DIMAPUR, AUGUST 5 (MExN): The Nagaland GB Federation (NGBF) today stated that people from the Rongmei community who were settled in Nagaland prior to 1963 had been enjoying the status of Indigenous of Nagaland, and as such urged the authority concerned and the Naga people to let the “genuine Rongmei Indigenous people comprising of 1313 total population to continue as they were given the status here in Nagaland.”
A press note from the NGBF acknowledged the Central Nagaland Tribes Council’s (CNTC) concern on the issue, and stated that every state citizen has the rights to determine their future and the authority also must respect the sentiment of the people. “Though it is unfortunate that the Nagas are divided geographically and we are made to settle separately beyond Nagaland, but till our aspirations are fulfilled, we must determine our own state’s affair,” it said.
It appreciated the CNTC’s consideration to entitle Indigenous Inhabitants Rights to those Rongmei who settled prior to 1963. On this matter, the NGBF said that some Rongmeis had migrated to the present home in Nagaland many decades ago. “Their forefathers, who had participated in the First World War, settled permanently in Nagaland and no longer have any tie with their ancestral lands whatsoever. They have taken the present home in Nagaland as their permanent home. Unfortunately, due to the present status, they have been denied various basic provisions. Children are denied educational privileges for lack of ST and indigenous certificates,” it added.
