British “invited any Naga tribe” to occupy land
Dimapur, October 25 (MExN): The Forest authority of the Government of Nagaland and the NSCN-IM is demanded a clarification be made on certain points the ongoing Intangki issue. The Western Sumi Kukami Hoho (a Sumi GBs’ organization) in a statement titled “demand for elucidation” made this demand.
The Forest authority of the State government was asked to make clear the matter of land exchange of Intangki National Park with Besumpuikam, based on relevant documents, land records and survey reports etc. The said authority is also asked to clarify ‘how, when and why the land was exchanged.
The WSKH in the statement demanded how the local administration “forwarded the encroacher” without “executing the criteria of the village recognition.” The Hoho lamented that old Besumpuikam village ‘still exists untouched and new Besumpuikam also exist with new settlers” in the national park “resulting in the bias attitude of NSCN-IM to Inavi villagers.”
The WSKH asserted that if the state government doesn’t evict new Besumpuikam village, then the former “should conformist with Inavi village” which is adjacent with Besumpuikam. They should be treated with the same yardstick and justified equally.
The WSKH also asked the NSCN-IM to clarify what was stated as baseless claim by the Zeliangrong community demanding withdrawal of the acknowledgement letter to Shikavi village that the land covered by the underground outfit’s GHQ was donated by Shikavi village. The WSKH explained that Shikavi land is well within the “western Sumi” region or “western Sumi block since 1926.” The Hoho claimed that “so many decade has passed with peaceful co-existence with no sign of land dispute” until the Zeliangrong community” suddenly spark out claiming the land belongs to them.”
The Hoho also asserted in the statement that the Angami villagers in the area had abandoned their villages due to hostile environments. The WSKH claimed these points: ‘Most of the plain sectors were uninhabited. The Naga Hills district was placed under the British Assam province. The British classified the district into reserved forests, Rengma Hills, Mikhir Hills, Nambor Reserved Forest, Degar Mouza etc. There were “vacant” lands in the foothill area inhabited by Angami and Zeliangs.’ The WSKH claimed that the British government desired these vacant lands be inhabited and “invited any Naga tribe to establish villages in the said areas.” “Some Angamis” responded by establishing villages such as Nakama, Seduma and Tisemphema, it added.
“However, the Angamis could not withstand the hostile environments and abandoned their villages and went back to their original villages” the Hoho claimed. Further, in 1926 Lhoudelie, DB of Khonoma village led a Group of Semas to Tesephima village which was “abandoned by his villagers and allowed Semas to establish a village named Shoxuvi village.”
The WSKH continued that Besumpuikam village was at “Missa Dissa Nala” outside Intangki wildlife sanctuary and was recognized by the government of Nagaland on February 8, 1991. Besumpuikam, however, “shifted” nine kilometers and encroached into the boundaries of the wildlife sanctuary. Finding no alternative, the settlement of encroachers was discussed. However, the land offered “by the Besumpuikam were not allowed to survey by the Kukis as the offered land falls under the jurisdiction of legally established Kuki villages.” So the question of forest land exchange does not arise and the matter was stopped on the day of survey by the Land Record & Survey department, the Hoho stated.
