Nagaland group announces stir against job quota for backward tribes
An organisation of five 'advanced' tribes in Nagaland has announced a movement against the State government's failure to respond to its 30-day deadline to review its job reservation policy for backward tribes.
On April 26, the Five Tribes Committee Review of Reservation Policy served the ultimatum to the Neiphiu Rio-led government, demanding immediate revision of the job quota for the State's backward tribes. The deadline expires on May 25.
The five tribes are Angami, Ao, Lotha, Rengma, and Sumi. The committee represents their respective apex bodies — the Angami Public Organisation, Ao Senden, Lotha Hoho, Rengma Hoho, and Sumi Hoho.
After a consultative meeting with these five apex bodies and other community-based organisations at Chumoukedima on Saturday (May 24, 2025), the committee decided to protest the government's silence on the matter peacefully and in phases.
'Our core demand is to either scrap the reservation policy altogether or allocate the remaining unreserved quota to the five tribes,' the committee's secretary, G.K. Zhimomi, said.
He said the committee was not against any tribe benefiting from the reservation policy. 'A review of this 48-year-old policy is long overdue because of the vastly different scenario now,' he added.
Mr. Zhimomi said the government failed to review the policy in 1987 and issued an order in 1989, stating that the reservation would continue until further notice.
The committee's 30-day ultimatum was a follow-up of the memorandum it submitted to the State government on September 20, 2024, requesting a review of the job quota policy.
Meanwhile, the student bodies of three communities recognised as Backward Tribes (BTs) have opposed the five-tribe committee's demand, insisting that diluting the current policy would affect the marginalised communities. These bodies are the Chakhesang Students' Union, Zeliang Students' Union, and Pochury Students' Union.
The three unions said the reservation policy 'has been a cornerstone for addressing socio-economic inequalities' faced by the BTs, and diluting or scrapping it would deprive the beneficiary communities of job opportunities.
In August 2024, Chief Minister Rio told the 60-member Nagaland Assembly that the reservation for the BTs began in 1977 and 37% of the non-technical and non-gazetted jobs are currently reserved for them. The quota is divided into 25% for seven Eastern Nagaland BTs and 12% for four other BTs.
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