Dimapur, June 11 (MExN): The Dimapur Ao Youth Organisation (DAYO), while lauding the District Administration’s “decisive action” of strictly implementing the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Dimapur, Niuland, and Chümoukedima, also urged vigilance against misuse during the transitional period.
In a statement, the DAYO welcomed the action as a “long-overdue step” and extended its unwavering support to the administration's efforts.
However, it pointed out that only magistrates are legally empowered to impose fines and that no unauthorised individual or group should take advantage of the current transitional period.
The ILP situation remains fluid, with sensitive implications and necessary rectifications under review, and any exploitation during this time must be condemned and legally addressed, it added.
The DAYO also reminded that Nagaland is the only state in India created through a political agreement, and the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) Act of 1873, which authorises the ILP, exists to safeguard the indigenous people's identity, culture, land, and future.
Thus, stating that Dimapur has always fallen under the administrative jurisdiction of Nagaland since statehood and is unquestionably subject to the BEFR Act, it asserted that any call for a rollback of ILP implementation in Dimapur is “non-negotiable.”
To this end, it pointed out that the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) initiated by the Government of Nagaland on June 29, 2019 preceded the notification extending ILP to the entire Dimapur district. After five years, it is clear that ILP exemptions—specifically for indigenous inhabitants and for landowners based on the cut-off year of December 1, 1963—have been accounted for, and the process is now complete and irreversible, the DAYO added.
Further claiming that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is already in force and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam has rendered nearly 20 lakh individuals stateless, the DAYO called upon the people of Nagaland to “remain vigilant of our birthright under ILP.”
Given the State’s porous border, it maintained that citizens should demand all tribal apex bodies rise to the occasion and urgently verify and object to the double entry of undocumented immigrants, particularly from Bangladesh, in the Election Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) in both Assam and Nagaland.
According to DAYO, this should be done on a “war footing,” and it urged the youth of Nagaland to “seize this critical moment,” adding that ILP enforcement is not just a legal mechanism but a “call to action.”
The organisation further stated that it remains firm and resolute in its stand on ILP and called upon fellow youth to follow suit.
It also urged all citizens of Dimapur to channel any ILP-related grievances through legally competent authorities and called for fostering understanding and unity, rather than division and confusion, while collectively upholding the law and protecting the future.
