Govt halts police recruitment for four non-Naga tribes pending enumeration

The State government has put on hold the recruitment process for police constable posts reserved for the four non-Naga tribes– Garos, Kacharis, Mikirs (Karbis) and Kukis– until the completion of an Enumeration Exercise to determine their eligibility as Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland.
According to the Home department, the Constitution (Nagaland) Scheduled Tribes Order, 1970, recognizes these four non-Naga tribes as Scheduled Tribes of Nagaland, provided they were residents of the State prior to its creation on December 1, 1963.
Members of these tribes and their direct descendants are eligible for Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Indigenous Inhabitant Certificates (IIC), which entitle them to employment and other benefits meant for Indigenous Inhabitants.
However, the department noted that since these tribes also inhabit neighbouring States, cases of migration into Nagaland after Statehood cannot be ruled out, leading to instances of ST and IIC certificates being wrongly issued, making it necessary to identify and verify those who had genuinely settled in the State before 1963 along with their direct descendants.
To address this, the government decided to conduct an Enumeration Exercise to verify and identify genuine Indigenous Inhabitants among the four tribes who had settled in Nagaland prior to December 1, 1963 and their descendants.
The decision was notified vide Home department order No. CON/RIIN/50/2020 dated September 20, 2024.
Subsequently, a writ petition was filed in the Gauhati High Court by tribal organisations representing the four non-Naga tribes, following which a stay order was issued, making the matter sub judice.
The department noted that the proposed exercise was crucial for identifying genuine Indigenous Inhabitants among the four non-Naga tribes who are entitled to IICs and other associated rights, particularly for state government employment.
In view of the pending court case, the government has decided that recruitment for 1,176 posts reserved for Indigenous Naga tribes will proceed, while the 24 posts allotted to the four Non-Naga tribes will be taken up after the Enumeration-related issues are resolved.