the notification which mentions Job Reservation Commission has deviated from the agreed points of June 3 meeting - between state government and 5 Tribes CoRRP and also from the state cabinet announcement on August 6 about setting up of Reservation Review Commission.

“We urge the state government to rectify the nomenclature as Reservation Review Commission along with terms of reference in accordance with the decision of the June 3 meeting to interlink and review both reservation in jobs and technical and professional seats,” the statement said.

It said that pending rectification by the state government, the indefinite shutdown in eight districts from October 1 will continue.

A senior government official earlier said that a Job Reservation Commission was constituted on Monday (September 22) to examine and submit a report on reservation policy in government employment and to make recommendations for a suitable policy governing equitable representation of various tribes of the state in government employment.

Retired IAS officer R. Ramakrishnan will be the Chairman of the five-member commission. The five-tribe CoRRP, representing the Ao, Angami, Lotha, Rengma, and Sumi tribes, set an ultimatum to the state government to resolve their demands.

“If the government fails to respond to our demands within September 30 we would observe total shut-down from October 1 in eight districts inhabited by five Naga tribes – Kohima, Dimapur, Mokokchung, Wokha, Niuland, Chumoukedima, Tseminyu and Zunheboto,” Zhimomi said.

CoRRP has held various agitations and protests since April this year and has declared non-cooperation with the government and also boycotted the Independence Day celebrations on August 15.

The Naga body claimed that the job reservation policy, which has been in place for the past 48 years (since 1977), no longer reflects the current socio-economic and educational realities of the various communities in Nagaland.

In support of their demand, the Naga bodies organised two phases of agitation – first on May 29 in the form of protest rallies across multiple district headquarters and in the second phase on July 9, thousands of people from the five Naga tribes attired in traditional dresses staged a protest outside the Civil Secretariat in Kohima.

Primarily, 25 per cent reservation was allocated for seven tribes in non-technical and non-gazetted posts for 10 years. These tribes were designated as ‘backward’ based on educational and economic disadvantages, and limited representation in state services.

Over the years, the reservation has increased to 37 per cent, comprising 25 per cent for seven Eastern Nagaland backward tribes and 12 per cent for four other backward tribes of the state.

- IANS