Latest news with #KonyakNagas
New Indian Express
23-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
As Assam eviction drive continues, Naga groups worry over influx of displaced people into Nagaland
GUWAHATI: The eviction drives in Assam have left the Nagas worried about a possible influx of the displaced people into Nagaland. The Konyak Students' Union, apex student body of Konyak Nagas in Nagaland, on July 23, directed its federating units, especially in Tizit and Naginimora areas, to deploy 100 volunteers daily to every entry point of Mon district. 'The volunteers are tasked with checking all non-locals entering Mon district to ensure they are carrying valid ILP (Inner Line Permit) and proper documentation,' the students' organisation said in a notification. An offshoot of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation of 1873, the ILP is an official document that an Indian citizen is required to carry while visiting the 'protected' states of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh for a short period.
DW
10-06-2025
- General
- DW
Nagaland's Konyak tribe rethinks tradition to save wildlife – DW – 06/10/2025
Traditional hunting and slash-and-burn practices were emptying the forests of Nagaland, but one village has become a model for conservation. In the remote village of Changlangshu, deep in the hills of Nagaland, a quiet transformation is underway. Home to the Konyak Nagas—once proud traditional hunters—this secluded community is rewriting its relationship with nature. For generations, hunting was a way of life, passed down through families like that of Wanmai Konyak. But as the forests grew silent and wildlife vanished, Wanmai began to question the legacy he inherited. A New Vision for the Forest Inspired by a visit to a Himalayan village practicing conservation, Wanmai returned home with a mission. He formed a biodiversity management committee and led efforts to restore three forest patches where birds like the Great Hornbill once thrived. Hunting was banned in these areas, and over 3,000 saplings were planted. While traditional slash-and-burn farming, or jhum, continues around the site, the restoration zone remains protected. The initiative has sparked a cultural shift—introducing the concept of conservation to a community where it was once unknown. Today, the restoration site is more than a forest—it's a classroom. Young educators like H. Eangba teach children to observe and appreciate the life within a single tree. Students become volunteers, nurturing saplings and learning to see the forest not as a hunting ground, but as a living ecosystem. Cultural ecologist Nayantara Siruguri is helping integrate local language and customs into environmental education, ensuring the message resonates deeply. Though hunting still occurs, it's decreasing among the younger generation. Wanmai, once a hunter himself, now dreams of seeing pangolins, civets, and wild cats return. In Changlangshu, the seeds of change have been planted—and a new generation is growing up not as hunters, but as stewards of the wild.
