DIMAPUR, AUGUST 27 (MExN): The Naga International Support Center (NISC), in a press release, has appealed to the Government of India (GOI) to “recognize and uphold the rights of the Indigenous People of the North East.” The influx of illegal immigrants, which has led to building tension, has either been ignored, denied and/or orchestrated by the responsible local and national Governments. “These authorities are accountable for the creation of conflicts which led to disaster,” stated the release, asking the GOI to protect the indigenous peoples of the North East by stopping outsider encroachment on indigenous land.
The release categorically stated that before, and certainly after, the clashes between the Boros of Assam and illegal immigrants, people of the Northeast in mainland India were threatened and targeted; as a result thousands fled cities like Pune and Bangalore. Indians of the Northeast who work and travel have became dangerous strangers. In their homeland they are treated like third class citizens; they lose their land to newcomers from other states of India or to immigrants from neighbouring countries like Nepal, Burma and Bangladesh.
NISC reiterated that having been marginalized for decades, Indigenous Peoples like the Boro, Garo, Khasi, Naga and many others will not tolerate this abuse any longer, will stand up to demand eviction of encroachers regardless of where they come from, and hold all those in power accountable. In this regard, NISC quoted Joel Kath of the Naga Council Dimapur, whose group has said it will identify “illegal Bangladeshis”, as saying, “We have nothing against anybody’s religion but we cannot tolerate illegal settlers who are encroaching on our land and resources.”
NISC has appealed to the Government of India “to recognize and uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples of the Northeast, to do justice to the peoples of the Northeast in accordance to the laws of the land, to instruct the 7 State Governments to do justice to the Indigenous Peoples, to protect its Indigenous people in the Northeast and in mainland India, to finally stop and manage encroachment of outsiders on Indigenous peoples lands and to defuse the tension and address this issue at the earliest.”
