(From left) NEIPF Secretary General N Ibungochoubi, NIPF President Dr T Lima Jamir, and NIPF General Secretary Kikheto Sumi at the press conference in Dimapur on August 7. (Morung Photo)
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Morung Express News
Dimapur | August 7
The North East Indigenous Peoples Forum (NEIPF) and the Nagaland Indigenous People’s Forum (NIPF) are all set to commemorate the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on August 9 in Dimapur. According to the organisers, the objective of the event, scheduled to take place at the Dimapur Town Hall, is for fostering regional cooperation and preservation efforts under the day’s 2026 theme— Honouring Indigenous Midwives: Safeguarding Life and Wellbeing.
Addressing a press conference on August 7, in Dimapur, NEIPF Secretary General N Ibungochoubi said that they are also looking forward to advance the 2025 Jokai Declaration, in Dibrugarh, Assam, which included urging the northeastern state governments to establish dedicated Directorates of Indigenous Affairs. He reminded that in Nagaland, MLA Kuzholuzo Nienu had pushed for creating an Indigenous Affairs department during the monsoon session of the state Assembly in 2025.
While expressing confidence that other states will replicate the move, Ibungochoubi said, “All the states are looking forward to the Nagaland chapter in leading this very aspect of opening an indigenous people's department.” According to him, a dedicated department would address concerns regarding illegal immigration.
Citing alleged demographic shifts across the northeastern states, including Tripura, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, he held that unchecked migration threatens the rights of native populations.
NIPF President Dr T Lima Jamir, however, noted that the native communities also bear responsibility for the perceived demographic shift, attributing it to reliance on cheap, undocumented labour.
Jamir urged native landowners to reconsider their employment practices to protect, what he described, as the economic security of the region.
“We have to teach our people also how we have to survive with our own existence and with our own cooperation with our own people, not employing all this cheap labor,” Jamir said, warning that relying on such practices ultimately reduces self-reliance.
NIPF General Secretary Kikito Sumi added that invitations for the August 8 conclave have been extended to various organisations. Sumi asserted that the event is designed for the “preservation and for the safeguard of our indigenous people.”
