On Friday, NSF held a public procession in protest 'against the influx of illegal immigrant and demand for inclusion of Dimapur under the purview of ILP'
Our Correspondent
Kohima | August 24
As a mark of protest 'against the influx of illegal immigrant and demanding inclusion of Dimapur district under the purview of Inner Line Permit (ILP),' the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) on Friday held a public procession in Kohima. Braving heavy rains, students from various colleges and schools walked from the NSF office in Kohima till the Chief Minister’s residence at Old Ministers’ Hill to submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister of Nagaland.
The procession is a sequel of the Federation’s movement against the influx of illegal immigrants in Nagaland. In the first phase, NSF volunteers were assigned to verify the ILP of non-locals wherein grave anomalies were detected and several ILP defaulters possessing fake and expired ILPs were caught.
In the memorandum which was handed over to Advisor to the Chief Minister, the NSF drew attention on the need for immediate measures to be taken for inclusion of Dimapur District within the purview of ILP.
It also stated that the Federation and its federating units during its 1st phase movement to check influx of illegal immigrants and ILP defaulters discovered that "the enforcement of the ILP in the State has not been properly implemented and the influx of illegal immigrants is posing as the biggest demographic threat to the indigenous inhabitants of the State."
"The lack of stringent implementation of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BERF) 1873 and the exclusion of Dimapur District from the purview of ILP have made the Dimapur District a safe haven for Illegal Immigrants. It is without any doubt to assert that, overwhelming population of people with questionable identities are inhabiting Dimapur District which is evident as most of them do not possess any documents of their Identification Proof," stated the memorandum.
The NSF expressed apprehension that “if Dimapur is allowed to be converted to a melting pot, overwhelmed by people with questionable identities, the rest of Nagaland in particular and the North Eastern hills will be illegally dominated, threatening our identity, culture and our very survival and resulting in societal destruction.”
It also appealed the government to intimate the NSF of necessary measures taken and initiated by the government on the issue of tackling illegal immigration within a month’s time.
Chief Minister says govt working with all seriousness on the matter
According to a Communiqué from the Chief Minister’s Office, the Advisor on behalf of the Chief Minister and the Government of Nagaland assured the student delegation that the State Government is working with all seriousness on the matter and that the Chief Minister will call for a joint consultative meeting with all stakeholders in the near future.
The Advisor also conveyed the appreciation of the Chief Minister in the efforts of the student bodies in addressing the problem and stated that this was a common problem which has the potential to impact our future generations and emphasized on the urgent need for all sections of the society to work collectively to address this problem for the sake of posterity.
Citizens equally responsible for influx
Earlier, during a short programme held before the march to Chief Minister’s residence, Neichüte Doulo, CEO, Entrepreneurs’ Associate said Nagas were living in a human time bomb.
Viewing the problem of illegal immigrant as ‘real and frightening’ Doulo said the responsibility does not rest solely on the government alone. He noted that citizens are equally responsible as it is the citizens who have allowed the ‘cheap inflow of labour brought in by illegal immigrants, the willingness to pay exorbitant rent for commercial and residential sites, the plump easy protection money paid to local goons and their willingness to practice price discrimination in the market place.’
Further, Doulo emphasized that individuals, contractors and churches engage illegal immigrants for construction works to save cost, despite the looming threat of unprecedented influx of illegal immigrants. “We are co-participants in breaking the law for harboring illegal immigrants,” affirmed Doulo.
Yet, the issue of illegal immigration cannot be approached with emotive and reactive strategies, according to Doulo, instead it must be calculative and determinedly curbed with. Curbing the problem of illegal immigration is not for the interest of a community alone, but in the interest of the world’s peace and for the sake of humanity.
“National boundaries and spaces are not created to be breached or molested. They are created so that humanity enjoys living the differences of race, culture and religion. Illegal immigration destroys such equilibrium. We must not allow this to happen,” stated Doulo.
Dolou also pointed out that so long as Naga youth look only at government jobs and shun business and farms, illegal immigrants will flourish. He therefore suggested that the Naga youth must become entrepreneurial not just to become rich and successful but to secure the future of our people.
“No great civilization thrives without the vigilant and enlightened citizenry and a good government. Our fight against illegal immigration is a common fight. If we have been part of the problem then we are definitely part of the solution. Our future is not in the palm of the government, it is right here-in our hands,” remarked Doulo.
Govt miserably failed to monitor ILP implementation Sharing experiences from the first phase verification of ILP, NSF president, Christopher Ltu stated that government machineries have miserably failed to monitor the implementation of the ILP where the check gates remains ineffective and there are no records on the number of migrants entering the State or leaving the State.
Critical on the apathy of the government which has allowed convenient access of ILP for the illegal immigrants, Ltu pointed out that the future of the Nagas is being sabotaged for a mere amount of Rs. 300. “Government machineries are supposed to monitor the ILP however it has become just the opposite. The organizations, the villages, the colony and wards have started the verification instead of the government because the government machineries have failed,” said Ltu.
The NSF president also warned that any person who is caught and identified as middle men will be dealt befittingly. “For a few amount of money, we cannot allow you to compromise our future,” stated Ltu.
