“We are not talking about the tribe but of 1313 individuals of Rongmei community who settled prior to 1963”
DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 12 (MExN): Nagaland GB Federation (NGBF) on Wednesday reiterated its stand that the issue of recognition of the 1313 individuals of Rongmeis community who had settled prior to 1963 in the present state of Nagaland, or immediate descendants of these settlers is indigenous to the state of Nagaland as per Government notification of 1977.
“Denying the right to this provision to those genuine individual would be unjust and also unlawful. We must also understand that the enumeration was carried out after a humongous task of records and fact-finding exercises by various committees appointed by the Government of Nagaland,” NGBF president Shaleem Konyak and general secretary Shikuto Zalipu maintained in a press statement. The Federation explained, “This list is a controlled document of the state and district administration like those Sema and Angami communities who were recognized in Manipur and hence alteration or amendments to the list with those new individuals who do not qualify the criteria are out of question.”
On the question of whether Rongmeis are a tribe or not, the Federation noted that “Rongmei” is recognized as a Tribe in the Scheduled list in Delhi, Manipur and Assam-“And with this reasoning we can rightly infer that these 1313 individual being members of Rongmei Tribe is a tribal community indigenous to the state of Nagaland.”
Further, it highlighted that “Henry Damant, political officer, Naga Hills in an official report of 1878-79 mentioned the existence of eighteen tribes but the census of 1891 recognized the following nine; viz. the Angami, the Ao, the Kabui, the Kuchcha, the Kezhama, the Lhota, the naked, the Rengma and the Sema” (Before Rongmeis were known as Kabui).
The Federation also asserted that it is a “historical fact that Rongmeis have migrated to their present homes in present day Nagaland many decades ago, they had permanently settled in Nagaland and do not have any tie with their ancestral lands. They have taken the present home in Nagaland as their permanent home. These indigenous Rongmeis had been given the status of an Indigenous/individual/group of Nagaland like any other Naga individual until 1990.”
Nagas are known to be kind and just; and as “Christian and on a humanitarian ground,” the Federation urged all concerned to reconsider what best can be done for those 1313 genuine Rongmeis. “We are not talking about the tribe, but we are talking about doing our bit for these 1313 brothers and sisters, who otherwise would be left abandoned,” it stated.
In this context, the Federation has appealed all concerned to consider each other as one family, try to create a room for negotiation for the greater interest of all Nagas and look into the issue on a multi-perspective outlook and with all fairness.
The Federation also expressed concern for the unity and integrity of the Naga people following the disassociation of some tribal hohos from the Naga Hoho, and the various rallying volley of opinion in the media over the issue.
