Imkong Walling
Businesses shutting shop in Dimapur is not a new phenomenon. Rewind the years to the 2000s and early 2010s when business owners downing shutters in protest was quite routine. The grievance, more often than not, revolved around unsolicited and unbridled monetary collection, also known as illicit taxation, occasionally interjected by abductions for ransom.
There was a lull of sorts in the intervening years with business shutdowns few and far between, while becoming unheard of in recent years. It gave the impression that things had turned for the better or that the operating environment had become more conducive for the business community.
The notion of normalcy was but artificial. The “illegal collection,” as it has come to be known, did not cease; it prospered, prompting one to wonder how business owners have been managing without protesting.
It was not long before the answer to the query appeared in the form of the Dimapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) deciding to go on an indefinite shutter down agitation, which began on April 26, 2024. It has had a cascading effect, with fellow business chambers in other districts, supported by the Confederation of Nagaland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, joining forces, broadening the agitation statewide.
The impact of the agitation is apparent to all. It has led the civil society organisations, notably the Naga Council Dimapur, entering the scene to resolve what is clearly a well understood problem but one which hardly anyone wants to address directly.
The April 25 directive from the Government of Nagaland, via the Home Commissioner, to the DGP was no more than a hand-washing gesture. The government claiming to have come to know of the rampant collection by the Naga Political Groups (NPGs) was laughable, to say the least. Illicit taxation by multiple NPGs and government-registered unions, the latter claiming to be for the welfare of transporters and businesses, is not a new trend in Nagaland.
There is the all too obvious illegal collection by the police and other government agencies, yet the directive conveniently chose not to address this. Instead, it made tall claims of treating “any collection” by the political groups as extortion and effecting arrests.
The multiple illegal taxations have combined to serve as the cause of many a similar agitation by the business community in the past.
How many FIRs have been registered suo moto and how forthcoming has the business community been as far as filing complaints are concerned? How many FIRs have actually been lodged by the affected businesses and how effective have the police been in bringing closure to the complaints?
Law and order is a state subject, by virtue of which, it is the state government’s responsibility. But a makeshift approach to resolving the political issue by the Government of India has only served to patronise extra-constitutional taxations.
The cause is evident to all, but everybody seems to be directing their efforts elsewhere, while ignoring the ‘cat’ in the room. It feels like a real life enactment of the fabled ‘mice in council.’
The writer is a Principal Correspondent at The Morung Express. Comments can be sent to imkongwalls@gmail.com
