Azo to initiate Bill on Indigenous Affairs dept

Close on the heels of International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples observed earlier this month, Nagaland is set to witness what could be a historic chapter in the forthcoming Assembly session as NPF legislator Kuzholuzo (Azo) Nienu announced his decision to initiate a Bill to establish a Department of Indigenous Affairs.
During his meeting with North East Indigenous People’s Forum (NEIPF), Azo said he has been in constant touch with representatives of forum, particularly its vice chairman Khehoto Swu and secretary general N Ibungochoubi, since the forum’s 3rd General Conference which concluded with the “Jokai Declaration.”
Under Rule 50, Nienu said he would draw the attention of the House to formulate an adequate law, stressing that protection and preservation of age-old traditional and cultural values of indigenous peoples was a collective responsibility.
He cautioned that unless safeguarded, indigenous communities in the North East risk being engulfed by economically and culturally advanced groups, especially amid massive influx of people from outside the region.
Khehoto, informed that the Jokai conference in March adopted a declaration containing three Articles, the most significant of which urged legislative assemblies of all North Eastern states to enact laws to open a Department of Indigenous Affairs.
He said the forum has been engaging with legislators in Nagaland and other states to highlight the issue of infiltration and its demographic impact.
N. Ibungochoubi noted that North Eastern states share porous borders with Bangladesh (1,880 km) and Myanmar (1,643 km), making them vulnerable to infiltration and displacement during political or armed conflicts. Such demographic changes, he warned, deprive indigenous peoples of economic and social opportunities.
It was also learnt that NEIPF representatives, along with its Nagaland chapter, had recently called on chief minister Neiphiu Rio and Lok Sabha MP S. Supongmeren Jamir to apprise them of the Jokai Declaration and the concerns raised by the forum.
Expressing optimism, Ibungochoubi said indigenous communities across the North East were eagerly awaiting Nienu’s initiative in the Nagaland Assembly next month, which he described as a “historic step” that could also inspire similar action in other states of the region.