Kacharis are indigenous to Nagaland: DYON

DIMAPUR, NOV 10 (NPN): The Dimasa Youth Organisation Nagaland (DYON) has disputed Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio’s description of Kacharis as “migrants” in the state, asserting that the community’s documented history and official records establish its longstanding presence in Nagaland.
In a statement, DYON president Ringsen Langthasa and general secretary Joyphen Khersa said the Chief Minister’s remark disregarded the community’s history and the state’s official records.
The organisation stated that Dimapur was the capital of the Kachari Kingdom, which predated the 9th-10th century and existed long before Nagaland became India’s 16th state in 1963. It cited historical accounts, including Ahom buranjis, British official records and other historical literature, as evidence of the kingdom’s centuries-old presence in Dimapur.
It also pointed to carved monoliths and other archaeological remains of the Kachari Kingdom in Dimapur, besides successive Census records from the British era to post-Independence India that, it said, documented the presence of Kacharis in the area.
DYON said the Nagaland government had formally recognised Kacharis as indigenous inhabitants. It cited a Land Revenue Department memorandum dated November 7, 1979, which listed Kacharis alongside Naga tribes as indigenous inhabitants of the state. A notification issued later that month also included Kacharis among the communities residing in the Dimapur Tribal Belt.
The organisation further referred to the Constitution (Nagaland) Scheduled Tribes Order, 1970, which lists Kachari as a Scheduled Tribe in Nagaland. It said the community’s constitutional status reflected its longstanding ties to its ancestral lands in Dimapur.
DYON also stated that the state government had acknowledged that Kacharis lived in Nagaland before December 1, 1963, and that eligible descendants could obtain Scheduled Tribe and Indigenous Inhabitant Certificates, subject to verification.
The organisation said the Chief Minister’s blanket description of Kacharis as “migrants” was inconsistent with the state’s historical and official records.