Nagaland job quota row: 5 tribes gear up for phased agitation as May 26 deadline ends

Nagaland, May 25: The Five Tribes Committee, comprising representatives from the Angami Public Organisation, Ao Senden, Lotha Hoho, Rengma Hoho, and Sumi Hoho, has issued a firm warning of launching peaceful protests across Nagaland if the state government fails to respond to its demands for a comprehensive review of the existing job reservation policy.

The announcement was made during a consultative meeting held at the CPO Hall in Chümoukedima on Saturday. The meeting was attended by youth and student bodies of the five tribes, culminating in a unanimous resolution to begin a phased agitation "if the government continues to remain silent".

The committee had earlier served a 30-day ultimatum to the government on April 26, which is set to expire on May 26. With no official response received so far, the committee has declared its preparedness to initiate protest action.

The core concern raised by the committee centers on the state’s job reservation policy for Backward Tribes, first introduced in 1977 as a temporary arrangement for a 10-year period. “It is unacceptable that a policy, initially meant to be reviewed after a decade, has remained unchanged and institutionalized for 48 years without any formal assessment,” said a committee spokesperson.

Citing longstanding issues, the committee highlighted the absence of a structured review mechanism, the internal imbalance within the reservation structure, and the lack of regulation over multiple beneficiaries from the same households. They also raised the need to consider the 'creamy layer' concept to ensure equitable distribution of benefits among truly deserving candidates.

The committee clarified that it is not opposed to other tribes receiving reservations but highlighted the need for a fair and transparent system. It has proposed either scrapping the current policy altogether or reserving the remaining unreserved quota exclusively for the five tribes, which it claims constitute nearly 55 percent of the Scheduled Tribe population in the state.

Another point of contention is the government’s recent stance that any review would only take place after the completion of a fresh census — a timeline that remains uncertain since the national census has been delayed since 2021. “We cannot continue to wait indefinitely. Continued delay in policy review is unacceptable,” the committee reiterated in its latest statement.

If the government fails to respond within the ultimatum period, the committee has outlined a multi-phase protest plan. The first phase will include peaceful marches across the district headquarters of the five tribes. A second phase may involve a dharna at the state secretariat in Kohima. The committee has also indicated that further protest actions may be announced if their demands are not addressed promptly.

The Five Tribes Committee, formed in August 2023, had submitted a formal representation to the government in September of the same year. However, members claim that the absence of any response over the past several months has compelled them to escalate their demands through peaceful means.