Rallies held in Nagaland over delay in review of job reservation policy

Hindustan Times

7 days ago

Kohima: Five major Naga tribes took out rallies across eight districts in Nagaland on Thursday against the state government's inaction to review the 50 years-old job reservation policy for seven backward tribes.
The five tribes --- Angami, Ao, Lotha, Sumi and Rengma --- organised rallies in the capital Kohima, Mokokchung, Wokha, Zunheboto, Tseminyu, Chümoukedima, Niuland and the state's commercial hub Dimapur. The committee of five tribes has demanded a comprehensive review and reformation to the Nagaland job Reservation Policy for Backward Tribes to ensure that all tribes get fair opportunities in the government sector.
The state government has convened a meeting with the representatives of the five aggrieved tribal bodies and their joint committee members on June 3. 'We welcome the invitation by the state government and hope that core issues raised by us will be addressed,' secretary of the committee GK Zhimomi said.
Earlier this month, the Nagaland government said that it could not proceed with a review of the job reservation policy without accurate and up-to-date population data, emphasising that any such move must be based on the national census figures.
The Nagaland job reservation policy for backward tribes (BTs) was introduced in 1977, reserving 25% of the total vacancies in non-technical and non-gazetted posts reserved for 'seven BTs deemed to be educationally and economically very backward' and having minimal representation in public services. This reservation was initially intended to last for 10 years. However, in 1987, the policy was not reviewed, and in 1989, the state government issued an order stating that the policy would continue until further notice.
Over the years, the policy remained in place but both the number of BTs and the reservation quota increased. Currently, job reservations for BTs in the government sector stand at 37%—with 25% allocated to the seven tribes of the eastern Nagaland bloc and 12% to four other backward tribes.
The committee has expressed the view that maintaining an indefinite reservation system without proper review poses a serious risk of economic imbalance and discrimination among the Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Nagaland, potentially leading to greater inequality.
The committee submitted a representation to the Neiphiu Rio-led state government in September 2024, demanding either the scrapping of the quota policy or the reservation of the remaining unreserved quota exclusively for the five non-BT tribes, which constitute nearly 55% of the ST population in Nagaland. This, they argued, would ensure fair opportunities for all tribes and uphold the principles of meritocracy and equality.
The committee noted that recommendations from various committees —set up by the state government itself to review the policy—have largely been kept 'in cold storage,' with only some piecemeal implementation. It said that core issues such as the duration of reservation, internal reservations, discrimination stemming from multiple benefits and flexible options for BTs, the concept of a creamy layer, discrepancies in entry age, and backlog of reserved posts have remained unaddressed, despite repeated reminders from non-BT tribal bodies.
The five-tribe panel issued a 30-day ultimatum on April 26, which expired reportedly without any response from the state government. 'This public protest rally is organised to express our resentment against state government's indifferent attitude to our genuine demand for review of job reservation policy. While reservation policy is a constitutional act, it needs to be reviewed from time to time. Certain percentage of reservation for backward tribes is legitimate, but reservation for each backward tribe is demeaning the merit of deserving candidates,' Angami Public Organisation in Kohima vice-president Vikehielie Victor said.
An ultimatum was sent to the chief secretary through the district deputy commissioners, stating that the five tribes' bodies plan to intensify their phase-wise agitation in various forms until the state government addresses their grievances.