Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton.
Eviction notice by Assam in DAB under verification
Morung Express News
Dimapur | August 21
Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton said that singing Vante Mataram is not a compulsion. India’s national song courted controversy in Christian-majority states like Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram after the Union government made it mandatory to sing all the six stanzas preceding the national anthem in all government events and schools assemblies.
In Nagaland, the directive has been greeted with resentment, led by civil society organisations, church bodies, and even the ruling NPF — an ally of the BJP — over the song’s apparent Hindu devotional content. They have held that the imposition conflicts with the religious beliefs of the majority Christian population, and constitutional safeguards provided to the state by Article 371 (A).
According to the Deputy CM, it should be left to personal choice. “No, we cannot say that we will enforce it. Rather, it is entirely up to the individuals. Nobody is being forced to sing, and nobody will be asked to sing. Conversely, nobody can stop anyone from singing either,” he said. He made the comment in response to a media query at the Dimapur airport where he landed from New Delhi on August 21. He added that the state Assembly would likely be discussed in the upcoming Monsoon session.
As reported by the Press information Bureau (PIB), Patton and three other legislators from Wokha met Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, on August 2.
On the reported eviction notice served by Assam authorities to 59 families in Number 2 Negheribil in Merapani along the Assam-Nagaland border, Patton said that Border Magistrates from both sides are conducting an investigation and verification process. While stating that details can be known only after the report is ready, he said that the affected residents could either be “illegal immigrants, or they could be Nagas, but we cannot ascertain now.”
The said location falls in the Disputed Area Belt (DAB) shared by Assam and Nagaland bordering the two states’ Golaghat and Wokha districts.
The Lotha Lower Range Public Organisation (LLRPO) has demanded the Nagaland Government to immediately intervene on the matter. While it termed the eviction notice a unilateral move by the Assam government, it said that the area referred to as “No. 2 Negheribil” falls within the jurisdiction of Longayim and Mekirang villages in Nagaland.
