Dimapur, April 24 (MExN): Local leaders of eleven villages from 11th Northern Angami II Constituency, clubbed with Tseminyu, have called for “man to man re-verification” of the “authenticity of Tseminyu census of 1991 and 2001”. A letter to the chairman of Delimitation Commission from the villages of the said constituency also informed of its “inability to participate in the ensuing general election in Nagaland unless our grievances are reviewed and modified into the right position...”
The letter, appended by KT Vilie, chairman of Keruma Village Council, mentioned that there are 14 recognized tribes within the State, each with its own district boundaries. “As such clubbing a Naga tribe village or area into another Naga tribe area will create great communal issue in the near future. The Nagas absolutely have their own different languages as such one Nagas tribal man cannot understand another tribe’s dialect. And the Naga villagers do not know English which is the common language used in the town areas. As such bifurcation of a few Angami villages into the area of Rengma Naga tribes will surely lead to breach of peace and also such hasty action will create immediate confrontation if we put two tribal men in a house permanently” the letter explained.
Relatively, each Naga community has their own culture, tradition, customs and usages and a Naga tribe’s customary law cannot be applicable to the next tribe’s, it stated adding that there is no common Naga customary usages “due to great differences of our cultures, traditions, customs and usages.”
The leaders also stated that while the delimitation committee of Nagaland have undertaken readjustment of A/Cs in 2002 in Nagaland, “we were never consulted nor had we been given a chance to express our rights before the authority, and now we are been thrown into deep sea, unless our case is reviewed and bring us back into the tradition boundary of the Angami Naga tribe.”
The commission was also informed that the Angami tribe “cannot sacrifice our seat to the Rengmas just as other tribes Aos, Sumis and the Lothas cannot sacrifice their seat to another tribe.”
“If the Govt. of India wants us to be clubbed with the Rengmas than we shall go back to head hunting practice” the letter stated adding that “we are Angamis and we want to be in our Angami boundary only, not with the Rengmas, since the two tribes are entirely different in terms of boundary, culture, customs and tradition.”
To speak the truth we the eleven villages will demand man to man reverification to the authenticity of Tseminyu census of 1991 and 2001.
“Therefore, we pray that your good office will be kind enough to look into the facts and circumstances mentioned above and thereafter consider our case on humanitarian ground in order to avoid any further complications and also redress our grievances,” further stated the release.
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